Artist Spotlight: Solh
Updated: Aug 15, 2021
By: Idean Rezaei
With his recent track “Electrify” with Fox’d making it to the #1 spot on Beatport’s “New Bass House Releases” and #6 on “New Tech House Releases”, Solh is making huge moves, putting Orlando on the EDM map. Solh’s music merges the funky rhythms of Disco with the hard hitting dance elements of Bass House, then packages it with PLUR (Peace, Love, Unity, Respect). PLUR was what inspired his recent name change from DJ Simani to Solh, which means “Peace” in his native language of Farsi. As a native Orlandean, Solh has delivered many high energy, interactive sets at venues all around Orlando. From his first gigs over at Taco’ver at Elixir, to Neon Beach and Barbarella.
Solh first cultivated his musical abilities as a child through singing in choir and playing guitar. At an early age, he began developing a taste for Fusion Jazz and Progressive Metal. It wasn’t until he became a little older that he found Electronic dance music. After hearing Tchami’s “Afterlife”, Solh began to get hooked, slowly developing a taste for Future House & Bass House. After listening to many different tracks he noticed that some tracks would sound great if played together. This later became the inspiration for his DJ career. Soon into it, he earned a position as a resident DJ at the University of Central Florida, the college where he is soon to complete two undergraduate degrees.
Having started about three and a half years ago, Solh begins to dive deeper and deeper into the production side of things. This was after the accumulating many of his own voice memos and the inspiration from different records. Using Ableton 10 for production, he starts his usual creative process by adding his signature piano, mapping out the basic melody of the song. He then adds the percussion, bass, organic elements such as strings and guitar, and finally, some soulful vocals. He describes music production as a “life-long learning process” that he is very enthusiastic to share with others too, teaching music production lessons, all while creating his own tracks.
Astoundingly, Solh has a very extensive life outside of music. To start, he is currently studying to become a veterinarian. Is there a better way to spread PLUR? By successfully maintaining a high GPA in rigorous science courses, his studies takes up most of his time outside of music. On top of that he is also juggling classes related to his second major, Business Management. But wait there’s more. Before his music career, Solh enjoyed a competitive gaming career, playing in his university’s collegiate PUBG team as well as competing in Super Smash Bros. 4. He even earned sponsorship from several organizations for his video game abilities. Solh describes himself as someone who “sometimes pushes themselves a bit too hard,” and as so, had to retire from the gaming scene for his own mental health. This is what eventually leave him the time to pursue music and share his talents with a larger crowd. On rare occasion, Solh still enjoys video games with friends, with Apex Legends as well as a few co-op RPGs being his top picks.
Be sure to check out his Instagram (@solhsounds). Every Monday he hosts “Artists Talk” on IG Live. A show where he brings two other artists and they discuss anything from music, to their best meals, to your everyday pastimes, and back to music again. Some artists that have joined the show in the past include: Dread MC, Subshift, Cloverdale, Pokeyz, CITYWLKR, and Cashew, as well as local talent such as Danny Time and Darkcities.
There are also huge developments in the works that have yet to be announced by Solh so be sure to keep an eye out for those on his social media. It will be wonderful to witness all the milestones he achieves. Above all, it would be inspiring to see how his music can bring different people together through PLUR, especially now more than ever.