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Solarstone

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The loudest voice for 'pure trance' — uplifting, melodic and deliberately unhurried, as a matter of principle.

Solarstone is the working name of British producer and DJ Richard Mowatt, based between Birmingham and Wales. He began recording as Space Kittens in 1994, then formed Solarstone as a trio in Dudley in 1997 with Andy Bury and Sam Tierney. Tierney left that same year, Bury followed in 2006, and Mowatt has been the sole member since.

Solarstone's sound stays tied to melodic, uplifting trance: long builds, sustained chord progressions and breakdowns that unfold gradually, resisting the shorter, harder arrangements that later came to dominate the dance floor.

'Seven Cities' remains his best-known record, an early and influential example of Balearic trance that reached number 39 in the UK in 1999 and has sold over 500,000 copies across three reissues. He has also released the albums AnthologyOne (2006) and Rain Stars Eternal (2008), and worked with Scott Bond, Paul Oakenfold and Thea Riley.

Since 2012 Mowatt has pushed the Pure Trance movement through a label, compilation series and club night meant to keep a specific, unhurried trance sound in circulation, extending it into radio shows including Solaris International and Pure Trance Radio. He has also recorded as PureNRG with Giuseppe Ottaviani since 2014, and appeared on DJ Mag's Top 100 list in 2008 and 2013.

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