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The modern kings of the underground, Manconian duo Solarto

continue to blitz all before them. 

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Widely considered as modern-day kings of the underground, Mancunian duo Solardo (James Eliot & Mark Richards, aka MRK1 ) continue to blitz all before them, amassing widespread plaudits for their role as not just hugely popular DJs, but also label owners, and innovative forward-thinking producers. With the prolific duo’s meteoric rise a true testament to their hard work in the studio and infectious energy in the club, a slew of early releases via imprints such as Viva, and elrow helped rocket the pair to their first Beatport Number #1 with their breakthrough record on Hot Creations, ‘Tribesmen’.

 

Having later released EPs on Toolroom Records, Lee Foss’ Repopulate Mars and Green Velvet’s Relief Records, Solardo soon branched out into their now iconic Sola imprint - which soon became a home for a flurry of the most predominant tech-house tracks on the circuit. With over 50 releases on the label with tracks from the likes of MaxChapman, Mason Maynard, and Grammy nominated duo CamelPhat - who Mark & James worked with on collaborative club track ‘Accelerator’, the label has gone from strength to strength hosting parties at the BPM Festival, The Warehouse Project and its own club showcase at The Source in Maidstone.

After being assigned remixes for the likes of MK, David Guetta, Black Coffee, Nicole Moudaber & Carl Cox, Solardo’s success hasn’t gone unnoticed and they signed to Ultra Music. Since then, the pair have gone onto release hits ‘Be Somebody’, ‘Tango Wango’ and their latest release ‘XTC’.

 

Arguably the duo’s most successful release to date, the track has been an anthem for them and many DJ’s alike with it being hailed as one of the tracks of the summer in Ibiza.

So much so, BBC Radio 1 used it to promote all of their big weekend in Ibiza adverts - where Mark & James also played - whilst it was championed by Annie Mac ( Hottest Record In The World ), Pete Tong, Danny Howard ( Friday Fire ) & MistaJam ( #1 Radio 1 dance charts ) across the station.

 

The tracks' success didn’t end there, with it being voted the winner of ‘best track of the year’ at the DJ Mag Best of British awards. The love didn’t stop there for the lads, towards the end of 2019 they hooked up with legendary producer Marshall Jefferson to commemorate the 33rd anniversary of one of the most iconic house tunes ‘Move Your Body’.

 

With the lads touch, the track has been reborn into a modern day anthem only proven by it dominating the Beatport charts ( the release was No.1 for 46 days which is an all time record! ), being added to BBC Radio 1’s ‘A’ list for three weeks straight and Scott Mills & BBC Radio 1 themselves selecting it for ‘Tune Of The Weekend’. With support coming from all corners of the globe, the release peaked at #1 in Sweden, #5 in the UK and #27 worldwide in the Spotify viral charts, and was in the top 100 Shazam’s in 5 countries, peaking at #7 in the UK.

Music aside, the duo’s presence on the road is ever growing. After selling out The Warehouse Project and London’s Studio 338 with their brand new event series HIGHER, the pair took HIGHER on the road with successful stage takeovers at the likes of Higher Vision in Ireland and Mysteryland in Holland, where Eric Morillo, Skream & Groove Armada came and played.

 

Mark & James also found the time to fit in over 30 major festivals throughout the course of 2019 including sets at Glastonbury, Creamfields, Parklife, Holyship, Babylon Festival, Tomorrowland (x2), EDC Las Vegas, We Are FSTVL, Beyond Wonderland, Snowbombing and their first Ultra Music Festival in Miami where they launched collaborative project SoPhat alongside CamelPhat.