Insight Interview // Soular Order

We recently caught up with the genius behind Soular Order and Drohves – the wonderful Jon Maynard. Check out his story here…

Where are you based? Do you tend to travel a lot, or are you firmly rooted at home?

I’m based in Manchester, UK. I’m pretty firmly rooted at home at the moment, but I’ll be travelling back and forth between Germany more often this year as my girlfriend has just moved over there for work.

Can you recall your first real exposure to music?

Ah yep, that’d be when my late Grandfather tried to teach me “Pretty Woman” when I was a little kid, on the most haggard acoustic guitar I’ve seen haha. Still have that acoustic!

How and when did you first begin writing and creating music?

I first seriously got into it when i was around 13. I had the previously mentioned old acoustic, but my parents bought me a cheap electric guitar for my birthday. I spent most of my time trying to learn Pantera songs through tabs and sheet music to no avail, so I just started writing my own.

Can you describe your music for us?

Haha I always struggle with that. I guess I’d say it falls on the more emotive side of laid back music.

Have you played live recently? Would you like to do more shows or tours in future? Anything coming up soon you’d like to tell us about?

Nah I haven’t done anything live for around 10 years or so, and that was playing in a metal band haha. I’d like to get into live electronic stuff, but I’m really not a DJ, so I’d want to incorporate a more band like setup for that in the future.

What have been your biggest influences?

First and foremost, my grandfather. I don’t think I’d have ever taken an interest in guitar if it wasn’t for him. I grew up with a mix of indie and metal, so artist wise I’d say David Bowie, Oasis, The Smiths, Pantera, Deftones, Slipknot, Linkin Park etc.

Do you think producing electronic music requires technical or creative skill? Or both?

Definitely both, more so creative. As with all music, I think the writing process is the most important. Technical production skill is great, but if the creative aspect of the track isn’t there, I think the track falls short. That’s all subjective though.

Do you tend to find the creative process a cathartic or therapeutic experience? Has creating music helped you cope with difficult times in your life?

Most definitely. It’s helped me through everything. Almost all my songs are about a place or an event. I find it hard to just sit and write music from nothing. For me, there has to be a reason for it to exist.

Any new collabs or joint projects on the horizon?

There’s a few ideas but nothing is completely set in stone yet, so I can’t really say much on that. I just started another label called beatsupply though, and we have a lot of plans for that.

Any new genres or musical styles you’d like to explore in future?

I’d love to do more live stuff. I’m really into post-rock at the moment, so that’d be cool to do in the future.

Do you have any thoughts on the future of underground musical styles? Do you think the scene will evolve further?

I reckon so. It’s always evolving. Places like SoundCloud really changed the way music is shared, especially from smaller artists. The next big thing is always around the corner.

Any new releases coming our way?

I finished up a track for a compilation recently, but aside from that, nothing set in stone yet.

Any artists or other individuals / collectives you’ve not worked with yet that you’d like to work with in future?

Anyone really! I’m always looking to connect with new people.

Do you have a favourite track / song of all time? Favourite artist?

That’s a tough one haha. I’d say it’s between “Pantera – 10’s” and “Deftones – Be Quiet And Drive (Far Away)”.

It’s been said that a life in music can be a hard one. Would you agree with that?

Kinda. It can be hard, especially financially, but at the same time it’s incredibly rewarding. I feel lucky that I truly get to enjoy my job.

Do you have any words of advice for aspiring young producers?

Just keep going. Keep moving forward and try not to compare yourself to others. Everyone is unique, and that is what keeps things interesting. If you have a passion for it, and the determination, you’ll get to where you want to be.

Any other projects on the horizon that you’d like to tell us about?

Got lots of cool things planned for my new label beatsupply, and i’m working on new music for my side project Drohves.

And finally – are there any tracks / artists that are relatively unknown that you’d like people to know about?

Orloe is making some seriously unique lofi hiphop type stuff. IOM (SORA’s side project) has some great stuff coming out soon, and 100 Day Delay makes excellent music. More people should be checking his stuff out, you won’t regret it!

Thanks so much Jon!

No problem!

Soular Order’s music can be found here. Drohves’ music can be found here.