Deep Inside: Meet Halal Sol, The Zesty House Producer Who’s Found His Groove

Halal Sol is fast becoming a household name in the local electronic scene (Credit: Ahmad Iqbal)

House and techno producers in Singapore are a rare but dedicated breed, and keeping the embers of this small community ablaze is one hotshot in particular; a name that you would’ve definitely seen surfacing in the past year. Halal Sol is his alias, and he’s climbing up the ranks of the scene at an accelerated pace.

Halal Sol’s output involves a steady repertoire of chipper house jams. His beats are often plump in punchiness and nimble in syncopation, constructing kinetic grooves that agitate the moment the first kick hits. Chiselled with deep edges in mind, his works are further layered with ingredients like sustained strings, frisky chords and chopped, soul-dipped vocal samples that wouldn’t feel out of place on a classic Louie Vega record. It’s a timeless sound he’s captured effortlessly, revitalised for the modern-day raver in jaunty fashion.

From the reactions you’d see on the dancefloor in pre-COVID times, it’s a formula that works. Taking the DJ set format up a notch, Halal Sol incorporates live elements like his Roland TR-8S drum machine and Novation Launchpad linked to Ableton Live, so you can see him piecing together grooves on the spot. It’s an organic approach that matches the warmth and verve of his sound, and it’s made him a standout selector firmly hooked onto the consciousness of beat-craving audiences.

More than just a DJ, Halal Sol performs live with several gadgets (Credit: Samuel Foo)

Beyond the punters, Halal Sol is also highly sought after by labels and other performers in the circuit. Apart from being an ambassador of his very own Powder Social Club collective, he’s had tracks released on the well-regarded Darker Than Wax label, and boasts production credits for artistes like local rapper, BGourd. The scene knows talent when it sees it, and it’s got its eyes fixed on the swift rise of Halal Sol.

The proficient house producer chats with us in this interview, where he broaches the topic of his early beginnings, geeks out about hardware and effects, and teases developments on the horizon. Let’s get deep.

Make yourself comfy with Halal Sol (Credit: Samuel Foo)

So first up, who is Halal Sol, really?

Haha, my name is Haqem. I am 27 years old. The name Halal Sol came out as I wanted a moniker that represents me culturally and is unique enough for people to remember. I have a job as an engineer in the transport sector. I enjoy it, but what makes me alive is making and playing music.

You’ve had quite the meteoric rise in the local producer scene in the last couple of years. How and when did you first get into producing?

I started producing music about eight years ago. I was going through a rough time at school and needed a way to focus my thoughts and express myself creatively. I was into electronic music by then and I always wondered how it was produced. I got the DAW [Digital Audio Workstation] and began without any expectations or goals. I just made music because it made me feel better.

Your style of house music is breezy, bouncy and deliciously deep. What made you want to explore this direction of dance music, out of all the various subgenres within the electronic spectrum?

I’ve been a big fan of acid jazz since discovering Jamiroquai in my teenage years. After listening to David Morales’ remix of “Space Cowboy”, I went down the rabbit hole of YouTube recommendations and discovered house music infused with soul, jazz and funk. I was hooked and kept listening to artistes like Kerri Chandler and Masters at Work. I enjoy its energetic yet subdued and complex vibe.

How do you get into the zone before diving deep into your production den?

I normally have an idea in my head, or I am inspired by a track. I will then mess around on Ableton. If it sounds good, I can go on for hours until I get the skeleton of the track. If it does not sound good, I will get demotivated for about a week and start over again. A lot of the times, I feel most inspired when I am under periods of low mood. I do not know why, but somehow the low moods make me more creative and determined to come out with an idea for a track.

Oh yeah, I know that feeling. Do you have any fixed rules and philosophies that you religiously follow when crafting your compositions?

I always start with the drums. I feel that getting a strong and groovy drum track is important to get a good track in the end. Also, I tend to add a swing to almost every track I make. I think the swing makes the track less rigid and more natural.

Halal Sol’s live setup (Credit: Halal Sol)

Would you mind sharing your hardware setup? And perhaps, some of the plug-ins you like to use?

For my live set up, I use a Roland TR-8S to provide the drums and other underlying grooves. The bassline, chords, lead sounds and vocal chops come from Ableton Live which I control using my Novation Launchpad S and Korg MicroKey. I use a Zoom U-24 audio interface to input the sound of the TR-8S into Ableton Live where I apply effects on the drums such as a filter and stutter effect. To control the effects, I use a Korg NanoKontrol.

When producing, I do not normally use any hardware, just my desktop, keyboard and mouse. Most of the effects I use are stock Ableton effects. For the drums, I purchase one-shot samples and sequence it for a full drum track. The plug-ins I use for the instruments are Korg M1 for the piano sounds and Native Instrument’s Massive for all the other sounds.

“My messy workspace: My dusty reliable desktop with a Tascam US-122 audio interface to route sound to my JBL 305p monitors. Also my notebook and pen to write down any ideas or changes I want to make.” (Credit: Halal Sol)

Why choose to perform live instead of doing a conventional DJ set? Does it give you more freedom to express yourself?

Yup exactly, I feel more in touch with the music that way. It allows me to control the music and give a more organic feel to the otherwise digital genre. I am also going for the visual element as I think its more engaging to see someone perform music live on stage. That said, I still enjoy doing DJ sets, especially when I select and get to play music that I enjoy to other people. I hope to incorporate DJ sets with live sets for future gigs to get the best of both worlds.

In case you haven’t noticed by now, Halal Sol is a highly versatile musician (Credit: Axel Serik)

Aside from your solo performances, you’re one part of artiste collective, Powder Social Club, that’s performed at venues like Headquarters and The Projector. Could you tell us more about this group and what it represents?

Powder Social Club (PSC) was started to allow dancers to have a platform to dance to house music. However, we are now moving in a direction to be more inclusive by introducing people to the genres, of house and techno. We hope to introduce the genres to a younger crowd and continue playing house and techno just like the more experienced DJs have for the past 10 years.

One milestone for you was the endorsement of esteemed label, Darker Than Wax. How did you feel about snagging that achievement?

It feels great! They were one of the labels I looked up to when I just started producing music. I was like “wow” when I found out that Singapore had an underground label that featured primarily electronic music. When listening to their releases and attending some of their parties, I was super excited when they played house music because I felt so at home knowing that there was an audience for house music in Singapore. Little did I know that I would be in touch with them years later.

Halal Sol performing live with BGourd as part of the Noise Music Mentorship showcase at The Esplanade (Credit: Axel Serik)

Another indicator of your far-reaching influence as a producer was your collaboration with BGourd, where you shaped the musical direction of his debut EP. Do you have more of such collaborations with other artistes on the way?

At the moment, no. Working with BGourd was really fun and a great learning experience. I was experimenting with hip-hop beats at that time and got to know the vegetable. Soon enough, we collaborated for his EP. I would love to work with more vocalists on a collaboration, though it’s quite challenging technically as I am not really familiar on working with vocals.

What about more of your own single releases? Do you have more in the pipeline?

Yes! I am working on an EP at the moment. It will be a diverse one with some energetic and subdued beats. There will be a broken beat-type track and a soulful jazzy one. I am really excited for this to showcase the diverse sounds I can express myself with. I am also working on remixes of other artistes’ tracks. I hope to give the tracks the Halal Sol flavour haha.

Halal Sol was also awarded a grant for his participation in the Noise Music Mentorship (Credit: Axel Serik)

While there is a lot of original music out there, do you think the local scene has a shortage of house producers?

Yes, Singapore can do with more producers of all genres of music. I think Singapore has what it takes to be a regional hub of independent music. I think with the accessibility of DAWs and tutorials online, more producers of electronic music will be coming out soon. With regards to house, I believe we have a handful of Singaporean producers. Of course, there should be more. The more house producers we have, the more diverse and inclusive we can be with electronic music. Similar to Intriguant’s UPLOADING, I am intending to do a showcase night for live electronic music acts and hopefully shed light on underground electronic genres and allow relatively new live acts to be more comfortable doing live electronic music. Hopefully, this can be done once the pandemic dies down.

“The more house producers we have, the more diverse and inclusive we can be with electronic music.” (Credit: Axel Serik)

Hopefully! To wrap up, how has life been for you during this pandemic? As a producer, does it actually make you more productive?

Unfortunately no. I think the cabin fever has set in and it downs the creativity. There are almost no events ongoing so it’s harder to discover and get inspired by new sounds that are being played by other DJs and producers. But I guess the live-streams make up for it a bit. There are many live-streams going on and the United We Stream Asia series made me realise the diversity of sounds around Asia.

Stay connected with Halal Sol on his Soundcloud page, Bandcamp page and Instagram channel.