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Rating: I've just realized that the Debaser database doesn't contain any reviews of Solaris. Bad, very bad, so I feel compelled to offer my contribution to this unforgettable masterpiece by Rupert Parkes released in 2000, which caused quite a stir right from its arrival in stores. The reason is simple, the whole world was expecting a new benchmark in the drum and bass genre glorified by Photek himself, but the artist surprised everyone with a release that strategically distanced itself from it, except for one track, the Solaris of the title.
Stunning in its contrasts painted right from the idyllic cover, Solaris has little, very little of the summer or sunny vibe, the entire album is submerged in contemplative darkness, and the first tracks are almost a manifesto of his intentions. The magnificent Terminus opens the album in grand style with a distorted tribal beat that gives chills. The entire piece is made of rhythmic samples and some hints of synth, the atmosphere is completely hallucinated, like wandering in a city at night blindfolded. Junk is an ideal "part 2", with pseudo-jazz percussion and a TB-303 acid line unleashed without restraint alongside a reckless and rubbery digital bass. Shortly after, spectral carpets and a vocal sample join the fray, and guess what, it thunders "JUNK". There's no time to recover from this drunken groove as you end up in the indefinable Glamourama, the first of the four-beat episodes on the album, an absolute novelty for Photek. The atmosphere remains gloomy, a techno house structure marked by heavy rides and one of the weirdest vocal inserts ever, the voice of an Italian girl narrating her sexual experience throughout the track, creating a curious contrast between the icy claustrophobia of the composition and the human warmth. The piece has an irresistible and unhealthy charm, even today, but we're just warming up. The following Mine to Give is what we can consider the single of the album, enriched by Robert Ownes' voice. This remains the biggest surprise of the album, not only for being an unabashedly house-garage track but for the ease with which Parkes manages to handle the material coming from completely different directions, it's not something everyone can do. The vocals aren't anything memorable, the lyrics are almost annoying, but the composition remains evocative and impactful even today, with one of the most beautiful house basslines I can recall. Listen to believe.
Owens himself also participates in the subsequent Can't Come Down, which curiously uses many sounds from the previous one, but with different intentions. Breakbeat percussion and once again a bassline that manages to be memorable. Solaris, as mentioned, is the only dnb episode on the album, and not to disappoint the fans, it translates into an exhaustive appointment: almost 9 minutes of pleasure, between suffocating basslines and an intricate mosaic of synths, it’s a demonstration of the quality level now reached by Parkes in this genre, and at the same time, a more than good justification for the new ideas experimented within the album. The last four tracks are the shortest and seem like parts of a single discourse, a sort of suite where Parkes unleashes all his inner demons, Halogen seems an even more desperate remix of Glamourama, Lost Blue Heaven slows down to immerse in a trip-hop universe. The production work in this track is phantasmagorical, while Under the Palms continues in the same vein but adding hints of vocals. The track leads with its sleepy and detached tone to the tail of the album, a suggestive ambient execution.
Solaris is a masterpiece, the breakthrough product of an eclectic artist who didn't want to be imprisoned by the standards of a genre. I've kept it close for 16 years, and it's always a pleasure to rediscover it. Now it will be forever in the Debaser archive as well, and that makes me even more satisfied. If you are good people who love electronics, you know and love it too, otherwise, I don't hold a grudge, but I invite you to make it right as soon as possible.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
03 Glamourama (05:30)
Non ho bisogno di parole
Non abbiamo mai avuto tanto da dirci
Non potevo piu affascinarti
Dicono che sono bella
Ma non tanto interessante
Ho bisogno di armonia
Desidero armonia
Si tratta di te e di me
Solo questo importante
Ogni giorno quando mi sveglio
Sento freddo
L'amore
E' una delusione grandiosa
Odio l'innocenza con cui ho vissuto
Mi metto sul letto
In cerca di restituire
Ai miei sensi
Il piacere che stato proibito
Sudavo
Tremavo
L'amore
E' una delusione grandiosa
Mi metto sul letto
Il piacere che stato proibito
Non sapevo piu
Se provavo piacere
O disgusto
Sudavo
Tremavo
L'amore
E' una delusione grandiosa
Odio l'innocenza con cui ho vissuto
Mi metto sul letto
In cerca di restituire
Ai miei sensi
Il piacere che stato proibito
Non sapevo piu
Se provavo piacere
O disgusto
Sudavo
Tremavo
Si tratta di te e di me
Solo questo importante
Ogni giorno quando mi sveglio
Sento freddo
04 Mine to Give (06:41)
If that don't make you happy
Then I don't know
If that don't make you happy
I don't know
I don't know
If that don't make you happy
I don't know
I don't know
If that don't make you happy
I don't know
I don't know
And if this world were mine
And if this world were mine
I'd give it to you
If that don't make you happy
Then I don't know
I don't know
You are the one
That makes my dreams come true
Baby Baby
I don't know
If that don't make you happy
I don't know
I don't know
If that don't make you happy
I don't know
I don't know
And if this world were mine
Mine to give
I will name i
your love
I'd do anything
Girl
What I can do for you
What I can do to make your dreams come true
Every day of your life I'll try to make it right
Better believe me girl
I'm right here by your side
If that don't make you happy
(I don't know)
Tell me tell me
I don't know
If that don't make you happy
I don't know
Can't understand what I gotta do over you
I've been trying and trying and trying and trying to make your dreams
dreams come true
Now Girl
Where there's a will there's a way
'cause I'm thinking 'bout you every day
Hey Hey
All..allways
Never worry, never fear
in the mist of darkness I'll be here
All that I've got
I give (I give...)
Everyday of your life girl
I'll be here
Now Girl
If that
hmmm...
if that
don't
If that
that
that don't
(that don't do...)
Then how
how
I don't know...
I don't know...
I'd be by your side
Think of this
If you ever need me girl
I'll be there to the eve!
If that don't make you happy then I don't know
If that don't make you happy I don't know
I don't have any time
I don't know
I don't know
Oh Baby
I don't know
I don't know
I don't know
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