SOL ARDOUR

[AliceAuua14 5]

Hey Monochrome Heaven!

I made this thread to share with you music, video and events from my band SOL ARDOUR.

Rather than post a bunch of stuff at once, I figure I'll drop a few things off here and there! Hope you guys enjoy.

Bio: origin

We met in 2010, complete strangers. We all had fairly different musical backgrounds. Sion had been playing drums since he was a small boy with his musician father, in church groups and filling in for bands. Shola started singing in elementary school through musical theatre. I had played bass and guitar since middle school in several bands.

What brought us together was how well we got along. We were all passionate about music in general. I was really into jrock growing up, and Shola was still very into it. Sion was more into british rock and classic rock. We didn't have many favorite musicians in common. However, we really enjoyed each others musical identity, and felt that we could make something new, that would connect with people, and that we'd be proud of.

We revamped a few songs from my solo project, and wrote a few new songs together. This enabled us to get out and start playing shows. After about a year of performing, we buckled down and recorded our first EP, "Zero.0.Zero". It was recorded and produced in my bedroom entirely by us. It was released on iTunes, Amazon and other places Oct 8, 2011.

http://soundcloud.com/solardour/sets/zero-0-zero

Post Zero.0.Zero

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After the release of our first ep, we started doing shows more often. And we were also free to being working on completely new material as a band. We had grown musically over that year, and our sound had matured. We immediately began working on our first full length work, "Et Nexus to Utopia".

I'll leave it at this for now, and I'll post more a bit later! Thanks for anyone who has interest.

[Jigsaw9 6783]

Cool stuff, you guys are talented! Listened into the EP/single you linked on Soundcloud, I like the style. Pretty awesome too, given that you guys recorded it at home. xD The only thing that mildly irritates me is the drum sound in track 2 and 3 (sounds a lot more "distant" and reverb-y than in track 4 for example). But anyway, cool that you seem to have your own style already.

Looking forward to any updates from your band! ^^

[AliceAuua14 5]

Bio: Heart of Viole[n]ts maxi single

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Click picture to hear the singles.

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At the start of 2012 we started hunting for producer to work with, and in may, we found Anthony Santo from Westfall studios. We'd heard his work with local bands and pop artists, and really liked the tone he and his team were able to get from the instruments. Near the end of the month we headed up to Westfall for a consultation. There was an immediate rapport.

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In June we hit the studio for a week straight and laid down all of our parts. We ate and slept there. We hung out with the staff and other bands. We practiced like we never did before. After that week, we grew tighter and more determined as a band. With the recording behind us, we set out to embark on our first east coast mini tour, "The spark to set the world on fire".

[bonsaijodelfisch 328]

hi,

took a while for me to notice these are some pretty nice tracks you got out there, especially the more experimental ones from the first soundcloud-set

it's nice to see that your band has a unique flavor to it, that's rare these days.

also nice to see that see band survived the brutal recording-process without falling apart^^

that beeing said i'm not so sure about the choice of the producer/studio. it might just be a matter of personal taste, but i'm fairly certain a lot of "laptop"-producers might have pulled out better results, especially in the drums and vocals, but maybe that's just me beeing a production-nerd again...

anyways keep up the good work, love to see more in the future

[AliceAuua14 5]

Thanks for having a listen. I'm especially glad that you liked some of the older stuff.

I feel you on some of the production choices for some songs. Part of the necessity in working with a studio producer was lack of time and skill on my part to record at home. Also we didn't know anyone who was competent but also not too busy to record.

Overall I'm pretty happy with their quality and willingness to try new things.

Def gonna post an update soon!

Until then here's my distortion drenched cover of Luna Sea's, Desire. I actually didn't realize i had my gain up so high, so i apologize for all that fizz.

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[AliceAuua14 5]

Hey everyone

We just had our first headlining gig ever!

I'll have some video up soon!

in the meanwhile, check out our intro track "Wind". It's available for download.

[AliceAuua14 5]

Hey guys! Brief update. I haven't been able to come online too much, though I have been in the shoutbox a bit!

This is the first vid I was able to upload from our headlining gig at Webster Hall!

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My string popped mid play, and there was a strange sound effect issue during my second solo. Despite these sillinesses, we had a blast! and so did the audience. A mosh pit opened up, and I don't know if you could see it on Shola and I's face but we were kinda like O_O.... whaaaaaat?

During this show we introduced our newest member, our rhythm guitarist Sai. He joined us for the last song, and I'm trying to see If I can get some footage of that, with decent audio. Unfortunately I forgot to get the live recording from the sound guy, so everything is handcam audio madness.

P.S.

This month is that warm fuzzy giving sharing and caring time of the season! So our first ep is available for download on bandcamp, for whatever price you like! EVEN FREEEEE!

Check it out, share with friends, learn the lyrics yada yada!

http://solardour.bandcamp.com/album/zero-0-zero

[Jigsaw9 6783]

Thanks for the video, I enjoyed watching your performance!

[AliceAuua14 5]

Thanks Jigsaw! Glad you liked it!

[Pandabear 414]

Cool stuff you got there. And props on having your own unique sound. That's always important. It's always cool to see a band starting out like this and then playing shows and recording. I had no idea you guys were playing in NYC. I might have gone to check you guys out since I live in the area.

Like others have mentioned before, the only real issue is the production. It's not that great, but that's understandable considering the circumstances. It's still worth checking out different producers and listening to what they have already done, so you end up with a sound that makes you happy, if your going to go with that route. And it might also be worth doing some research into audio production. You don't have to become an audio engineer or producer, but some basic knowledge helps in stuff like developing tone, the best way to record it and preserving the original sound of your instrument. It also shapes how you compose and arrange the music for the best sound when you have limited resources. Would have loved producing you guys, but I have no real experience in production other than doing a couple of songs for some friends and my incomplete electronica EP, nor do I have a complete home studio yet.

By the way, awesome muscles.

[AliceAuua14 5]

Thanks for checkin us out Panda!

I definitely wanted more out of the production for Zero.0.Zero. Unfortunately I just lacked the skill. Heart of viole[n]ts def could have had more punch in my opinion, but as I lack that very specific ear for production, I don't know what could have been done better.

We are definitely looking for our next release to have a much more professional presentation - and are very excited about the new songs. So were just trying to spread the word, by doing great shows to build a fanbase, get our music out there, and save money for better shows and recordings.

Lol thanks about the muscles!

[AliceAuua14 5]

hey Guys and gals.

Brief update!

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Here's a sketch of a song I've been working, on solo. The band will also be adding some electronic elements to our sound. I'll keep updated on the progress.

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[AliceAuua14 5]

Hey guys.  We've been pretty busy learning our new material, and prepping for upcoming releases.

Here's our first new group shot of 2013.

I'll keep you updated with more stuff!

 

Addendum:
 

 

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=za7F6OnbPNs

[Jigsaw9 6783]

Nice pics!

[Velovelo 18]

Hey, you're also in Visual Unite!

 

I like your stuff, it sounds good. Especially instrumentally. Your vocalist can sing very well, too - impressive range. You DO need to get rid of the string synthesizers though, and I'll give you a good tip to find something A LOT BETTER for your recordings. It's a VSTi called "Hollywood Strings" by EastWest/Quantum Leap. It'll really improve the songs where you use synth strings, once you know how to properly use it.

 

Here is a string demo:

 

Other than that, you guys always ahd a cool direction, so I approve. And I am looking forward to your future efforts!

[AliceAuua14 5]

Thanks Jigsaw and VeloVelo!

Ohhhh yeahhh.  I love the EastWest orchestra stuff.  Have been trying to get a hold of a copy for a while.  Just so dang expensive - and hard to find..... elsewhere.  A composer friend of mine uses it for his orchestral mockups.

I'll have another update for this thread pretty soon.  Thanks for giving it some attention yall!

[jduv86 224]

jUST IN CASE YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THEIR FIRST MUSIC VIDEO!

<3

 

[AliceAuua14 5]

Hey Yall!  It's been a while.

We had a kinda crazy, but fun summer.  Unfortunately our rhythm guitarist Sai, had to leave the band mid summer.  We're still all on great terms.

Last week, we officially inducted our newest rhythm guitarist, Topeng.
We're working hard to record the first Official album of Sol Ardour.  Thanks you to anyone who still checks this thread out!

 

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I'm not quite sure how to insert videos. lol. Here's a link!

[AliceAuua14 5]

Hey yall, recently my band Sol Ardour has been back in the studio, finalizing our first multi-genre debut album!  

Over the summer, we released our first music video, and began recording our second video (where we were stopped by police, lol).  We've played a couple of mini/hidden shows, just to stay on our toes.  But our main focus, has been to finally bring forth the work that defines who we truly are.

So we headed back up to Westfall Studios and began recording.

Here you can get an early listen to a few of the songs on our upcoming release, which we're aiming to present, in April. 
If you enjoy any of the songs, please feel free to show to friends, embed in forums, etc.  We're pretty excited with this new work, and can't wait to share.

http://solardour.bandcamp.com/album/et-nexus-to-utopia

[dibur 3]

Artemis!!!  How cool to see you here. XD

And very glad to hear Sol Ardour is recording.  Keep at it Valkyrie Kiss in the same boat at the moment.

Also, I checked out Sol Ardour's bandcamp and am quite impressed with the songwriting on ET NEXUS TO UTOPIA.

[AliceAuua14 5]

Thanks Darrell !  We gotta rock together sometime soon!  Valkyrie Kiss and Sol Ardour on tour.

[AliceAuua14 5]

Hello everyone! It's been a while since I've updated.

This summer, we're finally putting out our album, Et Nexus to Utopia. It's a collection of music, visual art, and interactive experiences, that we've had in mind, for quite sometime. We're extremely excited about it - and to get others excited, we want to bring the experience to people who haven't heard us.

May 23rd will be our first show outside of the United States.
We're bringing Sol Ardour to Toronto, Canada. There we'll take the stage with Hoshi*Furu, Rose Noire and Daizy Stripper - at The Toronto Congress Centre, for Anime North. While up north, we'll be playing a few additional shows in Canada.

Our next big stop will be June 14th.
We'll be joining the international turkish metal band Pui, to rock the mainstage of NYC's largest nightclub, Webster Hall.

We're looking to bring our unique expression of several genres, sights, sounds, performance, and ideologies, wherever we can.
If you know of any venues in your area that you'd like us to play, please lemme know. I'd be thrilled to try and bring us there.

Thanks in advance for any help, or well wishing!

 

P.s. And for the life of me, I can't figure out how to add youtube links anymore! Would someone mind explaining it to me?

[sai 868]

All you have to do is paste the youtube link, that's all! No more codes needed, IP board automatically changed your link into the video

[AliceAuua14 5]

Thanks!

[Senedjem 510]

i have huge problems with sole odour i had to get socks with charcoal slips in them