Solvent

Solvent represents the creative output of Toronto-based post-techno producer Jason Amm, who issues his melodic electronica via the Suction imprint he established alongside longtime associate Gregory DeRocher, better known as Lowfish, during 1997. Amm draws from a wide yet nonexclusive array of electronic sources accumulated across more than two decades, encompassing foundational electro-pop acts like the Normal, Liaisons Dangereuse, Visage, and Soft Cell, while his resulting sound merges those elements into a restless, lo-fi hybrid that also incorporates contemporary post-techno textures reminiscent of Aphex Twin and Autechre. Three Solvent pieces appeared on Suction’s inaugural 12-inch, after which the label put out Amm’s self-titled debut CD in 1998. That collection juxtaposed reassuring, tuneful warmth against rhythms that alternated between subdued and abrasive textures, prompting immediate parallels to Aphex Twin even as the fingerprints of Yaz and the early Human League remained clearly audible. In 1999 a split 7-inch arrived with the stylistically aligned yet sonically distinct Italian pair D’Arcangelo, followed by a further split shared with Lowfish on the German/British City Centre Offices roster. Additional Solvent tracks surfaced on anthologies from Spelunk, Lo Recordings, Vinyl Communications, and Serotonin, while the second album, Solvently One Listens, closed out the same year. Throughout the ensuing decade Amm maintained a steady flow of singles, DJ mixes, joint projects, and compilation contributions, alongside the full-lengths Solvent City in 2001, Apples + Synthesizers in 2004, and Subject to Shift in 2010. From 2011 onward he devoted himself to directing a documentary exploring the evolution of modular synthesizers and their surrounding culture; the completed film, I Dream of Wires, premiered in 2013 and featured an entirely original score realized by Solvent exclusively on modular instruments.