SOULCLAP Q & A

This summer, 51st State host their annual celebration of all facets of house music. It takes place on Saturday August 4th at the beautiful and sprawling Trent Country Park with the likes of Masters at Work, Body & Soul, Dimitri From Paris, Derrick May and many more, including Soul Clap. The Bostonian duo have been bringing creamy p-funk vibes to their house and disco for years now, most notably on label sleek Wolf + man but also their own Crew Love. They have a real sense of fun and character that always carries over into their colourful DJ sets, and here we speak to them about what they’re working on, what to expect from them at the festival and more besides.

Summer is here – is it a season you love or loathe? Does it change the music you play?
Lolz. Does anyone actually loathe summer?!?! Well we LOVE it! There’s nothing like the music you get to play outside in the sunshine… disco, reggae, house… it’s always the best time of year to DJ!

What’s proved a big hit for you so far this year and why?

We’ve been playing a ton of latin and caribbean music this year (also perfect for summer). Two of the biggest jams are our dude Toribio’s edit of Juan Luis Guerra’s merengue classic Vale La Pena and Underground System’s new single GO on Soul Clap Records.

Have you thought about going another album yet? Might you like to one day?

Funny you should mention it… we spent the last couple months working on getting new music together for our next album. Looks like it will hit sometime in 2019.

You have worked with some huge icons of music but is there anyone stallion your hit list you would love to hook up with?

Bootsy Collins or Nile Rodgers would be amazing! Or more contemporary artists like Kendrick or Thundercat or Steve Lacy or Syd. We also have the perfect track for Maxwell ready for the new album, holler MAX!

You play 51st State in London – what should people expect from you there, will you plan anything special?
It’s an honor to play on the main stage with so many legends. We’ll most definately take a special journey through the past, present and future of house.

It’s a celebration of house music, but what is house music to you?
One of our mentors Caril Mitro said it best “house wears many hats”.

What’s it like playing in London compared to other places?
London has some of the most hardcore music lovers and partiers in the world! It’s always an adventure, especially at festivals

What else are you working on/have you got coming up?
We have an EP dropping later this summer on Classic Records featuring Baby Bam from the Jungle Brothers. Then Charlie has a solo album as Lonely C coming in the fall with singles coming soon!

Finally who will win the world cup? Do you care about football?
Well the U.S. isn’t in it this year so OBV England