"With an obvious passion for all manner of world music styles,Soler weaves a gentle yet intricate tapestry of moods with her songs,from the hint of flamenco Dragonfly,through the caressing calypso of the title track, and evocative How Many Angels, moving from symphonic ballad to Sade-style groove and beyond, to the bell-like neo-folk of Perfect This Way." Michael Smith, DRUM MEDIA, Australia.
"Do not miss any opportunity to see Andrea Soler play live.This Australian singer-songwriter has brought a much needed helping of antipodean warmth in the form of her debut EP 'Better In The Sunshine'. She manages to blend so many rhythms and ideas,emotions and and moods into her music.The track 'How Many Angels' is a masterpiece. A brilliant and imaginative orginal artist.- Ian Peterson, LIVE WIRE, UK.
'Andrea Soler is unique. Not only is her music difficult to pigeonhole, her personality and ethos knocks spots off the word 'positivity'. If I was health minister for Britain, I'd make sure her EP was available over the pharmaceutical counter, not just in record stores.' Plum Woodard, Unsigned Chart, UK.
"There's no one thing that makes Andrea a wonderful performer. It's a combination of her life energy, her openness with her audience, her beautiful songs and utterly incredible voice. I feel blessed each and every time I have the opportunity to see Andrea play as she lifts my spirit, and helps me feel a little more peaceful in the world."
Nadia Sundae (ABC Radio, Gold Coast, Australia)
"Whether performing in an intimate setting or on a bigger stage, Andrea's naturally infectious vibe connects effortlessly." Conrad Barr (Solid Air Promotions,UK)
"Better In The Sunshine" is out now on www.andreasoler.com!
Two years ago, Andrea Soler was an unknown singer-songwriter in Australia. With guitar in hand, a pocketful of tunes and her trademark positive attitude to life firmly in the bag, Andrea left her home in the Tweed Valley for Europe. Determined to try her luck at establishing herself as a working musician here, her professionalism, first class musicianship and preternatural positivity has brought about more than she had imagined possible in such a short space of time.
Initially returning to her paternal roots in Paris, it was here that Andrea's song writing first began to spike. Inspired and influenced by the passionate and sometimes challenging joie de vivre of French tradition, Andrea developed a distinctly European influenced sound, drawing on a mixture of nuances associated with that part of the world. In turn, she quickly penetrated the gig circuit in Paris, likening herself and her music jokingly to the old ways of gypsies and travellers, with her antipodean interpretation of traditional French (and often, Spanish) sounds.
Where her music still contains nods towards this time of her life, her sound has evolved to envelop many points of reference from all over the world. It is her exceptional ability in amalgamating these global influences that is just one of the reasons Andrea is a unique musician.
Following the release of the Better In The Sunshine EP at the beginning of May, this summer Andrea has racked up numerous appearances within the UK's festival circuit, including the highly acclaimed Larmer Tree Festival in Dorset. Where BBC Dorset were quick to name-check Jools Holland, The Levellers and Kate Rusby amid performances, it was Andrea Soler who was the fourth act they cited within their coverage of the festival.
And quite rightly so. Andrea's music is a refreshing, unique yet traditional take on indie-folk. Hers is a gentle jazz infused, at times tropical, at times melancholic swathe of sound, universal in that it touches upon a broad roll call of genres and influences. Universal also in that it's impossible not to love. Part of what makes Andrea's sound – and indeed performances – so unique is her motivation: that is to make music that is personal to everyone in some way. Rarely without an infectious smile on her face, her penetrating positivity and optimism expertly avoids being saccharine, and is nothing more than utterly edifying.
The coming months for Andrea are piped to be just as exciting and productive as those just gone. With a host of big names billed to feature on her debut album scheduled for release in June 2009. Along with her recent EP, it will be a jewel of an addition to any CD collection, and the next stage in a glittering career for Andrea.
