Who could be more fitting therefore, then So Solid Crew? Musical revolutionaries of their generation, they’re often mentioned as pioneers in the UK Garage and Grime scene. Coming back with a bang this year, expect some old school classics from the original underground garage crew.
First of all, thank you so much for speaking to us. Who have we managed to pin down from the crew today?
Hey this is Lisa Maffia. Hi, this is Harvey, how you doing? Megaman here and Swiss is here
What have you been up to? Megaman: We’ve been up to quite a lot, taking care of our individual brands outside of music. We’ve got a lot of new music out, fun tunes for the masses and even though we’ve never been to a Boomtown before, looking at the whole set up of what is like, we want to put together something that’s gonna give the stage presence something a little bit extra. Lisa Maffia: I can’t wait to choose an outfit! (laughs) From what I’ve seen there, I need to go to town! Harvey: I looked Boomtown footage online and it is unbelievable. I saw people jumping around with painted faces, just having a good time so it definitely fits So Solid’s energy of having a crazy night and enjoying yourself.
Boomtown’s known for being an immersive, theatrical and engaging experience that leaves punters with lasting memories and keeps them coming back. So for people that haven’t seen you before, what should they expect from your show and you guys as a crew? Mega: They should expect all the So solid hits basically; from 21 Seconds to All Over, They Don’t Know, Oh No… Just some great garage, old skl, mid skl, mash up the place classics ‐we’re going to deliver on UKG. The energy will be electric.
Garage and grime has had a massive explosion in the last couple of years and you guys were pretty instrumental in bringing that underground sound to the masses, much like Boomtown tries to do. What influences have you had and what do you think has been the catalyst for making grime and garage more commercially viable? Harvey: In our time a lot of our influences were Reggae, R&B influences in the early 90s, the stuff that was around then. If you’re looking at the new generation there’s a lot of people out there doing their thing; Skepta, Chip, Bugzy Malone…. It’s a good look!
Swiss: I think the reason it’s come back and the first catalyst of that sort of sound was when garage became a bit more edgy, a bit more underground and the sound got rougher. We didn’t name it grime, we were just making music. Whoever started to salute and say Oh No was the first pin point, when grime began, then that’s cool.
I think So Solid had an impact because a lot of people are paying homage in their music today. A lot of people are in All Star Grime are showing their fans who they were inspired by and that’s what we appreciate. We’ve taken a certain element of their grime style and showed appreciation in our new cuts too. Mega: I also think one of the big catalysts was when the Americans started showing a bit of love. It’s sad really but sometimes it takes people across the pond to show us love before our own country will see the glory of what we do.
The thing that I like about it though, is that every time you hear a sound from any sort of country you want to find out the source. You want to find out who inspired that and how that came about and whenever you dig deep, we’re one of the names that you affiliate that beginning with so we’re honoured to still be in the business and do what we do. We’re still here to deliver a good sound and music and hopefully we’re got another 20 years. 20 years you’d say? (laughs) Lisa Maffia: Yeah, about 20 years? (laughs)
You need to be doing it till you’re in your Zimmer frames. Solid cane skank business
(all laugh) Mega: The difference now and then is that there’s a lot of festivals that we missed out on doing so we’re happy now that we’re able to grace the stage in the way we wanted to do 15 years ago and we’re going to really give people what they missed out on.
Have you guys looked at the line up at all? Is there anyone you’re looking forward to seeing? Mega: You know what, Boomtown’s got a serious line up! You see so many festivals that put on the same old generic acts ‐ people you’d expect who are on TV ‐ Boomtown’s a festival with a difference! I know this festival is one to be reckoned with ‐ the artists are seriously underground!
I’m really looking forward to listening to some new music and seeing how audiences react to genres we might not be that in touch with and be a part of the good vibes.
