New Music: Solbore – Said And Done

Brighton-based Solbore – musician, producer, and label owner Vlad Matveikov – took a collaborative approach on new single Said And Done.

The third single from Solbore’s sophomore album, it’s very much a post-genre affair, with jazz-like percussion and a musical collective with a range of influences. The track sees Matveikov enlist Will Gardner (Black Peaks, Every Hell, Skin Failure) on vocals and saxophone; drums from Ravi Martin (Sick Joy, Slung, The Death Of Us); and Neil Cosgrove (Aphex Twin) on co-production duties.

The result is something indefinable: a sonic isolation tank that leaves you floating somewhere between Radiohead, Massive Attack, and Porcupine Tree; music that you can’t place in a neat box, even as it works its way into your psyche, cool and collected.

Matveikov says about the song, “When I wrote the guitar and bass parts to [Said And Done] in mine and Neil’s old living room, to be honest I was just hungover and noodling around, until Neil heard something he liked and asked me to dig into that a bit more. We recorded a few sections, and he played around with them, and once the hangover cleared up a little, I started to see/hear something in there too. We started playing with synth sounds, arrangement options, and the whole creative process really jump-started.

“It was screaming out for drums to tie it all in together, and Rav Martin stepped up again. I then asked my friend Will Gardner to drop by the Small Pond studio to try some vocal and sax ideas, and he came up with some wonderful parts and variations.”

Will, a larger-than-life presence in the rock, experimental and jazz scenes, adds: “This was a bit of a cerebral jam for me. I had such a fun time coming up with melodies. Lyrically it was like a free improvisation, and I’d lay down lots of lines and then Vlad would chop it all up and repeat sections. I think the finished result sounds awesome. Like floating through some kind of surreal dreamworld.”

On the inspiration behind the single artwork, Vlad says: “Neil had a dream with the words COP CAR GOD SQUAD floating around him, so that will be a name we use in future to release music that started at Norfolk Street when we lived together. It just felt right to give it a little nod on this project as well.”

Said And Done is out now via Rainbow Bridge and can be streamed on SoundCloud and Spotify. For details of other listening options and to keep in the loop with all things Solbore, follow Vlad Matveikov on Instagram.