Solarstone has been up in the highlands over the past month shooting the video for his latest single 'Touchstone', the title track from his latest artist album of the same name. We have news on that and lots more in this months update...

The success of Solarstone's latest artist album 'Touchstone' is still gathering pace even a few months after its release. It's an album that should not be forgotten very easily and rightly so as it was one of the best to have been released this year. One of its creator Rich Mowatt's best you think? It's in contention for sure. Well, his latest single to be plucked from it is the title track of the album, 'Touchstone'. It’s an epic Solarstone blend of sublime guitar and atmospheric sounds to arouse the ear drum. The remixes so far have been nothing but exceptional with wave number two just release on Solaris Recordings. Not just an audio package, the new single has been given the full video treatment with Rich and his crew heading up north in the UK to the usually chilly Scottish highlands. For such a track with great depth the ceramic scenery to be found up there should make for a well fitting video. You can watch the video online now, just follow the link below and have a read of all the very latest Solarstone related news we could dig up this month.

‘Touchstone’ – The Video

Accompanied by a camera crew, in late August Solarstone decamped to the Cairngorm National Park and got lost in the wilds of the Rothiemurchus Highland Estate (all of which is in Scotland BTW!). Aside from sinking some drinks in the great outdoors, their purpose there was to shoot the video for ‘Touchstone’ the single. Both the weather and wildlife seemed keen to play ball and the rather lovely results are now online (and circulating on several music video channels) right now. You can check Rich, drumming, strumming and (most likely) humming his way around the some visually arresting Scottish scenery by clicking this terribly helpful link:

:: Watch the Touchstone video right here!

‘Touchstone’ The Remixes Pt. 2

With the first set of mixes of the album’s title track out there and kicking it (Aly & Fila’s capturing single of the week on ASOT & the Original Club Mix getting hot reviews in DJ & Mixmag) its time for second helpings! With a notable nod to the original’s vision, Estiva has handcrafted a goose-bump popper of a remap with and late-in-the-game euphoric finisher. For their remix, Electrovoya’s Andy Hagerty & Greg Murray go Force 10 with a tense, endorphin-activating end-of-set roof ripper. Last and by no means least Abdomen Burst head slightly left of leftfield to create a (mind) warping, hard-phasing breakbeat odyssey on their mix. This remix expansion pack is out now and you can pick them up from the Solarstone web shop, Solaris Recordings website, iTunes, Beatport, Trackitdown, Audiojelly or indeed any worth-their-salt DD reseller!

:: Available at the i:Vibes Store right now!

Solarstone Increases The Face Space

Facebook - it’s flippin’ everywhere this week! Anyone would think someone’s just made a movie about it or summat! In order to trumpet the release of The Social Network (yeah, sure, let’s go with that!) Rich has created a festival of new FB web-spaces for his musical activities. There’s a new Solarstone fan page there, one for Solaris International’s info here and one servicing the record label right over thereabouts. The Swarm’s has kicked into gear too and is join-able by clicking ici and finally, for you deeper souls, there’s one for Molecule Recordings aqui! Let’s hope their servers are up to the job! Whatever happened to MySpace – The Movie btw? Answers on a postcard…

Solarstone's Touchstone MINDMAP!

They said it couldn’t be done. They said it was a step to far, that it would cross the final line. But Solarstone did it anyway! Mindmap is the online device that been has created so that you can explore every extremity of Solarstone’s brain (well the musical side at least!).

Spin it around, twirl is about, stand its head if you feel so inclined; through the power of Mindmap you can discover what makes him tick! Harness the awesome power of the Mindmap for yourself by clicking here!

SOLARIS LABEL UPDATE

Solarstone 'Touchstone' Remixed (Buy Release)
Second installment of mixes here for the title track of Solarstone's criticially acclaimed new album. First up, Estiva shows just why he is one of the scene's most popular newcomers with his big-room re-rub. Next, Electrovoya aka Greg Murray & Andy Hagerty who have recently returned to the scene after a 3 year hiatus deliver something melodic punchy and straight for the jugular. Rounding things off, Abdomen Burst pulls a warped breaks infused remix out of the bag; definitely something very unusual and original, with a darker more minimal dub mix too.

Pit Stoner 'Flying Paper Plane' (Buy Release)
Experimental being the word of choice for this release by the mysterious Pit Stoner. We have 4 very different mixes from Pit Stoner (abstract), Piotro (Microprog), David Call (Big Room Progressive Trance) and Michael Badal (Melodic Trance). Check out the label website at moleculerecordings.com for all that there is to know and all that there is to be!

Robbie Nelson 'Shangri-La' (Buy Release)
Robbie Nelson is one of the most respected figures in the world of trance, with a super-solid release history stretching back to the very early 90's. Shangri-La' is his follow-up to the mighty 'Aviator'. This record is a proper hairy-chest moment, in terms of what he plays in his DJ sets 'Shangri-La' is right up at the top end of the adreneline chart. Full-on banging techy trance with a familiar ethereal vocal sample in the 'Original Mix'. We've included a handy dub mix too. Click here to listen to this release.

Alexander Popov 'Vapour Trails' (Buy Release)
Russian producer Alexander's 'Vapour Trails' first saw release back in 2007 on the Insatiable Records label; now we have 4 splendid remixes for 2010. First up, fellow Russian Ilya Soloviev's mix is a big room progressive trance workout, faithful to the Original's melodies with polished, widescreen production. China's Shingo Nakamura's version is a rather Balearic trance / house affair, with smooth pianos and a warm essence throughout. Bot Cipryan of 'Astral Breeze' fame delivers a chunky sparkling trance mix with old school undertones but in a thoroughly modern setting. Solarswarm member Jahawi's remix turns up the prog knobs aligning pulsing acidic lines with clean production. We've included the rapturous 2007 Original mix for good measure, its full on power-trance sheen still sounds fantastic today and is good for a re-spin! Click here to listen to/buy this release.

Top Five

1. Protoculture - Silver (Original Mix) (Rebrand)
2. Bart Claessen - 90 Nights Of Summer (Anjuna)
3. Alexander Popov - Vapour Trails (Shingo Nakamura Remix) (solarSwarm)
4. Dave Horne - For So Long (Alter Ego)
5. Solarstone - Destination (Mike St Jules Reboot) (CDR)