We trust that electrocaïne listeners need no introduction to the duo called Slam and the wonderful world of Soma Records. In the oft chance that you do, then this mix recorded live from their Pressure at the Arches night in Glasgow and generous interview should get your history lesson going good and proper. 

After such an illustrious history in the music business spanning almost every aspect, what are a couple of your favourite projects?

We spent a long time making our 2nd album ‘Alien Radio’ (which came out in 2001), using vocalists and musicians on some of the tracks and experimenting whilst also developing our production techniques. It was a labour of love to some extent and really shaped us as producers and artists. It turned out into a piece of work that has now passed the test of time. ‘Lifetimes’, which came from the Alien Radio sessions, remixed by Pan-Pot, was one of the biggest Soma 20th anniversary releases last year.

More recently we are really enjoying the freedom we have allowed ourselves in the studio – with no specific deadlines – mainly making tracks for our Paragraph label and for Drumcode along with some remixes we have been doing. It’s very much material for our live and DJ sets and we are road testing new material every weekend on tour or at our residencies in Glasgow and London. Soma are currently compiling the singles along with recent remixes we have done and will be releasing as a compilation double album entitled ‘Collecting Data’.

What would you encourage future generations to focus on?

If you are making music then remember that it’s a form of individual expression and try to forge your own sound and style – stand out from the crowd and don’t imitate or follow. And keep your quality control high. Don’t release bland average music. It benefits nobody.

What is your proudest moment?

One must be reaching the landmark 20th anniversary of our label Soma last year. It’s been tough at times – being independent and continuing to develop and grow though out that time span is a great achievement for us and the team.

A rather low point in the work was…

All of our back catalogue was destroyed in a warehouse fire started by the rioters in London this summer. Thankfully nobody was hurt and we have small quantities of most things at the office but it’s still a sad goodbye to the physical records and CDs, which will never be manufactured again now we are in the digital age.

What are the top 5 influencing albums for Slam?

    

What are the essential ingredients for making music collaborations work?

It’s an interesting time to be asked this question because we are embarking on a new project which involves collaborations called ‘Alliances’, working with a lot of our peers including Laurent Garnier, Paul Ritch, Pan-Pot and Joris Voorn. We like the idea of working with others and sharing ideas and directions on a track, both sides adding ingredients to the mixture and having a sense of which direction the finished track w...