Orde Meikle

Let's Dance - Orde Meikle and Stuart McMillan are SLAM. Pioneers of acid house in Scotland, they formed in 1987 and 4 years later with main man Dave Clarke, Glen Gibbons & Jim Moutune they founded Soma Records. Orde tells it like it is...

What motivated you to get involved in the music industry?

I'd always been a music fan and still am - I started as a collector of vinyl and dance music when it was very untrendy and djing was the next step. In 1987 I started to DJ with Stuart and we had to ask at the clubs we went to to let us on the decks. Very soon after we started our own night with Dave promoting it and we have continued ever since. The industry then for me was the promo people who sent out the records to DJs and from that the A&R people who chose remixers. After doing one remix for Virgin (Botany 5) we made our own track, 'Eterna' which became the first release on our own label Soma. We knew then that we wanted to be independent within the industry and not be a part of the major label game.

Did you sign on yourself at any time?

Yes but only each summer during my studies. In those days students were more fortunate and during the summer vacation from university you could sign on unemployed and therefore live in the summer without going home to parents. After university I worked in a bar where I met Stuart and Dave and we started our first club nights. The DJing supported us through the early days when the tracks we made would not have done. In a way all through our music making career we have been able to sustain ourselves through the clubs and DJing and therefore have not been forced in any way to make commercial tracks for the sake of commerciality.

Did you take any really bad jobs just to keep going?

We did a few remixes in the early days to buy studio equipment and sustain our independence. Fortunately, as I said, the DJing went a long way to supporting us and keeping us going through our musical development. If you love music then you find a way of doing it whatever else you have to do to eat and the drawback can be that it takes longer to complete things but you can get there in the end.

How many dodgy bands have you been in?

Slam is the only dodgy band I've ever been in!

Did you ever feel like giving up and getting a 'real' job?

Sometimes you do everything you can with a track and you can get disheartened if it gets received the wrong way by media or fans but most people will tell you that they do it for themselves and there is a lot of truth in that. It's nice to get the praise but really all you have to be is proud of the music you make and then you have succeeded. As for getting a real job - nah!

When did things come right?

We were lucky in that when we started to DJ there were not a lot of other clubs and DJs and we quickly made a name for ourselves. We had a lot of early successes and it propelled us with momentum into what we are doing now.

How are things now?

Great. We've just released our second proper album on Soma, 'Alien Radio', and it's doing really well. On it are our first ever tracks using vocalists and we have managed to take the whole thing on a live tour. Soma has many other strong artists like Silicone Soul and Funk D'void and the label is 10 years old in September.

Any words of wisdom or sage advice?

Make or release the music you are feeling and be true to yourself. Learn the business and understand that not everyone in it has scruples. Think about decisions before you take them.