Solanas is quite a peculiar quartet from Antwerp, Belgium. For some years Michaël Brijs (vocals and flute), Tom Tiest (guitar), Filip Vandebril (bass) and Diederik Van Remoortere (drums) have been intensely and stubbornly working on their own sound. The result is an adventurous music that combines elements from jazz and the blues with the raw sound of punkrock. A unique flavor is added by the prominent feature of the flute (we haven’t come across a great band using this instrument since Jethro Tull in the seventies). Add to this Vandebril’s sturdy bass, the rich harmonics of Tom Tiest, the light but firm drumming of Dmonkey Van Remoortere plus the edgy crooning of Brijs and you get some real fun on stage.
Michael Brijs (vocals, flute)
What about the name?
First of all it breathes music (you’ll find three notes hidden in its syllables). Then once upon a time there was Valerie Solanas, a controversial feminist during the sixties. The lyrics of Michaël Brijs express a satiric perspective on modern society not unlike that of Miss Solanas: people (especially women, artists and animals) are being humiliated and manipulated by short-sighted, patriarchal and sexist megalomaniacs who conspire with educational and religious institutions, the social media, extraterrestrials, demons, nutty psychiatrists, and Stalinists.
Tom Tiest (guitar)
Filip Vandebril (bass)
Diederik Van Remoortere (drums)
Bert Lezy (artwork, graphics)
