The name SOLLYY (@gwsollyy) has been doing the rounds in Western Sydney circles for some time with his genre-bending debut mixtape ASUELU, pushing him to the forefront of the local music scene.
He is best known for his single el oh vee ee, a scrumptiously sidechained flip of Devin Morrison’s L.O.V.E.. Here, SOLLYY flexes his production skills, swapping the laidback syncopation of the original for a soulful, dancefloor-ready cut.
Fresh off his promise to remix one Aussie artist per fortnight, we asked the Western Sydney artist a few questions.
Michael: How did you get into music production? Was beat-making something you always tinkered with?
SOLLYY: Long story short, basically just messed around with mixing acapellas with my favourite beats, eventuating in me actually making the beats. That was about six years ago, when I was in Year Nine. Kept it going ever since.
Michael: What was the creative process like for ASUELU?
SOLLYY: Knowing that I didn’t really have anything out, my first thought for ASUELU was that I needed to show what I can do. I’d like to say I’m pretty diverse, so I made sure each edit was different from the other, yet still sounded cohesive when played as a project. Some edits on there are pretty old, specifically ihopeUhadakoodmornin and isayoffden, while others on there I legit made in the week leading up to the drop, those being whereiwannabe and brettylikedaflower.
Michael: I see a lot of fans comparing you to Kaytranada and Sango, but how would you describe your sound?
SOLLYY: Kaytranada? I can see that, I’m pretty influenced by him, but Sango’s a new one! Haha, I don’t even think I have a sound yet, so I figured I might as well just make everything now so I can eventually figure out what sticks with me. If I had to boil it down to elements I use again and again, it would be strong, punchy drums and soulful melodies.
Michael: Any dream collaborators?
SOLLYY: I’m not too sure. I feel like I’m already collaborating with people who will be seen as titans in the future right now.
Michael: What can Western Sydney expect from SOLLYY in the coming months and beyond?
SOLLYY: More remixes, got a lot of those stored up ready to go. Also got a bunch of production work resulting from the Scary Hours sessions, so expect to hear tracks from a bunch of Western Sydney artists with my production on it!
Stay tuned for those fortnightly remixes and be sure to follow SOLLYY on Twitter and Soundcloud.