Solsten
Montreal Dub Techno
The official site for Solsten, a dub techno producer based in Montreal, Quebec. Owner of sound & visual arts company Resonance Media.
Pre-order for "Cold Concrete, Warm Waters" available now on Bandcamp
Raised in Victoria, BC, based in Montreal, QC, Solsten has been producing techno & dub techno since 2016.
Solsten’s sound is best described as industrial dub techno, drawing influences from Basic Channel, Sandwell District, and Silent Servant.
In that context Solsten uses recorded percussion samples, pulsing bass, a big layer of delay/reverb, field recordings, and synths that range from buzzsaws to ethereal pads to construct an evolving, spacious, emotive, musical existence that you can’t help but dance to.
In late 2017 he released his first album “1960”, dedicated to his late mother (d. 2012), which had been recorded in Los Angeles, California the previous winter. Following the tragic disappearance & death of his father in 2022, he recorded & mastered his second album, “Ghosts of Uranium City” at his studio Eightfold Recordings which was released in August 2024. A compact disc release of that album followed in late December 2024, as well as two music videos, "White Butterfly (Rideau)" and "Snipers on Sunset".
Solsten’s range of musical influences in both recording and studio production makes his music equally suited for playing at a warehouse party or as a unique home listening experience.
Solsten is currently working on his next album, "Cold Concrete, Warm Waters", due out on Eightfold Recordings on March 19th, 2025. Pre-order available now on Bandcamp
"Its drums ricochet with friction that never boils over into agitation ... the physicality of grief seemed to make sense in the compositions—the spare, hollow bass sounds like it might be booming through the walls of a big empty house, but that emptiness is offset by the steadiness of the drums: isolation + presence. "Ghosts of Uranium City" is an intense collection of songs, and a very lovely one." - Molly Mary O'Brien, "I Enjoy Music" on Solsten's 2024 album.
