Eight questions with Solo Collective

We recently gave a shoutout to a run of shows from Solo Collective, a trio of artists who have come together to perform their own material and to collaborate, both in the studio and in the live environment. With another run of shows coming up in November, we caught up with Sebastian Reynolds to chat about the project! Grab tickets now for the shows in Newton Abbott (17th Nov), Oxford (18th), London (19th) and Liverpool (21st) and get reading our interview below...

1. First up - who are Solo Collective?

Solo Collective is a trio of myself (Sebastian Reynolds - piano/electronics) with Anne Müller (cello/electronics) and Alex Stolze (violin/electronics). We are releasing a record (Solo Collective Part One) which features two tracks from each artist, one each from our debut live performance in Berlin in Feb 2017, and one studio track each. The record is coming out in Dec 2017 via Alex’s Nonostar Record label. My track that I made with Anne (Holy Island) is available on Spotify/all digital platforms now, and there’s a beautiful video that I made with choreographer Adrienne Hart (Neon Dance) and film maker Adam Hale that we filmed with Adrienne’s dancer Aoi Nakamura on Holy Island, please do check it out!

2. How did the three of you meet, and who had the idea of forming the collective?

We met through the Berlin scene, where Anne and Alex are from, and the idea came for us to try performing in this format, each playing our own sets, but featuring and supporting each other, rather than the band format of a group of people originating and playing music together.

3. Who influences the three of you collectively and individually?

Anne and Alex grew up in East Berlin, under the GDR, so they were drawn to the idea of being able to have strong individual voices within a group environment, rather than just being pieces of a larger puzzle. I’m sick of band politics so this concept was very appealing also.

4. You (Sebastian) have played in a lot of bands in the past - how does it feel heading out for shows and performing solo material now?

It’s simultaneously liberating and terrifying, being in the limelight. I love the artistic freedom of not having create by committee, but I miss having a band to split all the costs between.

5. After a run of shows in September you’re playing four more in Newton Abbot, Oxford, London and Liverpool in November - what should fans expect from the shows?

For Oxford and London I’m planning to play new material, having played in those places quite recently I want to play some different material. I have a pair of mini albums (Remembrance/Epiphany) that I am hoping to bring out next year, and in Sept I played more of the Remembrance material (piano based/sentimental/ambient) whereas next month I’ll play more of the Epiphany tunes (distorted/dissonant/griefy). I dare say Anne and Alex have plenty of tricks up their sleeves too!

6. Describe your dream gig to us! Any venues that you’re desperate to play in the UK or further afield, or an artist that you’d all love to collaborate with?

I used to play at the Vortex and Cafe Oto in London with my old band Braindead Collective, and it would be great to go back there, particularly the Vortex was a home from home for a while. And I know Anne played there with Nils Frahm a few years back so we’d love to play there as Solo Collective. There are some wonderful chapel spaces in London, St John on Bethnal Green and Union Chapel, but I think the Old Church in Stoke Newington, where we are playing in November, is going to be great. We’ve done a couple of great shows in Berlin, and I’d love to play the Radial System there in 2018.

7. What’s next for Solo Collective after this run of shows?

We are booking another UK run in February, and will be doing a full Euro tour hopefully around that time. All three of us are bringing out new solo records in 2018 too.

8. As a regular on the Oxford music scene do you have any top tips for us in terms of new bands to watch? We’re big Low Island fans personally!

Suzy Bowtell who is opening for us in Oxford on behalf of Young Women’s Music Project is great and I’m looking forward to seeing her!