TuneLab
Solomun
at Chambord x Cercle Festival 2019 in France
Solomun soundtracking a French Renaissance castle at dusk—because if anyone can make melancholy feel opulent and deep house feel like a philosophical statement, it’s him, and we’re all willingly buying into the aesthetic. The Chambord castle grounds for Cercle Festival 2019 are all misty moats and fairy-tale spires, providing a profoundly romantic setting for his signature, emotionally charged grooves. This is a deep, melodic house journey, locked at a steady, hypnotic 125 BPM and predominantly swirling in the evocative key of 12A, with darker shades from 6B and 5A adding depth. The energy balance skews towards the mid-range (0.41), allowing for rich pads, poignant vocals, and intricate melodic sequences to weave over a warm, undulating bass foundation.
Solomun’s mixing is patient and deeply musical, long, atmospheric blends that create a sustained, immersive mood, less about drops and more about a gradual, enveloping emotional ascent. The track selection is impeccable. Sasha Carassi’s “Vega” opens with a deep, mysterious atmospheric pad and a ticking hi-hat that pulls you into its world immediately. Maxim Lany’s “People Of The Night” is a later-set gem, all driving bass and haunting, echoed vocals.
Eitan Reiter’s ID and Tomy Wahl’s “Matka” provide moments of abstract, percussive minimalism, while Red Axes’ “Phu Quok” offers a sun-drenched, psychedelic twist. His own epic “Take Control” with Anne Clark is the undeniable centerpiece, a brooding, vocal-driven anthem that builds to a cathartic peak. The journey begins in the shadows with “Vega,” slowly builds intensity through tracks like “Saving Elephants” and “Formula (Sean Miller Remix),” peaks with the profound “Take Control,” and gently releases with the atmospheric, drifting closure of “Hong Kong Harbour.”.