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Heather Nova, Suede, Queen, Radiohead
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2 Press and Zine Reviews
2 Peer Reviews
Review This Artist
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-Introduction- Five years ago, two young lads who had only just got to know each other decided that they were going to start a band. This wouldn't have posed that big a problem if they knew what they were actually doing. One of them knew 4 chords on a guitar and nothing theoretical about music, the other could play the cello. They thought long and hard about what instruments would be needed in a rock band and managed to recruit a singer, a couple of flutists, a violinist and some drums. Not that surprisingly the band, then known as "Whatever", didn't last amazingly long. So the two boys, who were a year older and slightly more wiser, realised that a rethink was in order. The cellist started playing around on a bass guitar at school and the guitarist worked at improving his chord vocabulary. They found another singer, a different drummer, someone to play keyboard and "Sola Harba" was born. The seasons came and went, as did various band members, all except a core group of three - the two original lads, Paul and Pete (who were continually improving on their instruments), and Steph, the singer. These three slaved away, sometimes wanting to give up, but always being too proud to admit defeat, until they were finally taken seriously. Gone was the dreadful noise of people trying to be a band, and instead there were haunting melodies above solid, thoughtful, music. Vocals that made people catch their breath mixed with songs that perfectly captured a mood. A winning combination. -The songs- It was decided quite early on in the band's existence that they weren't going to go down the path of doing cover songs, which left them with only one option, and that was to write their own material. It was quickly discovered that Paul was surprisingly creative and took to writing songs like a duck to water. Pete also dabbled in song writing and would often work with Paul to experiment with different styles, however, as Pete reached his A-levels, this happened less and less, until Paul became (give or take the odd song) the sole songwriter. Although Pete, Paul and Steph are Christians, very few of Sola Harba's songs are actually about God. Instead, all sorts of themes come up in their songs - the insanity of life (Deeper Way In), illness (What to do when I'm ill), Writers Block (Wasting All I Am), suicide (Solitude) and love (Reflections) to name but a few. A real diversity that allows the listener to take a glimpse at heartfelt moments in the songwriters life, whoever that songwriter may be. -The style- A blend of Indie and Alternative Rock, Sola Harba have never been an easy band to Pigeon Hole. Each song is thought of individually and built up in such a way that it doesn't just sound like the last song. The one thing that binds all the songs together though is that they are all recognisable as Sola Harba. A number of factors could be responsible for that "Harba sound" - maybe it's Steph's remarkable vocal talent, or the way all the instruments work to complement each other, most probably it's a partnership of the two, but it's certainly a partnership that works!
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Drums:
Kit Monteith
Guitars:
Paul Walton
Bass:
Pete Dunford
Vocals:
Steph Lee
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