Q&A with artist and producer Solarrio

– Why did you choose the name Solarrio?

Solarrio started as a side project with my co-producer Fonz. At that time, we were both dealing with a cold, grey winter in Berlin but we were trying to make funky dance music. There was a tanning salon across the street (they’re called Solarium in Germany) that we kept staring at. Somehow, someway we came up with the name Solarrio and it stuck ever since.

– Do you remember when you made your first track?

I’ve been recording and producing other artists for much longer but the first track I made was probably my first single “Drops” off my first EP in 2016. It started out as an uptempo synth-pop track but went through various transformations before becoming what it is today.

– What do you like to do when you are not making music and how does that influence your creativity?

I’m making music most of the time, wether writing songs or producing. Any other time is spent trying to relax or find inspiration, which usually comes from just living life and relationships. Most of my songs come from me trying to process failed relationships.

– If you could play any show with any lineup, who would be on the ticket?

Phil Collins on drums, Flea on bass, Nile Rodgers on guitar and the Earth Wind & Fire horn section 😅

– Of your songs which one means the most to you and why?

Of the ones that I’ve already released I would say “Real Love”. I got my dad to come to the studio and play piano on the track so that automatically makes it special to me but also because I was able to express how I felt at the time and everything just kind of came together like magic. But there are songs in my upcoming project that are even more special to me.

– What can you tell us about your debut album set to release soon?

I feel like I finally found my sound and musical identity after experimenting for the last few years. For the first time I feel really confident and I’m ready to finally put out a full length project that I know I will be proud of 10-20 years from now. As far as the sound I would say it’s somewhere between The Weeknd, Chromeo and Tame Impala but my biggest influences would be Prince, Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis and Phil Collins. Can’t wait to start releasing singles soon 🙏

Listen to Solarrio: