The Skool of hard knocks
The Soma festival’s project manager reveals how the masterclass in beats goes on online
THIS weekend Soma Skool is back – and like other festivals during lockdown, it has gone online.
Scotland’s top electronic music conference has taken place at SWG3 for the past two years but this time online masterclasses and panels with the likes of Slam, Nightwave, Fabric and Record columnist and rapper Loki, aka Darren McGarvey, can be watched from home tomorrow and Sunday.
Rosie Shannon, Soma Skool project manager and DJ, gives her lowdown on the event.
How has lockdown been for Soma?
Lockdown has been hard for those in the music industry. Luckily Soma have been able to still run as a record label. We have managed to subsidise the loss in sales of music by creating sample packs for producers to use, which have been doing great – a nod to the fact people have more free time to create music than ever before.
Online streams have taken over, especially for DJs and clubs – will that continue?
Online streams seem to be the only way DJs can still communicate with their audiences. It’s a great way to showcase new music, but this pandemic has made us realise how important face-to-face, body-to-body interaction is at a rave. It adds to the intensity and nothing beats it. I doubt ravers will be at home on a Friday night watching a stream when the clubs are open again.
Before Covid, what was the state of Scottish clubbing?
The Arches will always be a loss. The city has done well to regenerate since then – but the licensing laws in Scotland are frankly embarrassing. We need to support our venues by allowing them to open for longer, generate more for the economy, nurture the culture and bring it into modern times to match other European cities.
Are younger people still wanting to go clubbing?
Clubbing among the younger generation is huge – and social media has played a massive part in that. It’s a reason why Generation Z tend to have their phones out at gigs, to show their friends and followers what they’re experiencing and which superstar DJ they saw. It’s just a product of the current environment we’re living in.
How do you find club nights?
I’ve found club nights are getting wilder and more energetic as time goes on, not tamer. I think more diversity in the scene has contributed to this. You just have to know the right place to look.
Why is Soma Skool important?
Having world renowned artists and professionals give career advice to the budding audience is an exciting moment to see. A lot of people don’t quite know how many different job opportunities there are in the underground electronic music industry. There’s more to electronic music than just being a DJ.
What is the plan for this year’s Soma Skool?
We have selected a mix of people from different sectors of the industry to take part in this year’s event, in some cases to talk to about how this past year has affected their livelihoods, or to help discuss mental health in a time where support for it has never been needed more, or to provide music software and hardware masterclasses at a time where more people than ever are taking up new hobbies.
How did you get into being a DJ?
I started producing music first before DJing, taking a
class at the mini Soma Skool Ableton software courses at subSine Academy. This really opened a door for me to start understanding music more, and DJing naturally came after that. So many of my friends DJ so I was lucky enough to ask for a few lessons from them – and a few months later I had my first gig at Sub Club.
How has lockdown been for you?
I’ve spent a lot of time building a studio in my new house, creating music for my third EP on Soma Records with Quail, and my first ever solo EP. Good to keep busy during these times.
Tickets for Soma Skool are available for £9 from Resident Advisor: https://bit. ly/3aOLkOQ.
Across
7 Detest a copper cover for foreign castle (7) 9 Bloodier less often (5) 10 Mode of transport found in icy clearing (5) 11 Pleasure of daughter (8) around end of April (7) 12 Listener of The Archers (3) 13 Wood calm, offering primary medication (5,3) 16 Reversing into the Close, car returns to rows of connected houses (8) 17 Expected call for moisture (3) 19 Lot more confused by the musical effect (7) 21 Roast? I remove a Swiss dish (5) 22 Cast start standing on organ (5) 23 Severe trouble after opening death warrant (7)
Down
1 Cecil is removing winter spikes (7) 2 Canes to correct blunder over wine (8)
3 Listen to top dog (4) 4 Quietly tells a story for the churchmen (8) 5 Boring thing to pull! (4) 6 The first lady called Verity (5) 8 ‘Around’ clued incorrectly, getting one in trouble (5,1,5) 13 Leave hide by Irish lake (8) 14 Manufacturing in tiny particles on railway (8)
15 Cooking instructions should be terribly precise (7) 18 Tree at the end of the street reveals a hidden store (5) 20 Muse about Australian runners (4) 21 Friskily included gamble (4)
CONSIDERING that Gregg is in Edinburgh this time and the weather is hardly balmy, it’s amazing how many times we see him shirtless.
Nonetheless, don’t let that put you off tuning into this latest enthusiastic weekend jaunt. “Whenever I’m here, it always strikes me how different it feels to anywhere else in the UK – it feels special,” he says. On a mission to uncover what makes Scotland’s capital city unique, he begins his three-day break with food – naturally.
He visits a confectioner that makes tablet. It’s a chance for Gregg to make his famous yummy noises. “Look at that, an enormous tray of happiness,” he observes.
Later he’s beyond excited to see the private royal quarters on board the Royal Yacht Britannia, a place where apparently Princess Diana would head down to the lower deck to hang out with the crew.
“What are the chances of a London greengrocer wangling an invite?” he asks as he tours a dining room that has welcomed presidents and royalty. “Slim,” comes the reply.
Gregg also enjoys a feast of grouse and langoustines, cooked up by top chef Tom Kitchin.
For extra tourist points, he gets to grips with the bagpipes and is fitted out for a kilt.
And he joins some hardy locals for an early morning dip in the North Sea – warmer than usual at 13C.
His enthusiasm ever so slightly waning for a split second, he says: “Scotland, you’re madder than I thought.”