Enter 27-year-old Ilya Solonikov, AKA, Shiny Radio. One of the founders of the Panda crew, Ilya has been producing for a few years. Having tried his hand at hip hop and downtempo music from the age of 21, he settled into the warm embrace of 170 bpm at around age 24. Since then, he has had releases on Celsius Recordings, Influenza Media, Silent Audio, Outertone and Soul Deep.

For those unaware, ‘Panda’ are a crew who’ve been present in the drum and bass community in Russia for the past 12 years – putting on parties and events in their hometown of Izhevsk. Over time these club nights have seen some esteemed guests such as Goldie, John B, Lenzman and Brookes Brothers to name but a few.

His debut release on Soulvent is out on the 7th March, comes in the form of ‘Panda’s Anthem’ and ‘Hug’. In these 2 tracks Ilya manages to showcase an element of liquid which the scene seems to have been somewhat missing for a while: a penchant for a fun and feel-good sound, free from the clique-driven movements of most niche dance genres. ‘Panda’s Anthem’ opens with a gritty drum break, and some interesting melodic samples. The build up sees the introduction of jazzy female vocals, while the drop seems to take us by surprise with thick sub basses intercut with counterpoint string melodies.

‘Hug’ meanwhile opens with a happy guitar lick, and atmospheric percussion opening out into a fanfare of trumpets backed by smooth piano chords. The drop however introduces a nice distorted squelch of bass to break up the happy-go-lucky vibe of the track.

Ultimately, Ilya’s debut release with the label delivers two solid tracks, and
strengthens our ever expanding roster of international artists.