Solar Bears – ‘She Was Coloured In’

Solar Bears are Irish duo John Kowalski and Rian Trench; together they make music that navigates and interrogates pastoral psychedelia, krautrock, kosmiche, drone, and everything in between.

Their synthesis is an organic one, a seamless fusion rendering the gaps between genres and styles incomprehensible and their music timeless.  In the distracted world of electronic music, warmth is often neglected in favour of functionality or futurism, and Solar Bears’ lack of concern for either of these allows them to direct their attention elsewhere: namely, to melodies and textures.  Their ‘electronic music’ is a different one than that of modern dance music, inspired by the evocative synthscapes of composers like Vangelis and Moroder.

While they are impossible to classify, they seem poised at a precipice, finding compatriots in an ill-defined UK scene that seems interested in exploring the same sort of fuzzy pseudo-nostalgia they espouse.  Producers like Lone, Oriol, and fellow Mu upcomers Tropics share in the duo’s love for inviting soundscapes, while artists such as Oneohtrix Point Never, Radio People and Emeralds harbour a similar admiration for the emotional resonance of the synth, though the Bears’ style is slightly more approachable.

Through the interview, one thing becomes clear: Solar Bears exist in their own world, not fussed with the expectations or desires of others.  Their only contact with our world is through their records, portals to fantastical dreamscapes that exist entirely in palettes of warm and soothing colours.  But no matter how detached they are from our realm, the ‘Bears’ are still human – their preoccupation with film music especially comes through in their use of transparent and straightforward emotional motifs: riffs and melodies that aren’t afraid to be obvious when they need to be, alternately melancholy, maudlin, heartwarming, and triumphant.

Finding a home on the ever-unpredictable Planet Mu, Solar Bears release both their debut EP Inner Sunshine and LP She Was Coloured In this fall.  The former is a particularly woodsy affair, prominently highlighting acoustic guitar and synth interplay (and remixes from Lone and Letherette), while the latter is an overwhelming display of hyper-saturated colours and textures, mixing in digital elements effortlessly.  They cover a remarkable amount of ground, moving from motorik-powered krautrock on ‘Trans Waterfall’ to the post-rock crescendo of ‘Photo Negative Living’ on the EP, while the LP features the vocodered Black Moth Super Rainbow pastiche of ‘Children of the Times’ and the tunneling disco of ‘The Quiet Planet’ among many other stunning tracks.

“I’ve always wanted to hear new music, new instrumentation and new sounds”

Go ahead and introduce yourself.

“My name is John Kowalski, I come from South Dublin but I currently live in a coastal town called Malahide on the North side of the city. Rian, who co-writes and co-produces Solar Bears, is from Wicklow. He lived in England when he was young and has a very musical background with two parents in the business.”

What attracted you to music and to start making music?

“I’ve always wanted to hear new music, new instrumentation and new sounds. Ennio Morricone was an early favourite and so was John Carpenter. The string arrangements by John Barry for the Bond films made a lasting impression too. I used to hide away and listen to records on my own. I had track ideas I wanted to try out and Rian was up for collaborating; the first effort ‘Trans Waterfall’ went fluidly so we decided to continue. I had no experience making music prior to that session.”

How did you meet Rian and start collaborating musically?

“We met at a recording college in Dublin called Pulse about four or five years ago. I contacted him just over a year ago to work on a track I had worked out in my head with most of the parts mapped out. He records at home, so we simply began one day after I got the train down to where he lives.”

When did Solar Bears begin to exist, and where does the name come from?

“After we had two or three tracks I put up a page on myspace as a catalyst to keep creating. It was mainly as motivation and to make the project concrete.  There are a few reasons [for the name]. It was a possible track name and I wanted something plural to represent us. It’s a reference to Solaris by Tarkovsky as well as Native American culture. Furthermore it is a play on words and a metaphor for wildlife dying out because of the sun which is inherent in a lot of science fiction.”

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What would you call the music you make?

“Admittedly this is something Rian and I struggle with. When you define something it tends to shred it of essence. We listen to countless bands and groups from different generations and that filters through, be it electronic, or indie, or folk.”

Do you consider it ‘electronic music?’

“We use electronic instruments and electronic musical technology so yes, I would say so. The acoustic instruments play a part too and we attempt to utilize both. Many of our favourite bands would be termed ‘electronic’, but sometimes it only matters whether the music is good or not.”

So how do you make it?

“Rian just built a new studio, so this will all change, but for the EP and album we used very old software. Luckily we found old hand held recorders and tape machines lying around the house which we employed as much as possible. The end of the record is actually a My First Sony recorder from 1986 I believe. From a writing point of view we try to get ideas down as quickly as we can and then add to them and enhance them. There are a few vintage synths in the tracks. I do not agree to ruling out either analogue or digital.”

How are the tracks written and built? Do you feel they are complete statements or rather sketches?

“When we start, the only thing we have are ideas and a rough arrangement. If a track goes on a tangent we simply follow to see where it ends up. An end point for us is when a song feels finished, or when we think nothing else needs to be added. Another thing we aspire to do is introduce the percussion later than normal so when it is finally introduced it has more impact and is therefore more noticeable. Drums are taken for granted way too much in music.

“If I listen to them separately, it feels that way [like sketches]. but when we put together the album order they communicated well with one another. Sketches or collages would be a fair way to describe them. There are a couple of vignettes on there which are isolated statements. Our track ‘Division’ is an homage to Ian Curtis; we are both big followers of Joy Division.”

“”I watched Das Boot a year ago on VHS. There was tape hiss non-stop for 3 hours, which was heaven for me”

What are some of your biggest influences?

Film music got to me at an early age. Moroder and Vangelis being prime examples, they got me into synthesizers. For the past decade or so, I would have to say Death in Vegas, Primal Scream, and Bibio.

How did film music in particular impact you and the music?

“Film music made me feel more than things I learned at school, like maths or geography. It was a marriage of watching human characteristics and behaviour with orchestrations and sound design on screen. When we make tracks, they tend to link with fabricated scenarios which are out of our hands. Rian’s father writes music for film and television.

“One of the main things I recall from childhood was watching Watership Down. It changed me: the music, the harshness, the awe, the spectacle. It also conveyed how paramount all life is and how time is not to be taken for granted.”

Do you feel your music evokes nostalgia?  Is there something inherently ‘past’ or antique about it all?

“It’s hard to say what nostalgia means to different people. Sometimes it is derived from contentment while for others it can mean deep regret. Everyone holds onto memories, it is inescapable. We get comments how our music is like a seventies or eighties soundtrack they know; some remarks so far allude to John Carpenter and a few pertain to Moroder.”

On that note, do you feel like the sudden obsession with nostalgia and the fetishization of the old is a positive or bad thing?

“There is also a fetish for the past. Each decade takes from the one twenty years previous, thats why this last one had so many references to the eighties. It was no surprise to me lately when a band spoke of their love for The Las.

“I watched Das Boot a year ago on VHS. There was tape hiss non-stop for 3 hours, which was heaven for me personally. High definition seems too clinical too me, the colour is too clear.”

Future plans?

“We have a split release with Fur lined up so we are looking for a label at the moment to work with. It is something we have discussed with him for months and months. Both of us have tracks ready. After that we will probably getting working on a new record. There are plenty of things we have yet to try out.”

Andrew Ryce