Solidarity Studios: Stems Serve Emerging & Global Artists
Solidarity Studios has made a unique mark on Chicago’s independent music scene by empowering local artists and international communities to preserve and reimagine their cultural sounds. Using AudioShake's stem separation technology, they have created digital sample packs and music releases that bring new life to traditional music and unheard artists from around the world.
Preserving Global Sounds with Stem Technology
Ibrahim Maali, founder of Solidarity Studios, stumbled upon a trove of vinyl records in Nairobi, Kenya, featuring music from Kenya, Tanzania, and Congo, much of which had never been digitally released. These recordings offered a glimpse into rich musical traditions, but bringing them into modern formats for wider audiences was a challenge.
With AudioShake's stem separation tools, Solidarity Studios isolated instruments and vocals from these tracks, making it possible to digitize and remaster them for contemporary listeners. These separated stems also became the foundation for sample packs, used by up-and-coming producers to create new music that blends traditional and modern sounds. This effort not only preserved the cultural heritage embedded in these tracks but also extended their relevance and reach.
Community-Centric Music Creation & Education
Solidarity Studios isn’t just about digitizing music; it’s about connecting communities through music production and storytelling. The studio collaborates with grassroots organizations across Chicago, Ghana, Palestine, and South Africa to equip youth with the tools to create and share their stories. Programs like the Producer Spotlight Series enable young producers to remix and reinterpret the digitized stems, bringing fresh life to the sounds of their ancestors.
By creating stems with AudioShake, the studio’s workshops have introduced participants to advanced music production techniques like vocal removal, karaoke creation, music isolation, and instrument separation. These skills help them stand out in a competitive industry, fostering creativity and technical growth. For instance, removing background noise from old recordings allows them to focus on the unique voices or rhythms of their cultural music, making these elements more accessible for new projects.
Empowering the Next Generation of Producers
The isolated tracks from Solidarity Studios' work have been featured in remix competitions–including their monthly series Shake and Bake–, educational materials, and online sample libraries, ensuring these sounds continue to inspire artists. Sample packs built from these stems have been used not only to preserve these global sounds but also to educate young producers and help them incorporate traditional music into their own beats and compositions.
"AudioShake stems are helping us release digital albums of artists this next generation may have never discovered,” said Ibrahim Maali, founder of Solidarity Studios. “Not to mention, the sample packs that we’ve made with these stems are bringing entirely new lives to songs and powering our upskilling producer program.”
With these efforts, Solidarity Studios proves that stem separation technology can be a powerful tool for music preservation, cross-cultural collaboration, and educational programming. Their work stands as an example of how instrument isolation and AI lyrics transcription are more than just technical achievements—they’re means to uplift and connect communities through shared music heritage.