The German electro act SOLAR FAKE, created by Sven Friedrich, presents a really extraordinary work with their new album, “FRONTIERS“. Though 3 years have passed since the debut album &Broken Grid& was released, followers of Sven’s musical activities have pleasantly eased their waiting with the &Resigned” E.P. (2009), by SOLAR FAKE, and the album &Whiteout& (2010), by Zeraphine.
 
Due to SOLAR FAKE supporting VNV Nation on their last tour and playing several festivals, they have attracted great attention, constantly increasing their number of fans, and not only amongst Zeraphine’s audience.
 
What was indicated on &Broken Grid& and &Resigned& now finds a felicitous continuation in &FRONTIERS&: driving beats and danceable floor fillers melt with great melodies you can't get out of your head once you hear them. Sven’s voice is multifaceted like never before, but still it's the element connecting all 11 tracks to a whole complete work.
 
The music
There's one thing SOLAR FAKE puts a strong emphasis on: variety! When listening to other albums of this genre you know how it will proceed after hearing 2 or 3 songs. SOLAR FAKE is different. That's why it seems difficult to categorize them clearly. Sven: &I simply like too many styles within this giant field of electronic music to limit myself to only one of them. It would be a shame and somehow it would be bore me. I don't want to compromise. The only restriction I impose on myself is to use synthetically generated sounds only, apart from my voice.&
 
Some of the tracks seem to be a kind of an allusion to the debut album, maybe the 'typical' SOLAR FAKE sound ('Under the Skies', 'Pain Goes By', 'More Than This'), but we clearly hear a very positive progress in sound and arrangements. It all sounds much more fresh and you immediately feel like dancing. Then there is the driving 'No Apologies', reminiscent of lofi- electropunk, a beautiful 80s revival 'Where Are You', a piano ballad with background noises á la Nine Inch Nails ('The Line of Sight'), an unexpectedly aggressive and evil-sounding 'Until I'm Back', and the future number one industrial club hit, in my opinion, called 'Parasites'. Some songs combine several styles, mostly with shouted, distorted choruses ('Why did I Raise the Fire', 'The Rising Doubt'). SOLAR FAKE are loved for their great cover versions. You can find a highly energetic version of 'Such a Shame' by Talk Talk on &FRONTIERS& as well.
 
Listening to the distorted and aggressive tracks I ask myself where the nice and friendly Sven Friedrich gets all the rage and anger from to perform these songs in such a unique way.
 
In addition, this album won't get boring, because you're always pleasantly surprised. It somehow feels like a compilation, but at the same time it's all of a piece, which might be due to Sven’s incomparable voice, his ability to write amazing melodies and the really cool production.
 
The lyrics
I guess you can't expect any positive lyrics written by Sven Friedrich. But so what? Sven: &I write about things that bother me or psych me out. These are usually negative impressions or experiences. I try to enjoy all the positive things happening to me and about all the rest I'm writing lyrics.&
 
So it's mostly about desperate situations and the ways that are left to go, about negative attributes of people.” Sven creates surreal worlds, which seem totally normal when listening to the music at the same time. But thank god he always stays far away from heartache, drama and self-pity.
 
'Parasites' is a little outstanding, because it's a sequence of different 'no's. The perspective changes all the time and it seems a little trivial after the very first impression, but turns out to be a very interesting way of expressing social criticism.
 
The artwork
SOLAR FAKE have worked together with Christian Ruhm for &FRONTIERS&. Previously, he was responsible for the artwork on the final Dreadful Shadows album &The Cycle&. Christian and Sven are just working together on an illustrated book named &Your Hell is Here&, which combines morbid photography with Sven’s lyrics. It's scheduled to be released in June 2011. Out of this cooperation the basic graphical concept of the &FRONTIERS& artwork was born. Selected images and portrait photographs merge to a complete work of art, and close the circle with &Your Hell is Here&.
 
Live
Anybody who has seen Solar Fake live knows they present excellent straight-forward entertainment. Sven and keyboardist Frank transmit all their delight in playing to the audience within seconds, without having to dress up their performance. Sven’s highly improved entertaining quality, especially since the latest Zeraphine tour, now also fills the gaps between SOLAR FAKE songs. The wonderful background videos that enhanced earlier shows had to be dropped lately. Sven: &We either weren't provided with the technical requirements or we played more new songs which simply don't have visuals yet. But by &FRONTIERS& release date, we'll also have videos for all the new songs.&
 
Well, if the songs of this album make you feel like dancing in their studio versions, you will definitely be blown away by the upcoming live shows.
 
Thomas K.