Solis [US] explores the space between melancholy and euphoria…
Solis [US] is the progressive and organic house project of Madison, Wisconsin-based producer David Hammond. His sound moves between melancholy and uplift, pairing rich melodic arrangements with organic textures and syncopated rhythms.
That sensibility is evident on the Tisno EP, his recent two-track collaboration with Simply City and debut on Balance Music. Hammond’s ear for unexpected melodies lends the release much of its character.
On his Balance Selections mix, Solis [US] delivers a two-hour journey fit for immersion.
Featuring tracks from Alex O’Rion, Mike Rish, Tonaco and more, the mix moves between melancholy and optimism, exploring the more emotive corners of progressive house.
Tracklist
1. Solis [US] – ID
2. Will Daley – ID
3. Solis [US] – Subatomic Flux (Original mix)
4. Mike Rish – Dope Riddim (Original mix)
5. Solis [US], Martin fredes – ID
6. Solis [US] – Ignition (original mix)
7. Drunken Kong, D-Shift – City Lights (Kostya Outta remix)
8. Nordfold – Tidal Shift (Extended mix)
9. Solis [US] – ID
10. Solis [US] – Solstice (Original mix)
11. Yohai Mor – Home Away From Home (Original mix)
12. Joaquin Salmain – Junga (Original mix)
13. Jeff Ozmits, Miguel Ante – Crossing the Styx (Extended mix)
14. Simply City – Ripple at Les (Simply City Mashup)
15. Yohai Mor – Keep it Dark (Dowden Reformat)
16. Henry Saiz – We Are All (Hernan Cattaneo, Kevin Di Serna Remix)
17. ID – ID
18. Simos Tagias, Tonaco – Alnilam (Original Mix)
19. Yohai Mor – ID
20 . Phillosopher – Seculum (Dowden Extended Remix)
21. Artic White – Spazio 77 (Extended Mix)
22. Solis [US] – ID
Name: David A. Hammond
Location: Madison, Wisconsin USA
Alias/Producer name: Solis [US] (country of origin abbreviation was added on without my knowledge by one of my first labels to differentiate from a different Solis)
Labels affiliated with:Univack, Balance Music, The Soundgarden, Stripped Digital, Clubsonica, 3rd Avenue, Balkan Connection, etc
As a child, I was limited to my parents’ record collection, so when I was five my two favorite songs were Black Sabbath Iron Man, and Chopin Polonaise in B-flat major. I absorbed everything they had, which sadly wasn’t much that a kid would listen to.
Late one night when I was in single digits I woke up to use the bathroom, and went past my oldest brother’s bedroom, where strange, mesmerizing sounds emanated and I was absolutely captivated.
The whole house was dark, and I just sat on the floor close by and listened as Pink Floyd Welcome to the Machine transported me to an entirely different world. I was soon obsessed with them, and by the time I was 12, I had every Pink Floyd release available.
Obviously goes from there, but that was the bedrock of deeply satisfying, emotional music. My deepest desire at 10 years old was to play the final guitar solo of Comfortably Numb, which is what inspired me to learn guitar.
Funny thing is that despite being the youngest of four, I was the only one who never offered piano lessons.
Nonetheless, I played piano more than everyone combined, often until 3 AM during the summers, just making up endless melodies. That really taught me that I had the ability to entertain myself through the music that I created.
My life changed the summer I turned 16, when I met my lifelong best friend, JD Steinhilber, who had just moved in down the street and introduced me to the most incredible new music I could have imagined.
In the space of a few weeks, I went from classic rock, to New Order, Cocteau Twins, The Cure, Shriekback, early Simple Minds, Love & Rockets, Depeche Mode, David Sylvian’s Japan and so many other creative artists that profoundly expanded my understanding of what music could truly do — especially living in a small town in Wisconsin.
During my late teens, I went through a punk / goth phase and discovered bands like Nitzer Ebb, Sisters of Mercy, Ministry, Skinny Puppy, which then evolved into highly creative rock bands like Sonic Youth, Jane‘s Addiction etc. All highly inspiring.
This continued to my discovery of William Orbit, world music, jazz, into Kruder & Dorfmeister, LTJ Bukem, DJ Shadow, Daft Punk, etc., until I was introduced to the Global Underground and Tranceport series, which was when I found my true musical home.
The summer of 1999, my friend Scott Schwartz and I decided to check out Taste of Chicago, but for some reason we only ate mushrooms. By 10pm, we’d had an amazing day and were ready to call it.
But then our friend mentioned some guy named Carl Cox playing at Cabaret Metro, so went to the show and it was another of my most life-changing musical experiences.
He was playing fairly aggressive techno, probably around 140 BPM’s, but it just felt like a lullaby in the balcony of the club surrounded by great friends.
Purely in terms of beautiful, emotional songwriting, Henry Saiz is my favorite. I feel a kinship with him in that I feel he is a true songwriter at his best rather than simply a producer. And of course, his sets are always so entertaining, especially his live band.
What I’m inspired about Hernan Cattaneo’s sets is that he plays such a diversity of sound, texture, and emotion, and you’re likely to hear just about anything, which is what I usually try to mirror in my own DJing style.
I’ve also been a big fan of Alex O’Rion because he’s got such versatility and has an incredibly deep and beautiful production style that just washes over you. But then he can also do beautiful melodies when he wants to. I’d love to hear more of those.
The last actual album I purchased was Nick Warren Turbulence, in 2025. But I’ve bought a million tracks since then.
Most notably, I’ve been loving Shell Robinson’s groovy Energy Surrounds, on Manual Music, and N’TCHBL’s beautifully haunting Lumina, on Univack.
I get really inspired writing music outdoors, at cafés, by the lake, and especially while traveling. I’ll pretty consistently write a full track flying home from a festival like Balance Croatia or ADE, so i’ve always remained an in the box producer, to keep it mobile.
I have a lot of toys, but rarely use them since I learned that the best music I hear in my head first, as opposed to messing around on midi controllers. So instead, I’ll just hear something and immediately commit it to midi, and then draw in whatever automation I need later.
DJ set up is currently a Roland controller, but my friend Prasanna has CDJ 2000s in his restored vintage 1920s train car lounge, so I’ll go over there when I can to practice or play a show on proper decks.
I just had a slew of releases over the past four months, so the rest of the year is fairly thin, with two releases on Kodai Records, and another on Stripped Digital, both with release dates to be determined.
It’s been an overwhelming past two years, so I’m honestly taking the next six months off to refocus and reclaim my energy levels, stress levels, and inspiration. Really just want to get back to making music for fun since it’s become so focused on commercial success recently.
Once I replenish, I’m looking forward to doing some proper shows here in Madison, most likely in the spring. I’m a sucker for outdoor venues and especially rooftop bars and clubs.
I began testing out tracks on the decks, just to listen for any happy rhythmic accidents as they transition as well as narrative cohesion, but once I got that down, I put it together in Ableton.
I’m particularly happy with the first track, which I wrote about 10 years ago and always thought would make a great opener. Then, the final track just sort of came together last week over two days when I was supposed to be doing other things lol.
I actually did it somewhat properly by starting right away after returning from Balance Croatia in August, but I’m always searching for new music, so it’s sort of an ongoing process.
The past two weeks is when my perfectionist OCD kicked in, so it’s been a lot of long nights and last-minute changes.
I would choose Lumina because it sort of captures everything that I look for and try to create in music – an extensive and hopefully sophisticated musical and emotional journey, along with uplifting, big sounds into a nice crescendo.
Plus, I couldn’t even tell you what I did from the beginning to the final drop in that song because it expands in so many different directions and doesn’t sound like anything I’ve ever really heard before. I’m proud of that one.
Unbelievably difficult question obviously, but to keep it in straight ahead club track territory, I would say Luke Chable and Danny Bonnici Ride is the greatest club track ever. It was so powerful to see Nick Warren start his set with it at Balance Croatia 2026.
This one’s easy because it’s my all-time favorite that I recently rewatched with friends – the American version of Vanilla Sky with Tom Cruise.
No spoiler — It totally kills me when he wakes up in another time to the same voice as his lost love.
Dark Matter, Midnight Mass, and Haunting of Hill House are all tied. All absolutely brilliant.
I think Italy is most people’s favorite all-purpose vacation destination, but for some reason I’m a sucker for Germanic countries — Switzerland, Austria, and Germany.
Plus, it’s funny because everybody speaks to me in German even though I don’t understand any of it lol. Maybe it’s because I’m of Swiss origin and it’s also quite similar to where I live in the US, Wisconsin, but it feels like home to me.
