Surface Noise w/ SOLA

Plot 22 x With Bells Records presents Surface Noise w/ SOLA

This event is a collaboration between Plot 22 and With Bells Records, in what will be the fourth installment of our Local series which aims to promote and nurture talent in the steel city while helping to sustain the spaces that provide a platform for our culture.

For this event, we introduce the second collaboration between Plot 22 and local record label With Bells Records. With a strong emphasis on all things bass heavy, from 140 to jungle and DnB, we welcome SOLA of Grand Theft Audio Records who are missioning over from Manchester shell it in our intimate Plot 22.

SOLA is a Drum & Bass trio comprised of James, Robbie and Paul. They have releases on Eatbrain, Jungle Cakes, Viper, Ram's sister label ProgRam, Formation, Suburban Base, Korsakov Music, Play Me, High Tea, Nuusic, Dance Concept, Gorilla Warfare, YANA, Dub Damage, Deep In The Jungle, 24 Karat, Soul Deep, Dirtbox, Boomslang, Brainrave, Riot Dubs, Headsbass and their own imprint Grand Theft Audio.

After many singles and EPs, their debut album Stars Align was released on Grand Theft Audio in September 2022 to widespread critical acclaim. The promo journey for the LP landed them an upload on UKF Drum & Bass as well as an interview for UKF with Dave Columbo Jenkins and a guestmix for Mollie Collins on Kiss FM. They hit 2023 running with high profile EP and Single releases on Korsakov Music, Play Me, Boomslang & Formation, which have seen them receiving support from as far afield as Pendulum, Sub Focus & Ray Keith. In April, they won the DJ Rap remix competition against 658 other entries and in May they released the remix album Stars Realigned on GTA, including the anthemic Cliques remix of Pico De Gallo. In August and September 2023, they did their first tour outside of Europe with performances in Canada, USA, Vietnam & Australia. They rounded off the year with an official remix of Splat by Virus Syndicate, Dope DOD, Harry Shotta & OneDa. 2024 was a similarly good year for the trio, their collab with Akov dropped in March on Neurofunk powerhouse Eatbrain. In April, their track with K Jah named Gulf Stream premiered on UKF Drum & Bass and was very well received. Several high profile singles released on legendary label Suburban Base and then a trio of tracks dropped on Jungle Cakes, the largest of which (We No Care w/ Exile & Dread MC) went on to accumulate 100's of thousands of streams across all platforms after massive support scene-wide.

2025 looks set to be their biggest yet with forthcoming tracks on bucket list labels like Viper Recordings and collabs with artists like General Levy, Skittles, Genesis Elijah and many more. As DJs, their sets are a fast-paced and unpredictable with an emphasis on crowd reaction and stacked to the brim with tracks that won't be heard anywhere else for months, sometimes years as well as fan favourites from their back catalogue and stone cold classics from every era of DnB.

In light of the ongoing squeeze on everybody's finances, we're trying to strike a balance with the inclusivity and affordability of these events. We're offering free entry for the first hour with a ticket (or £5 on the door), there's also the option of a £5 advance ticket which guarantees entry all night long for those who are financially able to support the venue. Door prices will be £10 after midnight on the night, so it's best to grab yourself a ticket now.