S

olvent is Jason Amm, a robot music composer, analog synthesizer fetishist, and co-founder of the renowned Suction Records label. Born in Zimbabwe in 1972, Amm currently resides in a room full of machines in Toronto, Canada. He has been releasing his unique brand of synthesizer-pop music since 1997, and is best known for his releases on Morr Music (2001’s Solvent City) and Ghostly International (2004’s Apples & Synthesizers, 2005’s Elevators & Oscillators). Solvent has created his own unique version of electro-pop: too elegant and sincere for the electroclash set, too complex and contemporary to sound like it was recorded in 1981, and too seeped in the time-honoured traditions of melody, songwriting and hands-on synthesis to be lost in the overcrowded world of IDM. Along with some notable remixes for Soft Cell, Alter Ego, and Adult., Solvent has

also contributed standout tracks to several influential electronica compilations in recent years, including Putting The Morr Back In Morrissey (Morr Music), Disco Nouveau (Ghostly International), and Misery Loves Company (Ersatz Audio). His songs have also included in high-profiles DJ mix CDs, including Sven Vath’s Sound of the 5th Season (Cocoon), Dr. Lektroluv’s Lektroluv 5 (541), and Death in Vegas’s Fabriclive 23 (Fabric London). Today, Solvent is widely regarded in the underground electronica community as being at the forefront of electro-pop’s return to form. UK magazine The Wire recently described Solvent as part of a new generation of composers “gleefully blurring the lines” between modern techno and vintage techno-pop. Solvent currently records exclusively for Ghostly International, and has been touring extensively since 2004, having shared the stage with Adult., Legowelt, Bola, Junior Boys, Matthew Dear, Lusine, Lowfish, and others.

Releases

Elsewhere on the web

Press

  • Pitchfork
    Review: Demonstration Tape (1997-2007)
    2008
  • XLR8R
    Review: Demonstration Tape (1997-2007)
    2008
  • OC Weekly
    Review: Demonstration Tape (1997-2007)
    2008
  • URB
    Review: Demonstration Tape (1997-2007)
    2008
  • XLR8R
    Suction Records Closes Up Shop
    2008
  • XLR8R
    XLR8R's Top 100 Albums
    2006
  • XLR8R
    Artist Tips: Solvent
    2006
  • XLR8R
    Review: Idol Tryouts 2
    2006
  • Anthem Magazine
    Article: Idol Tryouts 2
    2006
  • BPM
    Review: Idol Tryouts 2
    2006
  • Detroit Free Press
    Great Stuff From Ghostly
    2006
  • RE:UP
    Review: Idol Tryouts 2
    2006
  • Music + TV
    Label Profile: Ghostly International
    2006
  • Groove
    Review: Apples & Synthesizers
    2005
  • Pitchfork
    Review: Elevators and Oscillators
    2005
  • Outburn
    Review: Elevators And Oscillators
    2005
  • Synthesis
    Review: Elevators And Oscillators
    2005
  • EYE Weekly
    Article: Solvent
    2004
  • Rockpile
    Review: Apples & Synthesizers
    2004
  • Pitchfork
    Review: Apples & Synthesizers
    2004
  • Earplug
    Review: Apples & Synthesizers
    2004
  • Grooves
    Article: Solvent
    2004
  • Exclaim
    Review: Apples & Synthesizers
    2004
  • Jockey Slut
    Review: Radio Ga Ga, parts 1 & 2
    2004
  • Urb
    Urb's Next 100: Solvent
    2004
  • Pitchfork
    Review: Disco Nouveau
    2002
  • more