Solar Circuit Embarks on First National Tour: Q&A with Keyboardist Becca LeVan
Written by Zachary Franck
Solar Circuit, a Jamtronic Trance Fusion band from Philadelphia, will be embarking on the most extensive tour of their career thus far. With over twenty dates spanning from March to June, the four-piece will be playing new venues in multiple cities for the very first time. They’re excited to spread their sound across the country, whilst expanding their catalogue, and gaining new fans in the process. They officially joined the Lost Compass Productions agency in 2019, a big move that will have a lasting positive impact. Riding their 2019 momentum, they’re prepared to utilize this upcoming tour to elevate Solar Circuit to the next level.
They’ll be kicking the tour off on March 6th at Tellus360 in Lancaster, PA. Then the following night, March 7th, at Mill Hill Basement in Trenton, NJ. The band is especially excited for their Philadelphia show this month. On March 13th, they take over the Boom Room with Teddy Midnight for a late-night throw down after the Disco Biscuits play The Fillmore a few blocks away. It’s an intimate, BYOB, venue that has an overall great vibe. If you’re planning on getting tickets, you should do so ASAP, as it’s only a 75-person cap (and near selling out)!
Out of all the new cities and states, the crew says that they’re especially excited for their Colorado debut. This is a huge opportunity for the band to establish themselves in the flourishing music scene of Denver. On April 25th, after Lotus plays Red Rocks, Solar Circuit will be playing a late-night show at Your Mom’s House. The venue has done a great job at hosting up and coming bands from the northeast, so props to them. Keyboardist Becca LeVan expressed how well their STS9 after-party at The Caverns went in 2019, and she’s confident this show will be another huge milestone for the band.
On 4/22, they kick off their tour across the country for their first Ohio stop, in Youngstown, OH at Westside Bowl. Following that on 4/24, they’ll be at Down Under Lounge in Omaha, NE. The following weekend, they’ll be playing two more cities for the first time: Cincinnati, OH on 4/30 at Stanley’s and Eerie, PA at King Rook’s Club on 5/1. As important as it is for bands to get out on the road and play new cities, they also need to have venues where they feel at home. Following the western stretch, the crew heads down south again, to Athens, GA, Tracy City, TN, and more.
For Solar Circuit, Sprout Music Collective in West Chester, PA and Riverstreet Jazz Café in Scranton, PA are two of those venues. They’ll be returning to Sprout on 4/11 with Ben (Pigeons Playing Ping Pong) and Mike Greenfield from Lotus who will be playing a DJ set, and they’ll be at the Jazz on 6/5 with Space Bacon and Newpy Hundo, both dates have the potential to be standout shows of the tour. Get tickets if you’re in the area!
There are a lot of talented bands carving out their respective paths in the music scene this year. Solar Circuit has the chemistry, catalogue, and connections to ensure that they are one of them. All four members have dedicated themselves to the music and it shows. If you’re not familiar with their sound, they have a plethora of quality live soundboard recordings to sift through at www.solarcircuit.bandcamp.com. Follow them on social media to stay updated throughout the tour, they’ll be coming to a city near you soon enough!
We had a chance to ask keyboardist Becca LeVan a few questions. See what she had to say about their roots, inspirations, and plans for the future:
Q: When and where did Solar Circuit form as a band?
A: We formed and started playing live together in 2016, based in Philadelphia, PA.
Q: What inspired you guys to explore the sound and style of livetronica?
A: We’ve all always been drawn to the blend of electronics, live classic instrumentation, and improvisation. It allows us to not only fuse multiple genres together but also have freedom for a whole other layer of experimentation, which for us is the most fun part. All of our live sets are ~70% improv. We plan our set lists to go from song A to B, etc., but how we get there is always a new journey. We also were all producing before coming together as a live band. I had been digging into Ableton for composing for many years, Taylor (bass/vocals) had produced and released a few solo compositions (under side project ‘TR’. So, the blend of electronics with live instruments has always been a natural interest for us.
Q: Did any of you have some eye-opening experiences seeing certain acts? If so, what bands did it for you? Who are some of your biggest inspirations as a band?
A: We’ve got the classics like Pink Floyd, The Beatles, etc., the staples of rock music evolution overall. But then for us as well we’ve always admired acts such as STS9, The Disco Biscuits, and Lotus, and how they have evolved and fused together rock, funk, and EDM. And then importantly I think what really developed our form of livetronica is our huge inspiration from Simon Posford (Shpongle), OTT, and other overall world influences. We’ve always been drawn to EU psytrance, and it’s definitely shown through on how our sound has developed.
Q: How would you describe your sound?
A: Jamtronic Trance Fusion, with a real emphasis on the “trance” aspect. It’s definitely a pocket we hit frequently and in our own way. And the “fusion” aspect really because of our long list of pretty diverse inspirations and influences. We definitely venture across many genres so it was a little tough at first to define our “genre”, especially as our sound and chemistry and compositions developed. At this point we all feel locked in with where our sound has evolved. So, I think the psytrance aspect of our version of livetronica is really what has defined our sound. It’s not only what we’re drawn to listening to, but also playing and composing together.
Q: Looking back at the last year, what are some shows that have stood out to you guys as being great?
A: Yeah 2019 had a lot of highlights. We played down in Tennessee after STS9 at The Caverns which was an awesome time. Played until like 5 am, and met people from all across the country. We also returned to SENSORiUM Festival in Philly, which our homies Tweed throw annually, so that was another really awesome festival set. We also hit Electric Halloween festival in Millville, NJ for another year which was another fun high energy costume-filled set.
Q: Is there a venue or venues that you guys particularly love playing? If so, what are they and why?
A: Well we just played our first 2020 hometown Philly show at Underground Arts, and that definitely added to our list of favorite venues. We also love playing Sprout Music Collective in West Chester, PA. We’ve hit that spot many times over the years and are excited to be back there April 11th with Schwa (Ben from Pigeons Playing Ping Pong) and Mike Greenfield (of Lotus). We also love playing Riverstreet Jazz Café in Scranton, and stoked to head back there on June 5th with Space Bacon, who are on fire right now. We love playing with them.
Q: What soundboards would you recommend to somebody that has never seen you live, but wants to check out your sound?
A: All our soundboards are released for free stream and download on bandcamp (and some on Spotify, Itunes, Soundcloud, etc). I think we’re all personally really happy with how the Underground Arts soundboard came out. It was a really good capture of our sound, and we dug into some seriously deep trance jams. We have fun crafting new crazy set lists each show, and like to weave in and out of our own versions of some fun covers. We casually segued into JLo ‘Waiting For Tonight’ and the whole crowd was literally screaming it with me, it was pretty hilarious. So, I think that sbd would be a great reference to get an idea of our sound and live experience. Some other highlights in our opinion would be the TN Caverns after party set, because it’s a hefty set with a lot of catalogue (and jams of course). And the SENSORiUM 2019 soundboard is definitely another highlight. Keith Wadsworth from Wax Future sat in, and he absolutely shreds and is one of the most-humble dudes out there. We also played our first Shpongle cover there, which is a highlight for me personally to play.
