Eric Solomon

Eric Solomon was barely a week and a half old when his family relocated from Montreal to Kinshasa in the African Congo. For thirteen years the family flourished there. “It was paradise,” Solomon says, but it didn’t last. “One day I left school and a military man handed me a handwritten, photocopied note saying war was coming.” Within days civil war broke out, forcing the family into hiding. A week into the violence Solomon’s father received word of an evacuation flight bound for Israel. There was only one seat open and Eric was in it. “I did not see my whole family for a decade. I couldn’t speak to them for a year. I didn’t know if they were dead or alive.” Solomon returned to Montreal to live with his extended family. It was there he heard music in his head for the first time. “Music is like a first language to me. One day I was walking by a construction site and I heard this melody in my head through the ruckus and the beating of the concrete. It wasn’t a thought. I wasn’t looking for it. It just found me.” Ever since Solomon has been driven by the sounds he hears in his mind, and although music wasn’t his first love, in Montreal it became his obsession. An obsession he’s only just begun to fully explore with the release of his independent debut EP, Antarctica. A deft blend of 80’s soul, funk, and modern electro and alternative pop, Antarctica has already invited comparisons to artists like Calvin Harris and Frankmusik. In June 2010, immediately following its release, Antarctica was featured on the front pages of the iTunes Pop and Electronic sections. That same month Virgin Radio Vancouver also chose Solomon as their feature artist. Antarctica’s lead single, The Only One – a mix of 80’s R&B and modern electro so fluid it puts listeners in an instant mind-lock – is receiving substantial airplay across Canada. Although the EP’s title may evoke a sense of frozen isolation, Antarctica marks a major artistic and personal transformation for the Vancouver based recording artist; the end of a long, slow thaw. “I felt frozen – disconnected from the world – but now I’m defrosting, melting back into normal life,” muses Solomon. Produced and recorded by Solomon in his basement studio in Vancouver, and mixed at Hipposonic Studios with Dave ‘Rave’ Ogilvie (Marilyn Manson, NIN), Antarctica is only a sample of what the Vancouver based recording artist is capable of. Beyond being a talented songwriter, singer and multi-instrumentalist, he’s a gifted self-taught re-mixer. Initially his re-mixes of songs by Owl City, The xx, and Passion Pit’s Moth’s Wings were intended as a technical exercise. “An introduction to the production I was going to use on Antarctica,” he explains, “but we just put them out and BOOM.” Upon their release in early 2010 they attracted immediate attention from Rolling Stone and the highly respected Electro and alternative Pop blogger, Arjan Writes. As fortunate as it was, Solomon’s sudden recognition of the sweet sounds hiding behind the clutter and noise of everyday life isn’t the only unexpected thing to have had a lasting impact on him. “My perception of the world can be a blessing or a curse. Since evacuating I feel like a lot of memories for me are missing. I didn’t have a best friend, or a high school where everyone knows me. It’s hard to connect on certain levels.” As a teenager Solomon took every opportunity he could to play music, ultimately landing a gig that led to five years of steady touring in Asia. “Playing everywhere,” he says, “six nights a week, five sets a night in Hong Kong, Thailand, Malaysia, The Philippines – I really got my road legs through that.” Still he couldn’t shake the sounds in his head. Before and after every show, sometimes well into the daylight, he stayed by his keyboard and wrote. “I had to. I could hear music all the time. It was incessant.” It was a comfortable gig, Solomon says, complete with five star luxury accoms and good pay, but to Solomon it just wasn’t real. “I had this huge library of songs, yet every night I’d go downstairs and play covers. I quit to go back to washing dishes and taking the bus to follow my original career.” While his experiences in the Congo and Asia may have provided him with a unique worldview, it was hard won, and made it difficult to put down roots personally and musically. Although not for lack of trying… Once back in Canada, Solomon moved to Vancouver, “for a girl,” he adds. The relationship didn’t work out, but the musical opportunities came thick and fast. He experimented with different styles, recording environments and players, but never felt quite at home. “I grew up listening to Prince, Michael Jackson, and Stevie Wonder, 80’s funk, synth brass and drum machines; how I started was with me and a keyboard spending hours and hours trying to get the songs out of my head and onto a computer. I’ve gone back to that, to me and what I hear in my head, and that’s a great place to be as an artist.” The result is an impressive seven song EP with genuine depth. Immensely hooky, Antarctica showcases Solomon’s substantial arrangement skills, ample vocal chops and an ability to communicate and confront his lingering feelings of isolation and doubt without ever sounding desolate. Although songs like Me And The World and Antarctica are written from the standpoint of feeling disconnected, Solomon’s confident lyrics, light synth touches and relentlessly upbeat grooves infuse Antarctica with an undeniable sense that good things are coming down the pipe. “It’s time to take my moment,” he says. “My message is about being true to who you are. The reason why there are so many wars in the world is because people feel they need to steal power from each other because they feel a sense of lack from within. If we were all to do what we love we would feel the self-esteem that would make us give instead of take. I truly believe it’s about perception. That’s what this album is about, and good is coming up.”