VALENTINE’S DAY SAW THE DUO SHARE THE DECKS FOR A 5 HOUR-LONG, ALL-DAY, LIVE RECORDING OF THE 11TH PURE TRANCE MIXCOMP IN CENTRAL LONDON
To borrow a line from another electronic-music pioneer, “you’ve come a long way, baby” – an apt summary for Solarstone’s ‘Pure Trance’ album series, which reached double digits in 2024.
“When it launched,” Solarstone says, “I don’t think Pure Trance crossing the ‘Volume 10’ landmark was something many people saw happening. I’m not even sure the possibility occurred to me! Nonetheless, it was an ‘X marks the spot’ moment for the series. A natural point where one ‘chapter’ could close and another open.
Evolving something as defined as ‘Pure Trance” isn’t easy though” he grins.“So, I dug back into what made – and continues to make – the movement so uniquely one-of-a-kind. My mind went to the shows, and there, naturally a way of uniting the nights and the albums presented itself.”
At London’s Spitalfields Market on Feb 14, that’s exactly what Solarstone did, he turned another page in Pure Trance’s evermore-stored history. Bringing perfect symmetry and beautiful legacy to proceedings, joined by his ‘Pure Trance V1’ co-mixer, Finnish DJ, producer and composer Orkidea.
Since they first began working together, the two have bonded over many shared influences, and not least a mutual respect for how mixcomps used to be forged.Specifically, ‘Northern Exposure-style’, ‘the Global Underground way’ or through the ‘Renaissance’ approach. Live, gritty, sweaty and laser-lit, yet brilliantly thought through and planned out. Then mixed with a human skill that’s been honed since the dawn of electronic music time, with each transition another tripnotic step up Jacob’s Ladder. With the pair already well-versed (through their Solarstone+Orkidea All Night Long shows) in each other’s turntable ways, the dye for Pure Trance XI has truly been cast.
‘Pure Trance XI’ will be released in the spring of 2026.
solarstone.co.uk
instagram.com/richsolarstone
facebook.com/solarstone
soundcloud.com/solarstone
x.com/richsolarstone
djorkidea.com
soundcloud.com/orkidea
facebook.com/orkideaDJ
x.com/djorkidea
blackholerecordings.com
instagram.com/blackholerecordings
soundcloud.com/blackholerecordings
facebook.com/blackholerecordings
