Soler (band)
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Template:Infobox Chinese-language singer and actor Soler is a rock band based from Macau formed by twin brothers Julio Acconci (vocals/keyboard) and Dino Acconci (vocals/guitar), Soler made their Hong Kong debut in early 2005. Unlike many of the current artists who resemble fabricated idols, Soler compose and write all their own music and are renowned for the quality of their live performances, and have been acclaimed by fans, fellow artists and critics alike.
Biography
Julio and Dino Acconci were born in Macau to an Italian father and a Karen mother[1]. They spent their childhood in Macau, when they reached adulthood they moved back to Italy. Soler officially formed and became professional musician signing to EMI Italy in 1996 and released their first single in Europe.
Prior to their debut in Hong Kong they returned to Macau in 1999.
in 2001 Beyond's renowned guitarist Paul Wong was searching for a guitarist to join his new rock band HANN, and Dino was invited over to Hong Kong for an audition. Dino's friendship with Paul soon led to Paul discovering Dino had a twin, Julio, who was in Julio's own words 'tagging along' to practices, but only after Paul mistook Julio for Dino. The idea of 'Soler' turning professional was a result of peer pressure from the friends of the Acconci brothers, who all echoed the same message - that it was a waste of their vocal talent if they didn't at least give Hong Kong a crack. Soler soon turned professional when offered a contract with a new music label after a member of the audience was fascinated with one of their live gigs in Hong Kong.
Career
Prior to their 2005 debut, as an underground band which performed many live gigs, Soler has over the years developed a musical style that blends rock, soul and folk into one. Their music could best be described as folk rock with a bit of soul. Soler's live performances have had electrifying effects on Hong Kong's usually timid and reserved audience.
Soler is also currently the only band from Macau producing Cantonese songs in Hong Kong. The brothers can fluently speak and sing in 7 languages, including English, Mandarin, Spanish, French, official languages of Macau Cantonese and Portuguese, and their father tongue Italian.
On 15 July 2005, Soler released their debut album "Double Surround Sound" (雙聲道) which stormed the charts . The album includes songs sung in Cantonese alongside songs in English, with even a few sung in Mandarin. Their debut album sold so well in Hong Kong that Soler moved quickly to release their second album "Intuition", a Mandarin album, only 5 months later (on 19 December 2005), whilst juggling marketing duties, advertisements and Radio and TV appearances all in the same few months.
Beyond's renowned guitarist Paul Wong, is also a big fan of Soler. Prior to Soler's debut, Dino was a band member of the group HANN, a band formed by Paul Wong when he went solo. Wong has also helped to pen lyrics to some of Soler’s Cantonese songs, most notable the hit single‘Tsunami’, a song depicting the uphill struggle Soler went through before they became successful.
On 7 July 2007 they performed at the Chinese leg of Live Earth in Shanghai. [1]
Debut
Soler's Hong Kong debut, produced by US-based Lupo Groinig, in early 2005 greatly exceeded their own expectations. The Acconci brothers were initially worried that, like their debut in Italy, their Eurasian ancestry would make it difficult for the Hong Kong locals to accept them, although people of mixed or full foreign appearance are usually received with interest rather than rejection by the Chinese people of Hong Kong. However, to their surprise Soler was a storming success - as soon as their first song "Soul Lost" (失魂) was aired on radio, listeners sat up and took notice of the 'gweilo band who sang in Cantonese'. With their popularity soaring, Soler became extremely busy as they were surrounded by the media and paparazzi, but with that Soler have also remained modest. They are fondly known to the media as "The Italian twins band", and it is now very common to hear their songs on Hong Kong radio channels, as well as seeing them make regular appearances on TV, print media and radio interviews.
Trivia
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- Commercial Radio 903 D.J. Inti, who hosts a popular weekly rock music programme on Saturday evenings, has been credited as one of the first people to help unearth the talented duo by inviting them onto her show "Band Time"《組BAND 時間》on 18 May 2005, a time when Soler was still not yet well known to the Hong Kong public. Inti's radio programme "Band Time" introduces overseas band music as well as introducing local Hong Kong underground bands with interviews.
Discography
- Double Surround Sound (雙聲道) (15 July 2005)
- Intuition (直覺) (19 December 2005)
- Dragon Tiger Gate (龍虎門) (EP) (27 July 2006)
- X2 (9 September 2007)
- Unplugged at Kafka (9 September 2008)
- Canto (9 April 2009)
Concerts
Soler held their first live concerts on December 27 and 28 at Kowloon Bay, Hong Kong.
Soler held a concert at the Hong Kong Coliseum in Hung Hom on 25 April 2006. They invited as guest performers Paul Wong, Ryan Hui and Karen Mok.
Awards
- On 1 January 2006 at the 2005 CRHK Annual Music Awards, Soler were awarded the 2005 Best Group Newcomer Gold Award, following them were electronica group Pixel Toy (Bronze Award) and pop group Krusty (Silver Award).