Mladen Solomun (born December 27, 1975), better known under his stage name Solomun, is a Bosnian-German DJ. He is a four-time DJ Awards winner for Best Producer, Best DJ and Best Melodic House DJ. [1][2][3]
Musical career
After Solomun was born in Travnik, Yugoslavia (today Bosnia and Herzegovina),[4] he moved to Hamburg with his family, where he grew up. As a young boy, he worked for his father in construction.[5] He later founded a small film production company with friends.[6][5] He worked in film for about five years before pursuing a career in music.
His cousin, who frequented nightclubs, brought him tapes whenever he came to town. These tapes showed Solomun that there is more to music than just commercial radio.[7] From then on, he started purchasing vinyl records, and eventually playing at House of Youth at the age of 16 for other teenagers. Solomun started producing music at the age of 23.[8]
For about one year before he began producing on his own, he learned from a good friend that ran a hip-hop label.[5]
In 2005, Solomun began producing music, founding the record label Diynamic in late 2005 with his partner Adriano Trolio,[9] who manages the booking for Diynamic.[10] The motto for Diynamic is "Do It Yourself".[11] Solomun's first EP on Diynamic, Solomun EP, came out in 2006.[12] Since then, he has released many other EPs and compilations, as well as the 2009 album Dance Baby.[13] In December 2010 he launched a second label, the more experimental 2DIY4.[14]
In 2011, Solomun remixed Noir & Haze's "Around.[15]" The track was dubbed Remix of the Year by Resident Advisor.[16] He was named Mixmag's "DJ of the Year" in 2012.[17][18] He was also awarded Producer of the Year by the DJ Awards in Ibiza,[3] and Best International DJ by the Cool Awards in Brazil that same year.[19]
Until the end of June 2014, he owned the Hamburg-based club Ego, co-run by his sister and Adriano Trolio.[20]
Solomun's musical roots are in hip-hop, soul, funk, and R&B.[21] His sound has been described as "house music, but with deep, ultra funky basslines, euphoric melodies and emotionally charged vocals".[22]
In 2015, he was holding two residencies on Ibiza, at night-clubs Pacha and Destino.[23]
Solomun kicked off 2016 with two events at The BPM Festival including Diynamic in the Jungle[24] and Solomun +1 with Mano Le Tough.[25] Following that, the Bosnian artist continued touring across North America.[26] The Diynamic family then celebrated ten years at Watergate in Berlin on April 9, 2016,[27] which they followed with a ten-year celebration at DC-10 in Ibiza on August 19, 2016.[28]
Solomun also hosted two residencies in Ibiza, Spain, in 2016—Solomun +1 at Pacha[29] and Solomun +1 live at Ushuaia and Destino.[30] He has played at events like Ultra Europe,[31]Exit Festival,[32]Melt! Festival,[33]Tomorrowland,[34] and Movement Croatia[35] in 2016 and 2017, also in Hungexpo in 2018.[36]
In 2018, Solomun played himself as an in-residence DJ for the videogame Grand Theft Auto Online, as part of the After Hours DLC.[37] Additionally, Solomun's music video for "Customer is King" [38] was made entirely within Grand Theft Auto V's in-game engine as part of a larger collaboration between him and Rockstar Games.[39]
Industry awards
Solomun performing live in Sarajevo in August 2019
2019
Winner – Best International DJ – Cool Awards Brazil (BR)
2018
Winner – Category: Melodic House and Techno kind of– DJ Awards Ibiza (ES)
Best DJ: #3 // FAZE Mag (DE/AT/CH)
2017
Best DJ: #1 // FAZE Mag (DE/AT/CH)
Best Remix: Age Of Love – The Age Of Love (Solomun Renaissance Remix) // FAZE Mag (DE/AT/CH)
2016
Best DJ: #1 (Deep House, public vote) // Beatport
Best DJ: #5 // Resident Advisor
Best DJ: #1 // DJ Mag Italia (IT)
Best Night: "Solomun+1" (Sundays at Pacha) // DJ Mag Italia (IT)
Best Remixes // DJ Mag Italia (IT):
Whilk & Misky – Clap Your Hands (Solomun Remix)
Ost & Kjex – Queen of Europe (Solomun Remix)
Ibiza's most shazamed summer hits:[40]
#3 Whilk & Misky – Clap Your Hands (Solomun Remix)
2015
Winner – Category: Deep House – DJ Awards Ibiza (ES)[1]
Winner – Best DJ: Solomun – DJ Mag Italia (IT)[41]
Winner – Best Night: "Solomun +1" (Sundays at Pacha) – DJ Mag Italia (IT)[41]
Best DJ #13 – Resident Advisor (UK)[42]
2014
Best DJ No. 26 – Resident Advisor (UK)[43]
2013
Winner – Category: Deep House – DJ Awards Ibiza (ES)[2]
Best DJ #24 – Resident Advisor (UK)[44]
2012
Winner – DJ of the Year – Mixmag Magazine (UK)[17]
Winner – Best Producer – DJ Awards Ibiza (ES)[3]
Winner – Best International DJ – Cool Awards Brazil (BR)[19]
Best International Tour – Rio Music Conference Award (BR)[19]
Best Producer – Groove Magazine (DE, AT, CH)[19]
Best Label Diynamic – Groove Magazine (DE, AT, CH)[19]
^"A Cappella: Solomun". Insomniac.com. Retrieved June 22, 2016.
^"Solomun". brandnite.com. Archived from the original on May 12, 2018. Retrieved June 22, 2016.
^Mixmag
^"BPM Festival 2016: Diynamic in the Jungle at Jungle". Resident Advisor. Retrieved June 22, 2016.
^"BPM Festival 2016: Solomun+1 at Martina Beach". Resident Advisor. Retrieved June 22, 2016.
^"RA: Solomun tour dates". Resident Advisor. Retrieved June 22, 2016.
^Ibizabynight (March 20, 2016). "10 years of Diynamic! With Solomun, H.O.S.H., Adriatique and many more!". Ibiza by Night. Retrieved June 22, 2016.
^"10 years of DIYNAMIC at Dc 10 Ibiza". Different Grooves 4.0. Retrieved June 22, 2016.
^"Solomun announces 21 date residency at Pacha for 2016 | Latest Ibiza News". ibizadiscoticket.com. Retrieved June 22, 2016.
^"Solomun + Live returns to Ibiza for seven dates in 2016". Resident Advisor. Retrieved June 22, 2016.
^"Ultra Europe announces Resistance lineup". Resident Advisor. Retrieved June 22, 2016.
^"Lineup 2016 | EXIT Adventure: EXIT Festival, Serbia, July 7–10, 2016 / SEA DANCE Festival, Montenegro, July 14–16, 2016". exitfest.org. Retrieved June 22, 2016.
^"Melt! announces lineup for Sleepless Floor stage". Resident Advisor. Retrieved June 22, 2016.
^"Saturday 23 July". tomorrowland.com. Retrieved June 22, 2016.
^Editorial. "Movement Croatia: Sven Vath, Solomun, Nina Kraviz, Ben Klock.. - Clubbing-Croatia.com". clubbing-croatia.com. Retrieved June 22, 2016.
^"Past events in Hungary with Solomun". Resident Advisor. Retrieved July 26, 2018.
^Vice
^DINAMIC. "Solomun - Customer Is King (Official Music Video)". Retrieved August 4, 2018 – via YouTube.
^Evans, Steph (August 1, 2018). "Solomun partners with Grand Theft Auto on 'Customer is King' music video". Dancing Astronaut. Retrieved August 5, 2018.
^https://mixmag.net/feature/ibiza-top-10/5
^ a b""IBIZA AWARDS 2015" – Dj Mag Italia". Dj Mag Italia (in Italian). September 1, 2015. Retrieved June 22, 2016.
^"RA Poll: Top DJs of 2015". Resident Advisor. Retrieved June 22, 2016.
^"RA Poll: Top DJs of 2014". Resident Advisor. Retrieved June 22, 2016.
^"RA Poll: Top DJs of 2013". Resident Advisor. Retrieved June 22, 2016.
^"RA Poll: Top DJs of 2012". Resident Advisor. Retrieved June 22, 2016.
^"COMPILATIONS OF THE YEAR". DJMag.com. Retrieved June 22, 2016.
^"Solomun". Mixmag. Retrieved June 22, 2016.
^"RA DJ Charts: Top 100 charted artists in 2011". Resident Advisor. Retrieved June 22, 2016.