A Debut EP Release From Solo Solo
With the release of a new self-titled EP, Solo Solo manages to gracefully and tastefully mend and melt genres together to build a wonderfully woven atmosphere that sets the tone for stories to be told in the form of lush indie-pop and rock form.
The record boasts absolutely incredible percussion and arrangement styles that bring this sort of edgy feel to the whole thing and it's possibly the thing that ties everything together the most.
There's ambience, a dreaminess that lets you float through certain songs and let the textures and sounds swim around you. But then there's also rock with really catchy guitars and a little bit more harshness then some of the other feels.
There's also such a massive array of this cinematic soundscape that attaches itself to you and it feels great to let it take you on these musical journeys.
The EP as a whole has an anthemic feel to it and most of the songs seem to be coming from this genuine space or place if you will. These are the things that make it alluring and add that graceful element to it.
The performances vocally line up perfectly with the way the music formulates itself as well. They match up to the atmosphere the song brings and never ruins the approach.
Plus these songs are just good. They can be catchy and charming while they do their thing. It all brings this kind of unique undertone to everything and it all just makes you want a little bit more each time.
So, the really cool thing is that these songs all stand on their own. They each have their diamond in the rough aspects to them.
However, listening to the whole EP is a key factor here because it gives you more of a roundabout feel of what these guys actually sound like. Plus you get the full effect. You get to take the full adventure, and that's much more fun obviously
some of this has that theatrical tonality to it as well and that also lines up with some of the Styles and Vibes of this record as a whole.
It's like an EP made by these guys who decided to write a song differently based on how they felt that day musically.
Who really knows how people write their music. What it's actually inspired by or how it actually begins. Only the songwriters know that kind of stuff but I think having a little bit of that mystery lets you connect with the song differently.
It lets the song become yours as well as theirs and that's a cool thing.
This was an outstanding EP release and if you're into any kind of good pop music in general, Solo solo is for you.
Withe this release we wantd to have a talk with the band about where this came froma nd what may be next for them.
Here's what happened.
TSWS: Let's kick things off with the Debut EP. This record had a great edginess to it's dream and progressive pop tone! Where did this EP come from?
Starting off with the easy questions! Where did the EP/tone come from... having no rules except that a song had to be finished at the end of every week plus "trial and error" is our best answer. And believe us, there were a lot of errors. Mostly errors. But those tracks that didn't make the EP were fodder for inspiration... for finding the sound of the band. Like, we would love the guitar tone on a track we didn't use and remember it for a different song. Same with a harmony selection. Same with a room mic selection. Honestly, sometimes that method works with lyrics. And so on. And after writing about 20 tracks, we loved half of them enough to do final mixes and then we loved half of those enough to get mastered over at Sterling Sound. So, for us this was all about experimentation and zero pressure. Just making something that we wanted to listen to... an utter necessity when you spend as much time mixing as we do.
TSWS: When did this all start for you guys?
When the pandemic hit, we decided to keep things simple and make music as a two-piece (we had played in bands together for most of our lives). This was out of necessity because we're family and the rule around town was, don't be closer than 6 ft to anyone you're not related to. So we just started working on sounds in a storage unit on the East side in Austin. This is Greg writing, I got into the art of recording and producing... a many-year journey that I'm nowhere near the end of. And we decided to record with no real end-goal except to make songs out of our own sounds. At the end of it, we had an EP.
TSWS: What inspires you to write a song?
Doing it. Rarely feel inspired to write a song. Seems pretentious to write this and there's nothing original about the idea, but.. if we waited on inspiration for songs, we'd have exactly zero songs. It's when you sit down, start working on a groove, a melody, a rhythm, whatever... sometimes you get lucky with enough work. And we consider ourselves lucky. That's when it feels like lightning. But most times it's error 404, page not found and the practice space/studio just kicks your ass.
TSWS: This record has some great styles! Can you give us some of your top musical influences?
For the year leading up to this EP we only listened to classical music as a sort of palate cleanser, not realizing that our influences just got a little classier, not gone. Can't even begin to spell or pronounce the names in that world, but if it was on 89.5 KMFA in Austin, TX from 2018-2021, we heard it and I'm sure there was some influence. Before that, and you can never really run away from these artists that speak to your soul and get you started, we were really into Dylan, The Wallflowers, Bonobo, The National, Emmylou Harris, Vampire Weekend, Francis Bebey, The Cars, Kendrick Lamar, I mean... we could go on forever. It's kind of endless/genre-less. We won't even touch nights spent at the Elephant Room or Parker's just getting into jazz.
TSWS: What are you guys doing when you're NOT working on music?
Testing mixes on bluetooth speakers on the muni courses in Austin.
TSWS: Who's in all your headphones right now?
At this exact moment, Johann Sebastian Bach, Cello Suite No. 2 in D Minor BWV 1008: 1. Prélude
TSWS: Are you doing any live performances right now?
Our first show is slated for late Feb, 2023!
TSWS: This EP feels like a big undertaking, is there any advice you'd give to other up and coming bands out there?
If you've got a sound in your bones, you can put it down on record. There's no better time to DIY the shit out of this than right now. The information is out there. The books are out there. The mentors are out there if you show you're serious about this and ask. The software/hardware is attainable. IMO, writing is #1. Performance/emotional weight is a close #2... even with a sub-par capture and crumby mics (which is actually a vibe), a great performance still shines through. Mixing is #3. Any time spent on mixing is time well spent. In the words of Andrew Scheps (paraphrasing), "the only thing that matters is what comes out of the speakers."
TSWS: What can your fans expect from you in the near future?
Music, Animations & Illustrations. Witticism fails on Instagram @solosoloband
TSWS: Before we go, what would you like to say to fans of the music?
If you're a fan of our music, then you know us and you've got a couple friends in Austin, TX... and your taste in music is unassailable.
