SOLA is a Drum & Bass trio comprised of James, Robbie and Paul. They have releases on Ram’s sister label Program, Formation, Korsakov Music, Play Me, Dance Concept, Gorilla Warfare, Dub Damage, Deep In The Jungle, 24 Karat, Soul Deep, Nuusic, Boomslang, Riot Dubs, Druid Records, Heads Bass and their own imprint Grand Theft Audio.
Today I will be reviewing one of their new tunes on their own label Grand Theft Audio. It features Brighton based singer Sammie Hall and rapper Weejii. Lets check it out!
One thing that is instantly obvious with Sola is that they are a really rounded group that love to span the genres of dnb from heavy techy bangers to the more chilled liquid vibes. Rise Up most certainly fits into the latter section. We are treated to the beautifully serene vocals of Sammie Hall, a consistent collaborator with Sola and a number of other huge dnb artists. .
The tune starts with a really relaxed and slightly mystical feel to it. There are some lovely meandering pads and some lovely acoustic bass notes present. We drop into the tune with a well placed synth bass and some tight liquid drums. Sammie provides a memorable hook which glides nicely with the beat and melody. Weejii comes in for a verse. I like that we can hear his dialect first and for most. He has a decent dictation and the flow again matches pretty well with the beat. Lyrically it suits nicely and he has a grit in his vocal which works well. Despite the grit the delivery isn’t too hard which again suits the feel of the tune well. Sammie’s voice works particularly well over the tune as it has a nice airiness to it. A soft, breathy texture so to speak which just places well with the tune. The lyrics and melody are super catchy as well and this is always a good thing to have with a dance track.
The 2nd half delivers more of the same but a bit more space for the tune to come through and it’s really pretty. The production is tight and really suitable for the piece, everything sits nicely and it delivers plenty of serene, melodic and mystical presents along the way. Rise up is a fantastic liquid roller that I’m sure will fit nicely in a set and also be a big tune for the listener at home. I can imagine kicking back in my kitchen with this on a Sunday while I cook up a banging roast dinner for the family.
The tune is set for release on 27/1/2023. You can pre save it on Spotify following the link below or pre-order on Juno Download. Check it out
Sola, Weejii & Sammie Hall – Rise Up (cygnusmusic.link)
Follow Sola here
Stream Sola music | Listen to songs, albums, playlists for free on SoundCloud
And Grand Theft Audio here
Stream Grand Theft Audio Records music | Listen to songs, albums, playlists for free on SoundCloud
Sammie Hall
Stream Sammie Hall music | Listen to songs, albums, playlists for free on SoundCloud
