Solaris (band)
Encyclopedia
Solaris is a progressive rock
band from Hungary
. Established in 1980, the band went through several formations. Their music has a strong melodic content, often laced with Eastern Europe
an themes, and is highlighted by the use of dynamics and extended thematic development. There is a great deal of interplay among the lead instruments of flute
, guitar
and keyboard
which is used regularly to develop their themes. The emphasis is not on providing solo spots for the various instruments, but rather in employing those instruments within the context of the development of the individual piece.
The band's name is a reference to the Stanisław Lem sci-fi novel, Solaris
. The first album's title is a reference to The Martian Chronicles
. The members have said that they were influenced by these - and other - sci-fi books.
The majority of Solaris' songs are instrumentals. The first track on their first LP, Marsbéli Krónikák, is an exception, with a few lines spoken over the music. The pitch-shifting, distortion, and album's theme have led many listeners to assume that the voiceover is in a putative Martian language, but it's actually in Hungarian: "Megrepedt tükrök (Cracked mirrors) / Kormos acélfalak (Sooty steel walls) / Halott szeméthegyek (Dead piles of garbage) / És szennyes tavak (And polluted lakes) / Azt mondod, itt élt valaha az ember? (Do you say mankind used to live here?)".
"Egészséges Optimizmus" (Healthy Optimism) from the SOLARIS 1990 LP also has an introductory voiceover in Hungarian, and chanting in Latin appears in several tracks on the album Nostradamus: Próféciák könyve.
In June 2003, Attila Kollár said in an interview that the band is still alive, and they will start working on a new studio album that year.
Following their regular albums (and a live double CD recorded in 1995 during the Progfest in Los Angeles), the band also started a 3-volume "Official Bootleg" series. As the title says, these contain recordings that were never officially released before and consist of mainly live material. The title track of the second volume was originally intended to appear on the first album but has never been recorded in the studio.
In December 2007, drummer László Gömör told Alternative Press magazine that "the band has made few attempts to reunite and it seems unlikely (Solaris) will reunite."
Progressive rock
Progressive rock is a subgenre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s as part of a "mostly British attempt to elevate rock music to new levels of artistic credibility." John Covach, in Contemporary Music Review, says that many thought it would not just "succeed the pop of...
band from Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
. Established in 1980, the band went through several formations. Their music has a strong melodic content, often laced with Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe is the eastern part of Europe. The term has widely disparate geopolitical, geographical, cultural and socioeconomic readings, which makes it highly context-dependent and even volatile, and there are "almost as many definitions of Eastern Europe as there are scholars of the region"...
an themes, and is highlighted by the use of dynamics and extended thematic development. There is a great deal of interplay among the lead instruments of flute
Flute
The flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...
, guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
and keyboard
Keyboard instrument
A keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
which is used regularly to develop their themes. The emphasis is not on providing solo spots for the various instruments, but rather in employing those instruments within the context of the development of the individual piece.
The band's name is a reference to the Stanisław Lem sci-fi novel, Solaris
Solaris (novel)
Solaris is a 1961 Polish science fiction novel by Stanisław Lem. It is about the ultimate inadequacy of communication between human and non-human species....
. The first album's title is a reference to The Martian Chronicles
The Martian Chronicles
The Martian Chronicles is a 1950 science fiction short story collection by Ray Bradbury that chronicles the colonization of Mars by humans fleeing from a troubled and eventually atomically devastated Earth, and the conflict between aboriginal Martians and the new colonists...
. The members have said that they were influenced by these - and other - sci-fi books.
The majority of Solaris' songs are instrumentals. The first track on their first LP, Marsbéli Krónikák, is an exception, with a few lines spoken over the music. The pitch-shifting, distortion, and album's theme have led many listeners to assume that the voiceover is in a putative Martian language, but it's actually in Hungarian: "Megrepedt tükrök (Cracked mirrors) / Kormos acélfalak (Sooty steel walls) / Halott szeméthegyek (Dead piles of garbage) / És szennyes tavak (And polluted lakes) / Azt mondod, itt élt valaha az ember? (Do you say mankind used to live here?)".
"Egészséges Optimizmus" (Healthy Optimism) from the SOLARIS 1990 LP also has an introductory voiceover in Hungarian, and chanting in Latin appears in several tracks on the album Nostradamus: Próféciák könyve.
In June 2003, Attila Kollár said in an interview that the band is still alive, and they will start working on a new studio album that year.
Following their regular albums (and a live double CD recorded in 1995 during the Progfest in Los Angeles), the band also started a 3-volume "Official Bootleg" series. As the title says, these contain recordings that were never officially released before and consist of mainly live material. The title track of the second volume was originally intended to appear on the first album but has never been recorded in the studio.
In December 2007, drummer László Gömör told Alternative Press magazine that "the band has made few attempts to reunite and it seems unlikely (Solaris) will reunite."
Members
- Cziglán, István (deceased) - guitars (1980-1998)
- Erdész, Róbert - keyboards (1980-)
- Kollár, Attila - flute (1980-)
- Gömör, László - drums (1982-)
- Pócs, Tamás - bass (1982-)
- Kisszabó, Gábor - bass (1980-1982,1995-)
- Bogdán, Csaba - guitars (1981-1982,1995-)
Past members
- Rauschenberger, Ferenc - drums (1981-1982)
- Seres, Attila - bass (1980)
- Tóth, Vilmos - drums (1980-1981)
Discography
- Solaris (SP), 1980
- Counterpoint (SP), 1981
- Marsbéli Krónikák (Martian Chronicles) (LP), 1984
- SOLARIS 1990 (double LP, double CD), 1990/1996
- Live in Los Angeles (double CD), 1996
- Nostradamus: Próféciák könyve (Nostradamus: Book of Prophecies) (CD), 1999
- Solaris archív 1. - Back to the roots... (Az első idők...) (CD), 2000
- Solaris archív 2. - NOAB (CD), 2005
- Nostradamus - Live in Mexico (concert CD+DVD), 2007
- Live in Los Angeles (DVD), 2010