Think Like Us

Think Like Us (Ectomorph Version)

http://solventcity.com

http://facebook.com/solvent

http://discogs.com/artist/Solvent

For over a decade, Jason Amm’s work as Solvent has neatly defied categorization. His music is too sweetly melodic for techno or acid, his compositions too fiendishly detailed for synth-pop. He was too steeped in the sounds of the ‘80s to participate in the incipient IDM scene; he was briefly lumped in with the short-lived electroclash movement, only to outlive it; he’s played “minimal wave” parties and goth clubs, indie-rock shows and techno all-nighters. But even as words fail in the face of Solvent’s music, its pleasures are anything but elusive.

Today, Zimbabwe-born Jason Amm lives in Toronto, ON, where he spends his time obsessively grappling with an outsized collection of vintage analog synthesizers, samplers, and sequencers. Solvent first materialized in 1997 with a string of singles and full-lengths (1998’s Solvent, 1999’s Solvently One Listens) on Amm’s own Suction Records, the Toronto-based label he founded with Lowfish’s Gregory DeRocher. The watershed release Solvent City (2001) on Berlin-based Morr Music introduced Amm’s sound to a wider audience, and Apples &amp; Synthesizers (2004) marked Solvent’s move to Ghostly International. Along with notable remixes of artists including Soft Cell, Alter Ego, and Adult., Solvent tracks have appeared on high-profile DJ mixes and seminal compilations.

Solvent’s most recent record on Ghostly International, 2010?s Subject to Shift, marks a turn for the darker as Amm embraces his love of the abrasive sounds of acid and industrial. And while a sinister tone or two now dances among Solvent’s sparkling hooks and bright streaks of synthesizer, and while Amm’s music drifts even further from accepted genre-specific reference points, Solvent’s sound has only deepened. After more than ten years of composing love songs for robots, Amm sounds like nothing more than himself.



At 17, Complex Theory embarked on a journey he never intended to take. In 1999, his mother gave him his first set of turntables, as an early graduation gift, what she really gave him was the gift of expression. Complex Theory aka Jonathan Reeves began DJing in Columbia, SC. His belief in DJing is, "Im always looking to take constructive criticism, and pointers from anyone. The one thing I learned early on was, if you dont listen to what people have to say, then you will get stale, lose the love, and never push harder." Keeping this in mind, Jonathan began branching out to many other clubs in Columbia, Rock Hill, and Myrtle Beach, SC. In 2003, Jonathan grew tired of the normal day to day college life and found he might be better suited for other endeavors in the US Army. "I was working full time, sitting in class, and DJing part time to stay afloat.Oh, and drinking. He enlisted, left DJing as a memory, sold his equipment, and immediately deployed to Iraq from Fort Bliss within 2 weeks of arrival as Military Police. Jonathan said "I was so lost. Here I am, just barely able to legally drink, and now I'm holding a rifle in the middle of Baghdad. I didn't know what to think, except just get home.".  In 2005, while stationed in El Paso, TX a chance meeting led Jonathan back to music. In 2005, while in a music forum, he ran into the former owner of Dust Traxx Chicago. Charles and Jonathan became close friends and encouraged Jonathan to begin DJing again with a mutual friend of his. After a 2 year break, Jonathan was once again drawn back into DJing. He began playing several different venues in El Paso, TX. He played anywhere and everywhere he could just to play. In 2006, Jonathan voluntarily deployed once again to Iraq and never touched the decks again. In 2011, after struggles from his combat experiences, a stressful job as a Recruiter, and no healthy outlets, he once again returned to music simply, as he puts it "to find the closest alternative to an adrenaline rush of combat that I get when I crush a set...except without all the explosions, rounds, and heavy ass gear..." He now resides in Columbia, SC, as a disabled combat veteran and married with his 15 year old son and 11 year old daughter...who is already getting the itch to learn. "My son, Mason, must be either standing next to me when I play at home, or directly behind me, or he's pissed...unless I drop a track he digs and then he's jamming and getting down to it..."  Contact Jonathan directly at (803) 261-6411 or through any links below!

Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light. 

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