Absolutely nothing odd about the success being enjoyed by Stanley Odd, one of Glasgow's finest hip hop collectives, and creators of one of our favourite albums of 2012 in the form of 'Reject'. An album full of greats beats and hooks which underpin what can only be described as lyrical genius at times from lead MC Solareye, they are leading the Scottish hip hop revolution. As the band get ready to continue the assault into 2013, we caught up with Solareye for some banter.
Hello, how are you?
Good thanks. Last year was our busiest year yet and it seems like it’s going to stay that way through 2013.
It's the question everyone hates, but could you tell us a little bit about your music and your influences?
We make live organic hip-hop from Scotland. That’s it in a nutshell. It’s not a genre that you’re going to see with it’s own section in any record shops any time soon but it is a very buzzing underground music community at present. In terms of influences everything from Bob Dylan, to Porcupine Tree, to Arab Strap, to Nas, to Task Force. Everyone in the band has their own tastes, I’m heavily in to hip-hop and wordsmiths; Scruff Lee loves Norwegian electronica; Admack really rates Errors – hopefully a bit of everything ends up in the tracks.
What's your song writing process like?
We start with someone having demoed up an idea and then jam it and flesh it out at practice. Then we go in and record the song in the studio. Once we’ve recorded the tune we chop it up, sample it and rebuild it from scratch – very much a hip-hop sampling ethic approach. Then when it’s done we need to learn how to play it again!
What could we expect to see from a live show?
Live is probably where we are in our element. Everyone in the band is bananas at what they do and the live shows are really energetic and lively; both from us and the crowd. This year it’s been great to see folks at festivals singing along and knowing the songs.
If it were all to end tomorrow, what would you say has been your greatest achievement?
That’s a difficult one, it feels like we’re on a roll. From playing the BBC Introducing Christmas party last December, to Celtic Connections, to festivals like Insider, Knockengorrach, Belladrum and Wickerman, to releasing our album and touring it – it’s been a hell of a year.
What have you got planned for this year?
We’ve just played the Old Fruitmarket in Glasgow for Celtic Connections, which was on 23rd January. We played a full set with the Electric String Orchestra – a 12-piece orchestra – which was unbelievable. Next up we’ll be getting ready for out first trip to the USA to play in New York in April, then preparing for the usual summer of festival frivolity up and down the country. We’ll also be working on lots of new material and making a start on a new album, which won’t be out until 2014 but fear not there will still be plenty of Stanley Odd new and old throughout the year.
At Scottish Fiction we focus on new Scottish music, how do you as a band view the Scottish music 'community'?
I find the Scottish music community to be rich, diverse and exciting. It’s an amazing time to be making music in Scotland and between touring and the festival season we have been lucky to discover and share stages with an outrageous amount of talented musical folks.
What other Scottish artists would you recommend to the Scottish Fiction readers?
The Banana Sessions, Hector Bizerk, Kayce One & Toni Smoke, Silvertongue, Madhat, The Girobabies, Bigg Taj, Steg G & the Freestyle Master, Kat Healy, Homework the list goes on…
Thanks for speaking with us, would you care to share a joke with us?
Did you hear about the lonely prisoner? He was in his sel’
Check out more from Stanley Odd
Facebook Twitter Website
No comments:
Post a Comment