What are your views on trance and house music? Which artists do you respect most in these genres, and where are these genres going?

Trance music runs through my blood and has done ever since acid-house veered off in this direction in 1989. It is to me the most creative and invigorating type of edm by a mile… which I guess is why I’m still flying the trance flag after so many years! People like Nick Warren influenced me back in the day, but now I take my inspiration from all kind of places, few of them dance music based. Trance is defiantly taking a step towards increased spaciousness and minimalism... it’s still constantly evolving. When Djs move away from Trance they like to bash it, which is pathetic. I’ve always loved deep house too, French dj L’ul does it for me every time with his ‘Straight To DAT’ series… proper deep and reflective house music for grown ups.

What’s the best thing about being a DJ, and what are the most important characteristics and talents of an awesome DJ?

Connecting with the people who buy my records is the main point of it for me, it’s an incredibly spiritual experience to take 800 people on a musical journey for 3 hours, you become part of them and vice versa. There’s a track on the new album entitled ‘Part Of Me’ which comes pretty close to summing up this connection… I get totally absorbed in the whole thing… I love it. I’ve noticed many Djs who decide exactly what they are going to play before they get to the club, running order, the lot, which mystifies me totally, each set I play depends entirely on the vibe of the crowd. If there are good drugs in the house you play a totally different set because the crowd react to different things.

Released in mid-May, ‘Rain Stars Eternal’ will be your first solo artist album. How do you think it will be perceived?

Well… reactions so far have been incredible, beyond anything expected at the out-set. The album has been a new year-one for me. The production in Solarstone has always been my department, but the total freedom I have now is truly liberating. Everything about this record is exactly the way I wanted it – for the first time in 15 years of production, from the music through to the artwork, the club visuals to the website. I think people who have followed my stuff over the years have a pretty good idea what Solarstone music is all about, be it the prog or uplifting or down tempo stuff. This album is exactly what you would hope it to be if you’re a fan, or at least that’s the intention.

So far your productions have been praised by the biggest trance DJs throughout the world! How does that make you feel?

It’s always nice to be praised by your peers. The biggest compliments are when people get married to your tracks… or on the flipside when your music is used at a funeral…well it’s pretty intense as anyone can imagine… it’s very personal at that level.

As well as writing, producing and engineering the album, you also sing on it too! Is the first time that clubbers are hearing your voice, and is it something you could incorporate into your DJ sets?

Yikes… you mean like Sonique?! No way!! God no, that would be awful; I’d never inflict that on my fans… I’ve always sung of course, but I’m very particular and cautious about which tracks I’d actually sing on. The words in ‘Late Summer Fields’ (from the RSE album) are based on a poem I wrote for my wife….. I don’t often sing on my own tracks - only once previously (on the Young Parisians single ‘U Write the Rules’) but I felt completely comfortable singing these words over this music. Also ‘Dark Heart’ has my voice on it too, but that’s a bonus download for people that buy the album – I didn’t want to assault people twice on one record.

We hear you’ve been gallivanting off out to Brazil. How did you find the club-scene over there? Lots of hot girls in little bikinis?

Brazil is incredible. If it wasn’t for family ties in the UK I would move there in a heartbeat… it’s an incredible country, enormous, and yes, the women are absolutely stunning.

You run the independent 'Deepblue’ label! Tell us about it…

I run Deepblue and also Insatiable. Deepblue has been running for nearly 10 years and has its own distinctive trance sound. ‘Insatiable’ is about to be re launched as neo-trance label – taking the sound closer to its roots in the early 90’s, it’s my new project ?

Summer ’08 is hotting up and your album is about to be unleashed. Where can we catch you DJing?

The RSE world tour is taking me pretty much everywhere for the next 6 months, all over Europe, the Far East, north & South America and finishing up in Australia. All the dates are posted up in batches via my website Solarstone.co.uk each month.

You can catch SOLARSTONE on his Rain Stars Eternal Album Tour in Brighton at
STANDARD @ The Loft, Brightons best new night devoted to Trance/Electronica!!!
Tickets are on sale now and available on DSI and at
ticketweb.co.uk

Top 5 funny/interesting Solarstone facts:

* . Rich Solarstone has webbed toes.
* . ‘3rd Earth’ is the fastest selling trance white label in the world.
* . The vocal snippet in ‘Solarcoaster comes from ‘True Romance’.
* . Rich Solarstone was formerly a professional body piercer.
* . Rich is occasionally mistaken for Jimmy Somerville ?

Top 5 Solarstone productions:

* . The Last Defeat (from the RSE album)
* . Late Summer Fields (Deeper Sunrise Version)
* . Underwaterfall (as 2nd Element)
* . 3rd Earth (Original Version)
* . Radiohead – House Of Cards (Solarstone Subterranean Mix)