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Sola Rosa
The Sola Rosa story began long, long ago, in the formative mists of 1980s synth-pop and 1990s practice rooms, culminating in the pre-Sola band, Cicada.
However, washing dishes, wearing black and touring New Zealand can only sustain a body for so long, so with the new century breaking its waters and demanding wholesale change, Andrew gave the world the Sola Rosa "Starter for 4 EP".
And what a change it was. Hand-made and hand-sold, all copies were successfully merged into discerning CD collections all over New Zealand.
"Entrance to Skyway EP", followed up in style garnering Andrew the Best Independent Release award at the New Zealand's annual indie-radio awards, the b-Nets, before being re-released by Festival Mushroom Records and selling four figures nationwide.
Now safe in the arms of a record label, the debut album, 'Solarized', was released in 2001 after eighteen months in the making. The album received excellent reviews, proving popular sales-wise on both sides of the Tasman, and winning Best Electronica Release at the "grown-up" New Zealand Music Awards. The second album, 'Haunted Out-Takes' (FMR, July 2003) was another award-winner, taking the Best Downbeat Release trophy at the 2004 b-Nets, as well as receiving excellent media reviews and figures to match.
So there it is - a potted history of Sola Rosa. It's always going to be a journey, but the scenery changes at every turn and the soundtrack just gets better. Standing still never did cut it - you gotta move on to find the best action.
