Silicone Soul – 10 Years of Darkroom DUbs
Silicone Soul lined up a special tour across three continents to mark a decade since they launched their Darkroom Dubs label.
We chatted to Craig Morrison & Graeme Reedie as they prepare to return to Subculture on Saturday…
1. Hi Guys, to any of blog readers who don’t know, tell us a bit about Silicone Soul and how this came about?
Hi, we’ve been recording for Soma since 1998 after releasing a couple of records on our own label at the time, Depth Perception. We met and played in a band at school and it’s just kind of continued from then really.
2. As a duo you came through in the midst of a very prominent musical era, who was your biggest influences from back then?
Primal Scream and the Orb were huge for us as we discovered more electronic sounds but beyond that we’d have to say that hearing the likes of Slam, Harri and Dom week in week out, has really shaped our tastes. Through them we heard so much great, new music.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xIx2X8MSZF4
3.Having produced four studio albums on Glasgow’s Soma output, what has it meant for Silicone Soul to be involved with one of the UK’s top dance labels?
It’s been amazing for us, we were really moved to try and write this kind of music by hearing the guys play so for them to support and release our stuff is just great. It’s a lovely vibe with everyone at the label and they’ve always just patiently let us do our thing. There’s no place like home!
4. This year marks a decade of your Own Darkroom Dubs project, what has the last ten years been like for you both from a label perspective?
It’s been interesting as we started up just as the Internet was beginning to have a huge effect on the situation. That lead to some pretty dicey moments – we had a couple of distributors go bust on us and it’s been a bit of a struggle to keep it going at times. Very happy we have though as, musically, there have been some real high points and at the moment the stuff we have lined up is sounding better than ever.
5.Are you still heavily involved in A & R? Who sticks out as a memorable name on the roster? Who have been your latest additions?
It was a bit of an honour to have Robag Wruhme remixing Extrawelt for us, always been a huge fan of his noise. We’ve just released Freska’s debut Lp “Wrong Songs” which is sounding really cool and upcoming releases include some cool, spacey stuff from Glasgow’s Am$trad Billionaire and a lovely Ep from Dubspeeka .
https://soundcloud.com/freska/sets/freska-wrong-songs-lp-snippets
6.The current tour is spread across three continents gathering up some serious air miles, is there anywhere in particular that you are looking forward to returning to?
It’s been great fun so far. The parties have been great. It’s hard to really single anything in particular out for special praise, it’s all good :)
Here is a live recording from Berlin’s Watergate on the opening night of the tour…
7.The Glasgow leg hits Subculture on Saturday. Having played here many times over the years, what does Subculture mean to Silicone Soul. Do you have any specific memories or standout moments ?
Having grown up in the Sub Club it’s always lovely to have the chance to play , we’re really looking forward to it a lot . We’ve had some top nights in there over the years. Can remember a party many years ago with Joshua closing the night with D-Train’s “Keep On” – that was pretty spectacular.
8. As well as the tour have you guys got anything else lined up to celebrate the ten year landmark?
We’ll be releasing a 10 track Lp featuring 10 different artists including Ryan Crosson, Gary Beck, Jozif, Antonio Olivieri, Of Norway , ourselves and more . The tunes are starting to arrive thick and fast at the moment and they’re all sounding great.
9. If you weren’t touring the world and putting in the studio hours, what do you reckon you would both be doing with yourselves?
I could work in a haberdashery :o)
10. What’s in store for the next ten years
Hopefully more of the same, we’re always feeling like we’re just getting started and have loads more to do.
£5 ADVANCED TICKETS ARE STILL AVAILABLE HERE TO CATCH SILICONE SOUL ALONGSIDE SUBCULTURE RESIDENT TELFORD AT THE SUB CLUB THIS SATURDAY.