news 2006.06.02
news - singapore 2006 June 2
(是日新聞精選)
Soler twins are doubly hot, doubly fun
(Twins Dino (left) and Julio Acconci make up the Macau rock duo Soler. )
EVERYTHING about Hong Kong's hottest rock duo Soler screams masculinity.
From their exotic Italian-Myanmarese good looks to their firm biceps, and even their edgy rock music.
Yet the twin brothers - Julio and Dino Acconci - are as coy as women when it comes to their age.
Our guess is they are in their early 30s.
The two Macau-born chaps certainly look mature enough, and it actually took them 10 years to land the recording deal that propelled them to stardom in Hong Kong last year.
But when The New Paper asked for their age over a poolside breakfast meeting on Tuesday, both brothers gave a mysterious smile and shot each other a knowing glance.
They haven't disclosed it before, they said, and are not about to do so now.
Eyeing this reporter's glass of orange juice, Julio, the older twin, joked: 'It'd take more than an orange juice for us to tell. Maybe a glass of wine or something...'
Added Dino with a mischievous grin: 'Women don't tell, so why should we men?'
That's Soler for you - two disarmingly goofy guys despite their intense, wild boy image.
Fans will already be familiar with cool, unsmiling pictures of them flaunting either their biceps or washboard abs.
Up close, the twins, who were in town to plug their Mandarin album, Intuition, were friendly, easy going and laughed a lot.
Relaxing over a spread of toast, eggs and hashbrowns at Carlton Hotel's rooftop pool, they regaled this reporter with tales from their musical journey so far. (See report below.)
One would talk while the other would eat, and they had a knack of finishing each other's sentences and emphasising the same key word at the same time.
You get the feeling they are one entity and not two individuals.
It was obvious they have an unspoken synergy between them, even their jokes were shared.
They kept joking about diving into the cool, inviting pool (both are strong swimmers), and one said he should pretend to trip and fall into the water.
PARTY ANIMALS?
Later, when asked to point at the camera, Dino drew chuckles when he yelled in jest: 'Paparazzi!'
Not that they are strangers to shutterbugs trailing them.
Both have been snapped frequenting Lan Kwai Fong in Hong Kong, which is famous for its pubs and clubs, and gained a reputation for being party animals.
But it turned out to be a misunderstanding.
Dino explained: 'It's just that our band studio is in Lan Kwai Fong, smack in the middle of all the pubs, so when they (the paparazzi) see us, they'd think, these guys must be partying!'
When it comes to music, however, both guys are dead serious.
They play the guitar and write their own music - best described as pop rock with a touch of soul.
They pride themselves on being natural and energetic on stage, and make it a point to keep themselves fit so they can put up entertaining stage performances for fans.
They insisted they are not 'fitness freaks', but enjoy sports. Julio used to be a sprinter in school and once represented Macau in 200m and 400m races held in Singapore.
To encourage their 'shy and timid' fans to let their hair down and scream along with them, the duo even came up with the title Let's Go Crazy for their recent concert series at the Hong Kong Coliseum.
To them, being Soler - their mum's maiden name in the Karen tribal language which means aiming high for the sun - means uniting as one.
They have their own 'twin language', and although they sometimes clash over differences of opinions, they always manage to talk things out.
'If we offend (each other), we'd apologise,' said Julio.
'Some people find it strange but we do it sincerely. Being Soler is about how much we're able to lose our egos. It's not the sum of us but the subtraction of two of us.'
Added Dino: 'People say there's chemistry between us, and that's the core of Soler. People are attracted to this thing between us, so let's give it due respect.'
Music is also the reason why the Soler guys have decided to keep their age a secret.
Instead of having people judge them by their age, they would rather people listen to their music without prejudice.
Julio said: 'Music has no age. By keeping our age a secret, we force people to make their judgments based on music.'
Dino chipped in: 'A DJ in Taiwan asked how we want people to see us, and we said, the best thing would be for them to close their eyes and listen to our music.'
With a mischievous glint in his eyes, he added: 'And then open their eyes.'
No doubt to be pleasantly surprised by their gorgeous macho forms!
Soler's album, Intuition, is out in the stores.
By Chang May Choon ; June 02, 2006
from :
http://newpaper.asia1.com.sg/show/story/0,4136,107616-1149285540,00.html?
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
No Italian deal, but they're big in Asia
BORN in Macau, Julio and Dino moved to Italy at 17 to learn the local language after their Italian father died.
They lived there for nine years, and had a 'brief fling' with EMI Italy in 1994 when they had a recording contract that eventually fell through.
They spent the next few years trying to get another deal, but ended up 'jaded' after countless failures.
Missing home, they returned to their mother in Macau and won a songwriting competition held in conjunction with the East Asian Games a few years ago.
In 2004, Dino went for auditions and became the guitarist for Beyond member Paul Wong's new band.
A chance meeting with their current manager ensued, and the rest is history.
While preparing for their Cantonese debut, both guys started learning Mandarin and eventually released a Mandarin album.
Dino said: 'We want our music to be heard by one quarter of the world's population.'
Up next is a collaboration with Hong Kong action star Donnie Yen.
Soler will pen the theme song for Donnie's upcoming movie, Dragon Tiger Gate, while Donnie will direct the music video for the song.
On their swift rise to fame last year, the Soler guys said they are thankful to the Hong Kong media for promoting them, and the support from a wide array of fans, ranging from 5-year-old kids to grannies in their 70s.
Dino recalled a young girl walking up to them in the streets to ask if she could take photos with them. But it was her mum and aunt who shyly emerged to pose for the camera.
'Why we avoid age is because music is not about age,' he added.
'A lot of middle-aged people say it's only their children who listen to us but our music has no age. Just listen and it could be right up your alley.'
Hong Kong martial arts director-actor Donnie Yen (centre), members of Macau music group Soler, Julio (right) and Dino, pose during a promotional event of their new movie, Dragon Tiger Gate, in Hong Kong.
from:
http://newpaper.asia1.com.sg/show/story/0,4136,107617-1149285540,00.html?
(是日新聞精選)
Soler twins are doubly hot, doubly fun
(Twins Dino (left) and Julio Acconci make up the Macau rock duo Soler. )EVERYTHING about Hong Kong's hottest rock duo Soler screams masculinity.
From their exotic Italian-Myanmarese good looks to their firm biceps, and even their edgy rock music.
Yet the twin brothers - Julio and Dino Acconci - are as coy as women when it comes to their age.
Our guess is they are in their early 30s.
The two Macau-born chaps certainly look mature enough, and it actually took them 10 years to land the recording deal that propelled them to stardom in Hong Kong last year.
But when The New Paper asked for their age over a poolside breakfast meeting on Tuesday, both brothers gave a mysterious smile and shot each other a knowing glance.
They haven't disclosed it before, they said, and are not about to do so now.
Eyeing this reporter's glass of orange juice, Julio, the older twin, joked: 'It'd take more than an orange juice for us to tell. Maybe a glass of wine or something...'
Added Dino with a mischievous grin: 'Women don't tell, so why should we men?'
That's Soler for you - two disarmingly goofy guys despite their intense, wild boy image.
Fans will already be familiar with cool, unsmiling pictures of them flaunting either their biceps or washboard abs.
Up close, the twins, who were in town to plug their Mandarin album, Intuition, were friendly, easy going and laughed a lot.
Relaxing over a spread of toast, eggs and hashbrowns at Carlton Hotel's rooftop pool, they regaled this reporter with tales from their musical journey so far. (See report below.)
One would talk while the other would eat, and they had a knack of finishing each other's sentences and emphasising the same key word at the same time.
You get the feeling they are one entity and not two individuals.
It was obvious they have an unspoken synergy between them, even their jokes were shared.
They kept joking about diving into the cool, inviting pool (both are strong swimmers), and one said he should pretend to trip and fall into the water.
PARTY ANIMALS?
Later, when asked to point at the camera, Dino drew chuckles when he yelled in jest: 'Paparazzi!'
Not that they are strangers to shutterbugs trailing them.
Both have been snapped frequenting Lan Kwai Fong in Hong Kong, which is famous for its pubs and clubs, and gained a reputation for being party animals.
But it turned out to be a misunderstanding.
Dino explained: 'It's just that our band studio is in Lan Kwai Fong, smack in the middle of all the pubs, so when they (the paparazzi) see us, they'd think, these guys must be partying!'
When it comes to music, however, both guys are dead serious.
They play the guitar and write their own music - best described as pop rock with a touch of soul.
They pride themselves on being natural and energetic on stage, and make it a point to keep themselves fit so they can put up entertaining stage performances for fans.
They insisted they are not 'fitness freaks', but enjoy sports. Julio used to be a sprinter in school and once represented Macau in 200m and 400m races held in Singapore.
To encourage their 'shy and timid' fans to let their hair down and scream along with them, the duo even came up with the title Let's Go Crazy for their recent concert series at the Hong Kong Coliseum.
To them, being Soler - their mum's maiden name in the Karen tribal language which means aiming high for the sun - means uniting as one.
They have their own 'twin language', and although they sometimes clash over differences of opinions, they always manage to talk things out.
'If we offend (each other), we'd apologise,' said Julio.
'Some people find it strange but we do it sincerely. Being Soler is about how much we're able to lose our egos. It's not the sum of us but the subtraction of two of us.'
Added Dino: 'People say there's chemistry between us, and that's the core of Soler. People are attracted to this thing between us, so let's give it due respect.'
Music is also the reason why the Soler guys have decided to keep their age a secret.
Instead of having people judge them by their age, they would rather people listen to their music without prejudice.
Julio said: 'Music has no age. By keeping our age a secret, we force people to make their judgments based on music.'
Dino chipped in: 'A DJ in Taiwan asked how we want people to see us, and we said, the best thing would be for them to close their eyes and listen to our music.'
With a mischievous glint in his eyes, he added: 'And then open their eyes.'
No doubt to be pleasantly surprised by their gorgeous macho forms!
Soler's album, Intuition, is out in the stores.
By Chang May Choon ; June 02, 2006
from :
http://newpaper.asia1.com.sg/show/story/0,4136,107616-1149285540,00.html?
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
No Italian deal, but they're big in Asia
BORN in Macau, Julio and Dino moved to Italy at 17 to learn the local language after their Italian father died.
They lived there for nine years, and had a 'brief fling' with EMI Italy in 1994 when they had a recording contract that eventually fell through.
They spent the next few years trying to get another deal, but ended up 'jaded' after countless failures.
Missing home, they returned to their mother in Macau and won a songwriting competition held in conjunction with the East Asian Games a few years ago.
In 2004, Dino went for auditions and became the guitarist for Beyond member Paul Wong's new band.
A chance meeting with their current manager ensued, and the rest is history.
While preparing for their Cantonese debut, both guys started learning Mandarin and eventually released a Mandarin album.
Dino said: 'We want our music to be heard by one quarter of the world's population.'
Up next is a collaboration with Hong Kong action star Donnie Yen.
Soler will pen the theme song for Donnie's upcoming movie, Dragon Tiger Gate, while Donnie will direct the music video for the song.
On their swift rise to fame last year, the Soler guys said they are thankful to the Hong Kong media for promoting them, and the support from a wide array of fans, ranging from 5-year-old kids to grannies in their 70s.
Dino recalled a young girl walking up to them in the streets to ask if she could take photos with them. But it was her mum and aunt who shyly emerged to pose for the camera.
'Why we avoid age is because music is not about age,' he added.
'A lot of middle-aged people say it's only their children who listen to us but our music has no age. Just listen and it could be right up your alley.'
Hong Kong martial arts director-actor Donnie Yen (centre), members of Macau music group Soler, Julio (right) and Dino, pose during a promotional event of their new movie, Dragon Tiger Gate, in Hong Kong.
from:
http://newpaper.asia1.com.sg/show/story/0,4136,107617-1149285540,00.html?
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