Solarstone - Touchstone Reviewed!

By Dared, posted July 28, 2010

In 2008 he produced Rain Stars Eternal, his rebirth 2.0 artist album and in 2009 he imagined and created Electronic Architecture - his IDMA-nominated concept compilation vision. Now, for a new decade, Solarstone returns with… Touchstone.

In ways big and small, conscious or otherwise, inspiration happens to everyone, everyday of their lives. Musicians are perhaps intrinsically even more open to it. Lines thick, thin, straight and curved are drawn to productions that span back over many decades... In his own production work, identifying these inspirations, down to their smallest fraction is something that Solarstone (composer, producer, singer & DJ Richard Mowatt) has long been captivated by.

It was with great pleasure that I had the chance to listen to a pre-release copy. I was a huge fan of Solarstone’s previous (mix) album ‘Electronic Architecture (if you haven’t listened to it yet then do so… it’s THAT good), so expectations were pretty high.

Rich has always been known to offer trance lovers something different; something special. Although known as a ‘trance artist’, his dj sets blend genre after genre together; this is what partly helps Rich distance himself from the genre police. In a recent interview, Rich in fact said that he approached the album in the same way that he would approach a dj set. A journey through the many sounds of EDM (house, breaks, trance).

As always, the album artwork is the first noticeable aspect of an album, and Touchstone offers a visually appealing cover. Rich, vibrant colours on a black background, with a rather clever design, allow Touchstone to slightly distance itself from the hoards of poorly designed artwork of other long players

Track one is a fairly laid back affair, a simple kick coupled with the vocals of Bill McGruddy (who features in a few tracks on the album). The following tracks have very much the same feel; laid back, soothing music; something I must admit I wasn’t expecting. Solarstone’s “Electric Love”, his last single which went down very well with the trance punters features at track 5, and is the first point at which we are presented with a trance-esque style song. Intravenous and Twisted Wing, which follow Electric Love are again, more laidback affairs. I was happy to see one of Solartsone’s previous productions “Slowmotion” appear on the album; definitely one of the highlights for me.

‘Zeitgeist’ (featuring Orkidea) is the hands in the air trancer you would expect from Solarstone, although he definitely has done better material. The album finishes again with Bill McGruddy, and interestingly enough, Rich himself providing the backing vocals.

All in all, Touchstone is a bit hit and miss in my opinion. Although offering something totally different for the listener, it doesn’t really offer anything that perhaps the listener would hope for. The album is very melodic, and is consistent in its sound; I’m just not too sure that it will be for everyone.
Kudos however must be awarded to Rich for embarking on something that will no doubt wow the trance punters out there.
For those after a soothing, laidback listen, then this is the album for you

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