Ed Solo is the shy, nocturnal half of many a production duo. More elusive than a badger in the Sahara during daylight hours. Ed Solo regularly locks himself away in secret studio locations, co-writing breaks with Krafty Kuts, Skool of Thought or Deekline, and drum ‘n’ bass with Brockie or Darrison. His teaming with Skool of Thought has provided a host of huge singles, including ‘When I Was a Yout,’ ‘Love Your Life’ and ‘Babylon Breaks’, along with the thundering remixes of Groove Armada’s ‘Superstylin’ and Freestylers v Pendulum ‘Painkiller’ which have seen them in high demand for production work as well as for DJing.
Meeting Skool Of Thought in 2000, at a time when Ed was creating breaks with Krafty Kuts and, finding common ground in their approach to music, they two decided to write tracks together. The first Ed Solo & Skool Of Thought single was the double a-side ‘Feel The Music’ and ‘Loud Noise’, bottom heavy thumpers with a soulful twist which caught the attention of many in the scene and shot the 12″ to number 1 in DJ Magazines Beats & Breaks chart. Their tunes were spotted by a production company that was working with MTV, and the boys were soon commissioned to write the music for the MTV EMA’s (European Music Awards), which later won an award for ‘Best Title Sequence’.
Following these early successes Skool Of Thought found himself devoting more time to the record labels and less time as an artist and it wasn’t until 2007 that time permitted Ed Solo & Skool Of Thought to once again join forces - delivering their debut album ‘Random Acts Of Kindness’.
‘Random Acts Of Kindness’ encompasses all of the sounds and styles that have influenced the pair over the years; from soul, funk and reggae to drum n bass, hip-hop and breaks. Effervescent, opener ‘Love Your Life’ isn’t just for the ska jump up crowd, it’s great song-based fare and an early indicator of how the album delivers to more than just the dancefloor. Next up is King Tubby sampling soundbwoy stylings of Babylon Breaks. Reggae influences rear their head again on slowburning skankers ‘Life Gets Better’ and ‘Raspberry Dub’, while the D&B Remix of ‘Feel The Music’ does exactly what it says on the tin. Dipping into the UK underground with a bassline to loosen your fillings on ‘Sludge’, the guys show they have an eye for the retro too with their reworking of Incognito’s classic ‘Always There’. Throw in piano-laced hip hop (’Sometimes’) and beeps and bleeps aplenty (’Tug Nut’) and you’ve got an album, which could never be described as samey.
(ATG031)