This band is very important to me, similarly to X
Japan. And japanese rock whatsoever.
Basically, they are everything I look for in music.
From the left:
Toll Yagami (drums), Yutaka Higuchi (bass), Atsushi Sakurai (vocals), Hisashi
Imai (guitar) Hidehiko Hoshino (guitar)
I haven’t come across any band that could remotely
sound as magical as them. If one of them decided to leave a band, the thrill
would be gone. I just know it. One of the most distinctive traits of them
though is Sakurai’s voice, which has unbelievable range and very characteristic
vibrato. Personally, I’m completely enchanted by his charisma and the way he
expresses his emotions. Goosebumps. These things can’t be trained.
Interesting fact: Solaris is said to be inspired by a very famous science fiction novel
by Polish writer Stanislaw Lem. The book centers upon the themes of
miscommunication between the scientists and non-human species on Solaris, a
distant planet covered by a mysterious ocean, which has a power to materialize memories,
and guilty concerns of those who inspect it, in human form.
Most of their lyrics are written by Atsushi and Imai.
Now here’s the drill: you need to read in between the lines to fully grasp
their meaning. Of course anyone can interpret them in different ways, there’s
no one true answer to interpretation, but I must say that after listening to
them for such a long time, many of them are not as simple as they may look at
first glance. Let’s say: Elise no tame ni, written by Imai.
It’s pretty sexual, isn’t? Even Sakurai’s moves are
sensual – he’s known for it – which force us to think about the lyrics in a
certain way.
But let’s look at the chorus:
Just like
love cut me a wound
Open in
obscenity
Just like
unforgiving storms
Drive me
crazy
Just like
flowers draw me in
Tempting me
with sweet honey
Like the
Devil, I long to drown
Loved and so
lovely...
The delicacy, gentleness of relationship is contrasted
to the obscenity, roughness and even temptation of the Devil. But now, this can
also refer to the relationship between musicians and their fans, their
expectations. In short – songwriting. Songs are expected to be sincere, real,
to show true emotions, not stability. “That’s not what we want.”
This song has also many references, even the title: to
Beethoven’s solo piano “Für Elise”; and then “the clock that's melting” to
Salvador Dali's painting "The Persistence of Memory."
I really find it fun, looking for all these nuances
that are often well hidden before our sight.
So yeah, that’d be it for now, it’s already long as it
is. Hope you enjoyed it!
