Photek – Solaris

I recall purchasing this album upon its initial release in 2000 and, as a hardcore drum & bass head at the time, being incredibly disappointed and disheartened by it. I must've listened to it just a few times and put it to rest for decades - until recently.

You see, back then Photek was the preeminent d&b scientist - delivering a reliable stream of dark, paranoid, and cinematic d&b music including a highly acclaimed debut album. So, this sophomore album comprising an odd mixture of breakbeat, house, trip-hop, and dark ambient music, with one lonely d&b track to speak of, was near sacrilege.

Well, what I can say now is that this album was prophetic and portended a trend all too common these days - the genre-hopping electronic music artist not content to be pigeonholed, jumping from genre to genre with ease. From house, to techno, to dubstep, to d&b, to jungle etc. Tracks like "Halogen" and "Lost Blue Heaven" pre-date the ominous "dungeon" style of dubstep by over a decade and could easily sit in a mix along with selections from DJ Youngsta or Distance, circa 2011. The album also hinted at Photek's interest in scoring films, which he went on to do years later.

Upon further review, this album is incredibly solid and is an underrated gem way ahead of its time.

I have to agree with several others that I think this album annoyed a lot of Photek's dnb purists. However he manages to infuse some of his house instrumentals with the same chilly paranoia that characterises his drum & bass tracks which is a unique combination. I don't think anyone else has managed this and with the diversity of styles this is a classic album IMO. If only he could come up with more tracks like 'Glamourama' and 'Lost Blue Heaven'...

Quite simply you have to take your hat off to Photek for displaying his CinemaScope vision on Solaris. Sure the d&b purists didn't get it, suffering from beat xenophobia but that's the case with any electronic subgenre...with some much good music why just not broaden your mind...
Back to Solaris, it's a compelling listen because Photek didn't give a damn and basically wore his heart on his sleeve nodding to Detroit, Berlin & Chicago and of course d&b and downtempo. Stylistically and sonically this album is BANG ON THE MONEY, period. I'm sure that a few critics have comeback to this album and it that they were wrong, oh so very wrong.
So if your mind is broad, don't like to be pigeonholed in one style and have REALLY good taste in music don't hesitate on this one. CLASS. Period.

I really like this album, it stands apart from Parkes' earlier works and it's really interesting to hear what he does with more stripped back musical forms, and not much in the way of his usual chopped up fare. It really hits me in that place I discovered within myself when I travelled to the Society Islands. The vocals really hit me there too. Must it I'm not House music fan... maybe that's why I like the "House" tracks on this album so much.

emerging at the other side of the black hole mustn't be an easy experience, and the proof is that with "Solaris" we arrive at a much more cold, mechanical universe. Where "Modus Operandi" evocated the coldness of a travel through the voids of cosmos and black holes, this album, even with its more soul/house oriented numbers, goes even deeper presenting a cold world, far away from the void and immensity of space. which maybe explains why it seems so distant even when it's aiming to the dance floor. the reference to Stanislav Lem and his portrait of the cultural clash between the old and the new (wether they're separated from atime and/or space) seems very accurate to me. i still haven't decided if i like "Solaris" better than "Modus Operanmdi", but be aware that richard parks, contrary to his fans desires, keeps his production work in motion and looking forward. and that can't be bad, right?

this is a unique masterpiece, absolutely stunning tribute - if considered as one - to the work of stanislav lem. probably the best music illustration to his novels i've ever heard.

of course this is a very subjective assumption (to consider this album as a tribute), as the real intentions of rupert parkes are beyond my knowledge, however - deep, dark scientific feeling of "solaris" makes it one of the most interesting propositions in its breed. check "terminus" for instance - run it as an audio background for lecture of "terminus" novel, a disturbing experience, believe it or not.

yesterday s. lem has ed away. if i was asked to prepare a tribute album, i wouldn't hesitate to choose photek's productions from "solaris".

not only because of the album title itself.

If there is a track to on this versatile album, no doubt it is "Infinity".
Listening to it with headphones is a snare...
Its power catches you and it's impossible to escape from the haunting and dramatic atmosphere till the end while you suddenly find yourself jumping like a loony...
Nearly six years later, my head still shakes on this...

Faultless d'n'b production hitting your body with punch bass and hard drums, twisting your soul with short loop of obsessive female voice, up and down arpeggio of hypnotic celestial tone, majestic yet freezing sustained chord in the low and smashing fx noises.
A monster of a track, overtaking PHOTEK's greatest masterpieces.

Lethal.

The problem I have with this album isnt the fact that its got more than drum & bass on it. I like downtempo and house music too. The thing is that the various styles of music here (apart from the d&b tracks) are all fairly crap. 'Mine To Give' is a boring house track and 'Can't Come Down' isnt great either. A lot of the tracks are short and pointless. Overall its quite a disappointing album

In fact, I can understand why Photek fans dislike this album - they were expecting more drum & bass, more 'classic' Photek, so to speak, but they didn't get what they wanted.
"Solaris" is the proof, that Photek is much more than just a drum & bass producer. It proves that he's truly talented. His house works blow my socks off every time I hear them. Not to mention the amazing "Terminus" and "Junk" - genius tracks.
Personally, I think "Solaris" is Photek's best album to date. It's more than just a bunch of songs on 1 CD - it's really an ALBUM. It flows nicely and all the songs are 'connected' together. Truly fantastic, from the beginning until the end.

A quite unique album, different from what I first heard of Photek (during his The Seven Samurai/Ni Ten Ichi Ryu stage).
When I used to think of Photek, the first thing that came to my mind was "mysterious, aggressive japanese-flavored drum 'n' bass" thus I found Solaris a bit disappointing.
True, you gotta have an open mind to fully appreciate this album, however there are a few outstanding tracks like Halogen which, in my opinion, are well worth a listen.