Soler

Soler is a rock band based in Hong Kong formed by twin brothers Julio Acconci (lead vocals) and Dino Acconci (guitar/vocals), Soler made their Hong Kong debut in early 2005. Unlike many current Hong Kong artists who are mostly pop idols, Soler write all their 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. They spent their childhood in Macau, attending a local Chinese school called Yuet Wah College; when they reached adulthood they moved back to Italy.

Initially formed in the mid-1990s, Soler signed a contract with EMI Italy and had previously released an album in Italy some years ago, but unfortunately it failed to catch on. The brothers were disillusioned, believing it was their mixed Eurasian appearance that became an obstacle to success, as Italians were not used to seeing Eurasians. Since then, both brothers worked in Italy and also in the United Kingdom, with Julio in London and Dino in Edinburgh. Prior to their debut in Hong Kong, Julio was a designer by trade while Dino worked for music schools as a teacher. 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 have 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 are fluent in 7 languages including Cantonese, English and their father tongue Italian.

On 15 July 2005, Soler released their debut album "Double Surround Sound" 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.

Debut

Soler's Hong Kong debut 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. 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.

Tribute to Wong Ka Kui (Beyond)

One of their tracks entitled "kui", is a tribute to the late Wong Ka Kui, vocalist of the band Beyond. With this song they honour him as a pioneer of the Hong Kong music industry, as one who struggled against the pop domination, and persevered in getting the industry to recognise rock music. · close