Hi Rich! It’s a busy time for the guy we know as Solarstone, how are you doing?

Rich: I’m pretty knackered actually, the trip to & from Chicago last week was very grinding and I just took Oscar to London for a couple of days, hence not wanting to get out of bed this morning.

Only a few days left until Pure Trance Radio hits 100 episodes! Time sure does fly, doesn’t it? Do you still enjoy making that weekly 1 hour of Pure, rather than – let’s say – choosing a monthly show?
Rich: I do enjoy the show, sometimes when I am tired after the weekend it takes some effort to get into the right mind-set, but once I start listening to all the new music I get into it. The show was monthly way back in the beginning but that seemed pointless to me. I do miss it being a 2 hour show sometimes but I simply don’t have enough time to make a 2 Hour show at the moment.

The celebration’s shaping up to be quite a spectacular live broadcast! What can you give us away about the live show? What can the Pure Trance listeners expect?
Rich: It’s going to be about connection, with guests of both Djs & fans, to make it a special occasion. To be honest with you I’m not a fan of these ‘anniversary’ shows just for the sake of it – on Episode 350 of Solaris International I popped a balloon in the studio & that was it – but there’s something special about the Pure Trance show – it’s part of a larger community, it seemed right to do something special which involved friends from the industry, fellow artists and also die-hard fans.

We heard rumors of Giuseppe Ottaviani’s cooking everyone his famous carbonara? And Robert Nickson also doing a live set? What specialty will you be sharing with the audience?
Rich: My timeless wit and glowing personality of course 😉

Will there be any Solarstone exclusives we should look out for? A new Pure Mix to be premiered, perhaps?
Rich: Perhaps… maybe! The show will actually be stuffed full of exclusives, and big news too!

100 episodes, (nearly) 100 #BigTunes. People can still vote for their favourite to have a chance at making the #BigTune Top 10, to be broadcast during Pure Trance Radio 100. What would your personal Top 3 of #BigTunes look like?
Rich: They would be Robert’s remix of ‘Adventure to the South’, Factor B ‘Sacrosanct’ and Peter Steele ‘Mantra’.

A selection of Pure Trance fans have been invited to join this special happening as VIP guests. They’ll be asking you their own question first, but will we also get to know them a bit?
Rich: That depends how forthcoming they are! Let’s see if I can coax them out of their shells – or get them slightly drunk.

We can’t wait! Another thing we’re looking forward to is the next Amsterdam Dance Event, and a certain Pure Trance Night on October 21st. Has ADE become a must, a sort of standard, for the Pure Trance brand?
Rich: Absolutely – I love ADE, it’s such a great occasion each year, meeting up with my colleagues from around the word – and yes- our annual event has become one that Pure Trance fans look forward to – this years is going to be our biggest yet with myself, Gai Barone. Robert Nickson, Giuseppe, JOC and Bryan Kearney.

It’s got a line-up of titans. What can you tell us about your choice to invite Gai Barone, Bryan Kearney, Giuseppe Ottaviani (Live 2.0), John O’Callaghan and Robert Nickson (Live)?
Rich: They are all artists whose music has been a consistent feature of the show over the past 2 years, and they’ve all played at PT events apart from JOC – he’s a PT virgin, so I’m looking forward to ‘deflowering’ him 😉

Last year, the ADE Night also had a nice and cozy soirée beforehand, with warm-up sets. Any plans on having another one this year?
Rich: We’re working on it, I’ve been talking to the guys from Dolby about possibly doing a Dolby Atmos showcase at ADE, so lets see if that happens – fingers crossed!

Will it also be the release party to the next Pure Trance compilation, Volume 6? When will we find out who is or who are co-mixing it?
Rich: PT6 will be released shortly after ADE – I’ll be announcing my co-mixers of the album live during the show!

Right, sounds like there’s lots of Pure Trance awesomeness in the pipeline! Thanks for the update Rich, and catch you at Pure Trance Radio 100 & ADE! 🙂

More info on Pure Trance Radio 100 here & tickets for Pure Trance ADE 2017 here!