Biography
Victor Solf first gained attention through his work in the spare French electronic soul-pop duo Her. Although his solo recordings still reflect the innovative R&B approach he developed alongside the late Simon Carpentier, they expand into a richer yet equally intimate expression of the style.
Solf entered the world in Berlin in 1990. When he reached the age of nine his father departed, leaving him to be brought up by his mother, aunt, and grandmother. He later relocated to France and completed his secondary studies at Lycée Émile Zola in Rennes. There he encountered Carpentier; the two formed an immediate personal and artistic connection while immersed in classical music training. A visit to London shaped the course of their indie quartet the Popopopops, whose album Swell appeared on ZRP in 2013. Once that group disbanded, a 2015 showcase performance in New York secured a major-label deal for the new project Her, built around Solf and Carpentier. Their opening EP, Tape #1, included the song “Five Minutes,” which accumulated 30 million streams within its first six years.
After issuing three additional well-regarded EPs, the duo suffered a devastating loss when Carpentier succumbed to cancer in August 2017. Before his passing he urged Solf to finish the work they had begun, to keep performing their material and carrying forward the band’s message. Consequently Solf maintained the Her name on tour for at least the next eighteen months. He also finished the joint recordings that became the act’s only album, simply titled Her, which surfaced in March 2018. Later that year he joined Ukrainian artist Ivan Dorn on the single “Right Wrong,” marking his first release under his own name. In February 2019 he played his final concert billed as Her, declaring his intention to concentrate on the subsequent phase of his output.
Solf’s initial standalone single arrived with November 2019’s “Traffic Lights,” a subdued, introspective piano ballad licensed to Virgin France. January brought another track, “Hero,” and both appeared on the debut solo EP Aftermath that same month. Summer delivered the 12 Monkeys mixtape, an exploratory highlight within his catalog. He then spent an extended stretch writing songs in Brittany, generating most of the material that formed his April 2021 debut album, Still. There’s Hope. The Beach Boys-inspired single “I Don’t Fit” and “How Did We?,” which featured Montreal’s Zefire, preceded a record steeped in loss, grief, and introspection yet animated by the drive and optimism born of a firm resolve to sustain creative momentum.
Solf entered the world in Berlin in 1990. When he reached the age of nine his father departed, leaving him to be brought up by his mother, aunt, and grandmother. He later relocated to France and completed his secondary studies at Lycée Émile Zola in Rennes. There he encountered Carpentier; the two formed an immediate personal and artistic connection while immersed in classical music training. A visit to London shaped the course of their indie quartet the Popopopops, whose album Swell appeared on ZRP in 2013. Once that group disbanded, a 2015 showcase performance in New York secured a major-label deal for the new project Her, built around Solf and Carpentier. Their opening EP, Tape #1, included the song “Five Minutes,” which accumulated 30 million streams within its first six years.
After issuing three additional well-regarded EPs, the duo suffered a devastating loss when Carpentier succumbed to cancer in August 2017. Before his passing he urged Solf to finish the work they had begun, to keep performing their material and carrying forward the band’s message. Consequently Solf maintained the Her name on tour for at least the next eighteen months. He also finished the joint recordings that became the act’s only album, simply titled Her, which surfaced in March 2018. Later that year he joined Ukrainian artist Ivan Dorn on the single “Right Wrong,” marking his first release under his own name. In February 2019 he played his final concert billed as Her, declaring his intention to concentrate on the subsequent phase of his output.
Solf’s initial standalone single arrived with November 2019’s “Traffic Lights,” a subdued, introspective piano ballad licensed to Virgin France. January brought another track, “Hero,” and both appeared on the debut solo EP Aftermath that same month. Summer delivered the 12 Monkeys mixtape, an exploratory highlight within his catalog. He then spent an extended stretch writing songs in Brittany, generating most of the material that formed his April 2021 debut album, Still. There’s Hope. The Beach Boys-inspired single “I Don’t Fit” and “How Did We?,” which featured Montreal’s Zefire, preceded a record steeped in loss, grief, and introspection yet animated by the drive and optimism born of a firm resolve to sustain creative momentum.
Albums
Singles
