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The Unabombers
SOMA 20TH To celebrate Soma’s 20th anniversary Orde Meikle, one half of founding fathers Slam (alongside Stuart McMillan), takes us though the history of Glasgow’s favourite electronica label
‘There was very much a DIY ethos back at the tail end of the 80s, we did try and get help from the rock infrastructure that existed in Scotland but to be honest it fell on deaf ears. So we [Slam and Glasgow producers Rejuvenation] decided that we’d go into a smallish studio and do our first couple of tracks. We all chipped in a little bit of money and got 1000 pressed and the money we made from that 1000 was spent on getting another 1000 pressed, and that’s how Soma was born.
‘It’s always been about qualitative music rather than genre. When you look back at the release schedule, there’s everything from full on banging techno with Space DJz to Vector Lovers and The Black Dog and everything in- between. Ewan Pearson, for example, started his career with us.
‘In terms of highlights, there’s obviously ‘Positive Education’. We knew it was good within 30 minutes of laying down the idea, and also from seeing the reaction the very first time we played it in the Sub Club on acetate. I can remember being a little bit embarrassed actually. Daft Punk’s ‘Da Funk’, the record that put them on the radar of every record label in the entire world. Funk D’Void’s ‘Diabla’ – hearing that in Ibiza, Singapore, Japan and everywhere. I could probably, hand-on-heart, say that I’m proud of everything we’ve ever put out.
‘At the beginning of last year we started the campaign for the Soma 20 remixes, contacting people saying “we’ve got 300+ singles, choose something that floats your boat and put a new slant on it.” Some of the guys have done us proud, so I’m playing tons of Soma stuff at the moment.
‘I think that, more than ever, there’s a need for labels to have a very broad remit and too look at music with an all round view. I can’t see why it shouldn’t last another 20 years, as long as we can keep finding the diamonds in the rough I’d like to think Soma still has a place.’ (Henry Northmore) ■ For the full version of this interview see list.co.uk. Slam play live at Electric Frog (see left) and host Return to Mono, Sub Club, Glasgow, Fri 8 Apr. The first EP in the Soma 20 series featuring remixes of ‘Universal Principles’ and ‘Eastmen’ from Loco Dice, Santos and Decimal, out 4 Apr.
31 Mar–28 Apr 2011 THE LIST 49
‘WE CREATED BODY & SOUL JUST BECAUSE WE WANTED TO PLAY TRACKS WE LIKED’
good use, would eventually become known for his edits, remixes and production work, including tracks like Dinosaur L’s (an alias of Arthur Russell) ‘Go Bang!’ and Yazoo’s ‘Situation’, which comfortably fit into the category of missing links between disco and house. Kevorkian would temporarily retire from DJing between ’83 and ’90, as he began to spend a lot of time in London working with high-profile artists like U2, Depeche Mode and The Eurythmics, but not before playing some of the era’s defining clubs. ‘I only played Paradise Garage a few times,’ he explains, ‘when Larry Levan asked me to sub for him. But it was a big deal, the most demanding, pickiest crowd I could imagine playing for. Very intense and full of excitement.
By 1990 I realised I really missed that buzz of DJing, and there were all these fresh records I wanted to play out: LFO, Dee-Lite’s ‘What is Love?’, Sounds of Blackness’ ‘The Pressure’. So I came back to it. When we created Body & Soul, it was really just because we wanted to play tracks we liked, and to do it on a Sunday when we weren’t competing with anyone. It was as unpretentious as that.’
With an attitude like that, and tastes that now extend beyond disco and house into dubstep and beyond, the feeling is he’ll love Electric Frog. ‘With the whole industrial style of the Studio Warehouse, it gives the event a real block party feel,’ says Traynor. ‘We’ve got Pressure hosting a room to celebrate Soma’s 20th anniversary, and J-Rocc was a late addition we were happy to wait for. It’s a real mix of styles, but it avoids the commercial.’ Luke Cowdrey of Unabombers, who will be making an appearance, neatly sums up the appeal of Electric Frog. ‘Underground clubs are where we feel comfortable,’ he says. ‘It’s not a holier-than-thou thing, it’s just that people are there for the right reasons, for the music, the basslines, not just because they’re trying to shag someone. That’s not exclusive, it’s classless and open to everyone, not only people who wear tight jeans and read Vice.
‘And Francois K’s playing, is that right? I
can’t wait.’
The Electric Frog Easter Weekender is at SWG3, Glasgow, Sat 23 & Sun 24 Apr. See theelectricfrog.co.uk for more info.