November 17, 2020 | Lindsey Blakley & Lucy O'Brien
It may feel as though 2020 has been one huge rug getting yanked out from under the world, but one place you can find solace is in Solace Family Records. That was the goal when founder Isaac Schaffer first planned it all out in his college home in Indiana just a few short years ago. It's now the end of 2020, and Solace Family Records has a six-track compilation tailor-made for nearly every emotion you've had so far this year.
It all started with a dream and one vital inspiration, Brownies, and Lemonade. Schaffer respected how they would find warehouses and book up-and-coming Soundcloud artists. He also knew the music scene in Indiana could use a little refresher, and so Solace Family Records was born.
Being half Korean, Schaffer wanted the name of the label to represent and pay tribute to that aspect in some way.
He stated, "I chose the name Solace 패밀리 (fa-mi-ly) because of the
actual definition - If something eases your disappointment or grief, consider it a solace. If you're sad, you might find solace in music or in talking to your friends. I chose the word family as well because I want people to feel like they are a part of a family and that we can provide a safe place for people to enjoy music and friendship."
While 패밀리 might not mean family in Korean, it is a euphonic idiom of the letters fa-mi-ly. He continues by explaining the meaning of the new logo, which utilizes Korean letters. There isn't a letter "F" in the Korean language, so he went with letters "S" and "P." When the "S" is stacked on top of the "P," it creates a house or place of solace.
As if this weren't synchronistic enough, the pandemic was an even better excuse for Schaffer to buckle down, focus on putting out music, and launching the Solace Family Records label.
And that's exactly what he did. 2020 might be known for its existential uncomfortability and drastic challenges to collective thought, but Solace Family Records is the home for all music lovers to find solace.
As for the future, Schaffer hopes to build a community of like-minded individuals who support one another openly and honestly.
He stated, "I want to normalize spreading love and standing up for the good in the world and making everybody feel welcome. I truly think that there is power in numbers, and I think our team and family bond is strong."
Solace Family Records plans to encourage this type of open-minded community directly by inspiring artists to think outside of genre barriers. There is no form of artistic expression that is too much for the Solace Family. Not to mention we are always looking to expand our horizons because the more connected we are as a collective, the more power we hold.
Solace holds true to its name with its first compilation drop. This six-track release features some of the wide arrays of artists the label currently works with. Be prepared to get lost in a sea of wubs and dubs with this six-track compilation launch.
The Solace Family Records Six-Track Compilation Launch
yum.yum's Bomba Released 10/5
Solace Family proves we are here to bring you all the vibes with our premiere release. I had the pleasure of speaking with 1/2 of the Yum.yum duo, Levi Grider, about their premiere release, Bomba. They are relatively new to the music scene, but their sounds say otherwise. This UK dubstep inspired single is everything you want in dubstep. It's dark, it's moody, it's old school, and it even has a flare of newer elements for the perfect balance.
Levi Grider and Brian Schuessler spend just as much time experimenting with new sounds as they do actually producing. Grider explains a little about their creative process, saying they spend 2-3 days experimenting and learning new tips and tricks while 2-3 nights out of the week are dedicated to pulling all-nighters to basically put everything they've learned into effect.
This is the exact process they used to create Bomba as well. Grider states, "We pretty much just sat down in the studio for 2-3 hours making new sounds until we found something we really liked then spent a couple of days flowing the rest of it out."
Bomba is proof enough that Grider and Schuessler are well on their way to mastering sound design. All of its layers provide a depth you don't see every day, not to mention the emotion Grider and Schuessler pull out of you with every bass kick. Bomba makes you feel like you've just stepped into the laboratory of a mad scientist that just on the verge of his big breakthrough.
Grider and Schuessler are hungry and motivated, and they aren't stopping at sound design either. The two have also been dabbling with visuals, and according to Grider, we can expect to see a full original set in the near future.
They want to provide an experience that you don't see very often in the EDM world today. Their sound is unique in the sense that you can tell they put a lot of dedication and hard work into creating their own style. Stay tuned-in to Solace Family for updates on new releases from Yum.yum in the future! For now, though, enjoy their latest in the playlist below!
Keep Up With yum.yum
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RYNS's We Will All Evolve Released 10/12
Mondays are something to look forward to these days if you've been following our journey at Solace. Coming in hot with the second release from Solace Family Records, Cristiaan Broderick, better known as RYNS, gifts us the motivation and breath of fresh air we all need to get through the rest of this year with "We Will All Evolve."
This tune feels inspiring from the start, with the melodic build up mixed with heartening vocals. Then the second drop throws the listener for a bass-loving loop. It's a bouncy, rippling switch up that will leave you no choice but to drop it low. There's still progress to be made, but this bop doesn't apply. It's exactly what it needs to be.
Cristiaan has plans to self-release at least one track per month, all while working on different projects with other artists and vocalists from various genres. Stay tuned for an EP from RYNS in the months to come.
Keep Up With RYNS
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Jordnmoody's Here We Go Released 10/19
Jordnmoody, our 3rd artist to make up the Solace Family Records' first six-track compilation, is coming at us with an insanely refined and complex tune called "Here We Go." This track has a classic dubstep undertone, but jordnmoody puts his own experimental, trap-sounding spin on it. The notorious lines from The Boondocks' character Gin Rummy set this song up for an ominous message that leaves the listener questioning what exists and what does not.
"Here We Go" is full of whimsical, mysterious sounds with wide-spread bass that will leave you no choice but to move. Jordan wanted to create a dubstep song with his own interpretation of it by including classic reggae/dub influence, which is what he naturally gravitates towards when producing.
Keep an eye out on jordnmoody's upcoming release at the end of November with Ujuu and Wreckno! In the meantime, he is putting in a lot of work in the studio crafting his first EP to release come the new year.
Keep Up With Jordnmoody
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Wiley Coyote's Sound Check Released 10/26
Coming in with the heat, WileyCoyote gifts us our 4th release from Solace Family Records, a song called "Sound Check." Jackson Wiley, better known as WileyCoyote, says he wanted to create a moment with Sound Check. The idea was to create something that he could play out live that makes people stop for a second and think. That's exactly what this sound composition is.
The emotion intermingled with the perfectly experimental sounds and placement tie it together into a complete journey of a song that isn't typically felt in this area of bass. "Sound Check" throws the listener for loops of melodic sounds that leave the message open-ended for each individual interpreter.
WileyCoyote lets us know that he never really has an idea before the track development -- the idea comes after the song is born, which leaves "Sound Check" completely up to you to decide what it means. Enjoy the ride!
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Ujuu & Sayuh's Sunken Released 11/2
Solace Family Records' founder, Ujuu, and Sayuh bless our first Compilation with a heavy hitter, "Sunken." I had the opportunity to pick their brains about the development of Sunken, and Matt VanOsdol [Sayuh] says that he sent Isaac [Ujuu] the simple 8 bar drop to let him run with it.
Matt stated, "The main arpeggiated sound was a resample of a bass patch but processed further. The sound layering, or wook noises as they're called in the project, came out like a hybrid between experimental and trap."
To piggyback off of that, Isaac explained, "I felt inspired by Kumarion's song called "(Give It To Me Like I) Want It" because it starts off very pretty, but ends up a little bit heavier. The heavier hitting drums and arpeggiators in the drop were inspired by G Jones and Peekaboo."
Sunken starts off softly with the soft ticking of a clock, building up to a metamorphosis of melodic feelings paired with a trappy, hard-hitting dubstep beat that will make your head spin.
Isaac stated, "Our overall theme for the track was the sunken place from Get Out."
This paints a vivid picture of trance-like, time-warping hypnosis sunken place that this song inhibits beautifully. Isaac was Matt's teacher in high school drumline, and they reunited a few years later when working a pizza job together. From there, Isaac started putting Matt on to production, which makes this collaboration especially special for both of them.
Matt stated, "We used a lot of decap, kount, and some KSHMR samples to make the drums smack. I enjoy using other things besides dub snares or claps to create the snare drum for a track, and Sunken has some of my favorite 'snares' to date in it."
On the flip side, Isaac mainly uses Omnisphere for melodic sounds and Serum for more bass patches. Ujuu also said, "On Splice, I use Dilip, recap, took, and chrome sparks drum samples to make the hard-hitting drum sounds." Aside from Sunken, Ujuu has a Wakaan release with Wreckno and jordnmoody coming soon, as well as a collaborative EP with RYNS. He also hopes for a completely solo EP coming soon as well.
Keep Up With Ujuu
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Keep Up With Sayuh
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Mind Island’s Rain Dance Released 11/9
Closing out the Solace Family Records’ first six-track compilation is a deep melodic bass tune that is likely to take your imagination by storm. “Rain Dance,” created by Mind Island, is full of different psychedelic sounds mixed with deep dub vibes heavy enough to make anyone start to wobble.
Jeremy Gaddis and Alex Bancroft make up this powerful duo. They say more heads are better than one, and in this case, they couldn’t be more right. Jeremy Gaddis and Alex Bancroft created “Rain Dance” in Ableton. The fun sound design was done using Operator & Serum, which they clearly have a knack for.
Mind Island stated, “Our favorite part of the tune would probably be the last drop where we sampled a sitar. The Shaman vocals, tribal drums, & sitar paired nicely and helped the vibe of the tune sound cohesive.”
I mean, come on, what gets you more in the mood for a sacred rain dance than tribal drums and a sitar?
Solace Family Records is grateful to have such talented artists to work side-by-side with and create not only music but a community. That said, thank you to all of our listeners for continuing on the Solace journey. Stay tuned for a number of singles and Solace Family’s first-ever merch line releasing in the near future!
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Oh yeah, and Volume 2 anyone?
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