Audio: PAWSA shows his love of groove

If you’ve ever been to a Solid Grooves rave, there’s a strong chance you’re familiar with PAWSA’s music. Alongside his partner in crime Michael Bibi, the London artist has established a spot in the UK’s tech house scene, with their mammoth party and label at its epicentre. Now six years into its journey, Solid Grooves has built a devoted following through its love of bass-heavy, peak-time tech house, a sound best suited to keen party crowds in Ibiza (now among the island’s favourite hitters, the crew recently wrapped up a huge summer residency at San Rafael’s Vista Club). With the party’s rise, recently PAWSA’s also found wider exposure, something that’s only been helped with the release of dancefloor-inclined bombs like On Yer Feet. He’s filled his mix for us with the same kind of chunky house cuts, where rolling basslines are paired with catchy vocal samples. Recorded ahead of his all night long marathon in Room One next weekend, this is the unmistakable sound of Solid Grooves. Download: PAWSA Forms Promo Mix Tracklist: Unknown Artist – Steady Junes – Milling Twounknowns – Bizyman Route 94 – Bada Unknown Artist – DRGS05B Shaolin Fantastic – Dryed Eyes PAWSA – Roll Play Unknown Artist – FFFFB Arapu – Over Derek Carr – Cuba Is there a theme or mood you wanted to express through this mix? The fabric mood. What new material can we expect to hear from your upcoming set and throughout the rest of this year? You can expect to hear some of my new released and unreleased bits, as well as new music forthcoming on Solid Grooves. Solid Grooves has been around for nearly five years now – who are some artists that we should be keeping tabs on in coming months? Blackchild (ITA) is making some very exciting music right now. He has a good understanding of swing and groove, which is key. What kind of role do you have with the label now that it’s taken off and built a reputation? I want to keep pushing the sound forward and exploring new styles. I’m always looking for the next generation of producers as they are what keeps the scene healthy. Your new track Roll Play is out now. What went into the creative process behind it? I made it in the beginning of October on a flight to Valencia and played it that night. I liked how it sounded, so I took it back to the studio to mix and released it a couple of weeks later. Roll Play was released on your other label, PAWZ. What was your motivation for launching this imprint? It began in 2017 with Party, I had a lot of unreleased music that would have taken years to release with other labels so I created PAWZ and put them out myself. For the first year I released a new track every month, then started releasing more on vinyl. I love the freedom. I get to draw the artwork and do as much or as little promo as I want. I find it very fulfilling. Next weekend you’ll be playing all night in Room One. What routine do you have when preparing for extended gigs like this? I’m on Discogs every day buying as many records as I can find. You can never have enough music, and I always want to come with the freshest tunes. I get to play all night long in the best room in the world and I want to do it proud. Is there any music you think you’ll play that we wouldn’t normally hear during a shorter set of yours? What I love most about playing all night is the first few hours. Setting the tone with a proper warm up. I feel like the music I can play in those first few hours will help you understand everything else. You’ve been based in London for all of your life. What is the best thing about performing in the capital? The fact that it’s home, being surrounded by heads that understand the sound, in a club like fabric – it really doesn’t get any better.