{{Infobox musical artist | name = The Solutions | image = The Solutions, Seoulsonic SXSW 2015 - 2.jpg | image_size = | caption = Seoulsonic, 2015 | alias = 솔루션스 | origin = South Korea | genre = indie rock | occupation = | instrument = | years_active = {{start date|2012}}–present | label = Happy Robot Records | website = | current_members = Kwon Oh-kyung <br> Naru <br> Park Sol <br> Park Han-sol | past_members = }}
'''The Solutions''' ({{lang|ko| 솔루션스}}) is a South Korean indie rock band under the label Happy Robot Records. They originally debuted as a duo with Naru and Park Sol in June 2012 with the digital single "Sounds of the Universe" from their self-titled album ''The Solutions''.<ref name="duo">{{cite web|last=Bae|first=Soo-min|title=The Solutions echo sound of Brit pop|url=http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20130317000261&ACE_SEARCH=1|date=March 17, 2013|work=The Korea Herald|accessdate=July 31, 2019}}</ref><ref name="bio">{{cite web|url=http://la.koreatimes.com/article/20161016/1017869|website=The Korea Times| title= 한국 인디밴드 '솔루션스' 오늘부터 LA 팬들 만나 - 미주 한국일보 | date= October 12, 2013|language=ko}}</ref> Kwon Oh-kyung and Park Han-sol joined the band for their second album ''Movements'' in 2014,<ref name="indie">{{cite web|title=Interview with The Solutions|url=https://www.koreanindie.com/2015/03/30/interview-with-the-solutions/|date=March 30, 2015|work=Korean Indie|accessdate=July 31, 2019}}</ref> which included the work of Grammy award-winning recording engineer and producer Jimmy Douglass.<ref name="book">{{cite web|last=Hong|first=Sang-ji|title=The Solutions have it figured out|url=http://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/news/article/article.aspx?aid=3012854|date=December 17, 2015|work=Korea JoongAng Daily|accessdate=July 31, 2019}}</ref>
The group takes influences from 90s British pop, American alternative, and contemporary Japanese pop music, with most of their songs written in English despite having no native English speaking members.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://sg.news.yahoo.com/song-for-you-love-you-dear-the-solutions-073422458.html|website=Yahoo! News| title= Love You Dear – The Solutions | date= August 12, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://thesolutions.live/category/%ED%94%84%EB%A1%9C%ED%95%84/| website=thesolutions.live| title= 프로필 – THE SOLUTIONS}}</ref> They have toured Asia, Europe and the U.S. and are popular in the indie scene in Hongdae, Seoul.<ref name="book"/><ref name="perform">{{cite web|last=Park|first=Se-yeon|title=[인터뷰]에놉(ENOB), 유연하되 단단한 '솔루션스 박솔'의 2막|url=https://www.mk.co.kr/star/musics/view/2019/06/444341/|date=June 21, 2019|work=Daily Economy Maekyung|language=ko|accessdate=July 31, 2019}}</ref><ref name="hongdae">{{cite web|last=Lee|first=Suh-yoon|title=Live indie music concerts scheduled on Hongdae streets|url=https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/nation/2018/09/113_256090.html|date=September 27, 2018|work=The Korea Times|access-date=July 31, 2019}}</ref>
==History== ===2012–2018:''The Solutions'', ''Movements'', formation and touring=== The band was formed in 2012 by frontman and lead singer Park Sol and guitarist Naru.<ref name="duo"/><ref name="perform"/> Both had previously been solo performers. Naru, a music producer and singer songwriter, had released two modern rock genre solo albums, ''Jaga Dangchak'' in 2008 and ''Yet'' in 2010. Park Sol was an already well-known indie musician, with a 2010 album ''The Song is You'',<ref name="duo"/> and was a singer songwriter for the 2011 music competition show Superstar K 3.<ref name="perform"/> Park Sol has described Naru, who usually arranges the music, as the leader between the two. They started writing and performing most of their songs in the English language, as the lyrics seemed to work better than Korean lyrics; but they have questioned their abilities to sing well in English. Naru spent five years as a child in America and later studied English in Korea, and Park Sol learned it while traveling abroad for a year when he was twenty. Naru said he started playing guitar in his teens and writing songs at twenty, and says the two of them work hard at music, as they had a later start than some musicians.<ref>{{cite web|last=Hallyu staff|title=The Solutions, Park Sol & Naru, Hallyu Magazine Autumn 2012 Issue No.5, pages 14-17|url=https://issuu.com/hallyumagazine/docs/no5|work=issuu/Hallyu Magazine|date=30 September 2012 |accessdate=August 1, 2019}}</ref>
The band toured Asian countries, Europe and the U.S., and performed solo and at indie festivals in Hongdae.<ref name="book"/><ref name="perform"/><ref name="hongdae"/> In 2015, they played at the fifth Seoulsonic annual concert which introduced South Korean musicians to U.S. audiences at the SXSW music festival.<ref>{{cite web|title=Bringing Korean sounds to SXSW|url=http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20150410000757&ACE_SEARCH=1|date=April 10, 2015|work=The Korea Herald|accessdate=July 31, 2019}}</ref> They headlined the 2017 Pentaport Rock Festival along with other South Korean and foreign acts, including rock bands Bastille and 5 Seconds of Summer,<ref>{{cite web|last=|first=|title=Pentaport Rock Fest announces third lineup for 2017 event|url=https://en.yna.co.kr/view/AEN20170630010900315?section=search|date=July 2, 2017|work=Yonhap|accessdate=July 31, 2019}}</ref> and have performed at Japan's Summer Sonic Festival<ref name="book"/> and Spain's Primavera Sound.<ref name="thirdalbum">{{cite web|last=Park|first=Jamie|title="다시 마주한 출발점" 솔루션스, 1년10개월만 앨범으로 돌아왔다|url=https://newsen.com/news_view.php?uid=201907241020111910|date=July 24, 2019|work=Newsen|language=ko|accessdate=July 31, 2019}}</ref>
Their first album ''The Solutions'' was released by the original duo, Naru and Park Sol in 2012, and followed by a second album, '' Movements'', with all four members in 2014.<ref name="duo"/><ref name="indie"/><ref name="book"/> They created the song "All That You Want" for the music project SM Station's 2017-2018 Season 2.<ref name="season2">{{cite web|url=http://news.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2018/08/07/2018080701068.html|title=[공식입장] '더 스테이션' 8월 콘서트, 루나X예서X솔루션스X펀치 출연|date=August 7, 2018|work=The Chosun Ilbo|language=ko|accessdate=July 31, 2019}}</ref>
===2019–present:''Signature''=== They released their third studio album ''Signature'' on July 29, 2019, which includes the title track "In My City".<ref name="thirdalbum"/> They also released an EP titled "Load" featuring the title track "Dance With Me" on June 2, 2020.<ref>Archived at [https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211208/2FVeS06AbtE Ghostarchive]{{cbignore}} and the [https://web.archive.org/web/20200629112219/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2FVeS06AbtE&gl=US&hl=en Wayback Machine]{{cbignore}}: {{cite AV media| url = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2FVeS06AbtE| title = 솔루션스 (THE SOLUTIONS) - Dance With Me MV | website=YouTube}}{{cbignore}}</ref>
==Musical process, style, and influences== Naru described their sound in 2014 to Hilde Heyvaert, a ''Never Was'' magazine writer, while playing in Liège, Belgium, "We experiment mixing our favorite sounds from the 80s, 90s and contemporary music. Using both guitars and synthesisers, which I like both. We are experimenting with mixing them, without making it sound complex. We want people to be able to just listen, not hearing all that complexity. It’s pretty difficult to do that." Heyvaert's description said, "this band was unintentionally playing music that could happily be a soundtrack to a rock-and-roll-loving dieselpunk lifestyle."<ref>{{cite web|last=Heyvaert|first=Hilde|title=The Solutions: Accidental Dieselpunk Music from South Korea|url=https://neverwasmag.com/2014/12/the-solutions-accidental-dieselpunk-music-from-south-korea/|date=December 10, 2014|work=Never Was Magazine|accessdate=August 1, 2019}}</ref>
In an interview with NoHo Arts District, Los Angeles reporter Caroline McElroy, for ''NoHoArtsDistrict.com'', in October 2016, while playing at the Hotel Café, they detailed the band's songwriting process, which varies, sometimes starting with one member's contributing a completed song, and at others, with the group creating a song "organically" together, with Naru arranging the final product. They said they are influenced by "80s, new wave and alternative music to EDM acts such as Radiohead and Smashing Pumpkins".<ref>{{cite web|last=McElroy|first=Caroline|title=Korean Indie band "The Solutions"|url=https://nohoartsdistrict.com/entertainment-all/la-music-scene/item/4787-korean-indie-band-the-solutions|date=October 31, 2016|work=NoHoArtsDistrict.com|accessdate=July 31, 2019}}</ref>
The band published a book in 2015, with the encouragement of an interested publishing company, ''Do it, Just Do It'', about each members' musical journey. It includes Park Sol's story of listening to Nirvana in middle school and Naru's working at a factory job to save to buy a guitar.<ref name="book"/>
== Members == {{multiple image|caption_align=center|footer_align=center|perrow = 2|total_width=225 | image1 = The Solutions, Seoulsonic SXSW 2015 (cropped).jpg | caption1 = Naru |width1=500|height1=400 | image2 = The Solutions, Seoulsonic SXSW 2015 - 2 (cropped).jpg | caption2 = Park Sol |width2=500|height2=400 | footer = The Solutions started as a duo }} * Kwon Oh-kyung (관오경) – bass<ref name="bio"/> * Naru (나루), birthname: Kang Kyung-tae (강경태) – guitar, backing vocals<ref name="bio"/> * Park Sol (박솔) – lead vocals<ref name="bio"/> * Park Han-sol (박한솔) – drums<ref name="bio"/>
== Discography == === Albums ===
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;" ! scope="col" rowspan="2" | Title<ref name="discography">{{cite web|title=The Solutions - artist|url=https://music.naver.com/artist/home.nhn?artistId=222145|work=Naver|language=ko|accessdate=July 31, 2019}}</ref> ! scope="col" rowspan="2" | Album details ! scope="col" colspan="1" | Peak chart positions |- !style=width:3em;font-size:90%|KOR<br><ref name="Circle Album Chart">Circle (formerly Gaon) Album Chart positions: * ''Thumbs Up'': {{cite web|url=https://circlechart.kr/page_chart/album.circle?nationGbn=T&targetTime=36&hitYear=2017&termGbn=week&yearTime=3 |title=Album Chart, 2017 Weeks 36 |website=Circle Chart |language=ko |access-date=October 6, 2025}}</ref> |- ! scope="row"| ''The Solutions'' | *Released: August 30, 2012 *Formats: CD, digital download | — |- ! scope="row"| ''Movements''<ref>{{cite web|script-title=ko:Movements, The Solutions|url=https://music.naver.com/album/index.nhn?albumId=429859&trackId=4234828|publisher=Naver Music|language=ko|accessdate=July 31, 2019}}</ref> | *Released: May 16, 2014 *Formats: CD, digital download | — |- ! scope="row"| ''Signature''<ref name="thirdalbum"/> | *Released: July 29, 2019 *Formats: CD, digital download | — |}
=== EPs === {| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;" ! scope="col" rowspan="2" | Title<ref name="discography"/> ! scope="col" rowspan="2" | Album details ! scope="col" colspan="1" | Peak chart positions |- !style=width:3em;font-size:90%|KOR<br><ref name="Circle Album Chart"/> |- ! scope="row"| ''No Problem!'' | *Released: June 8, 2015 *Formats: CD, digital download | — |- ! scope="row"| ''Thumbs Up'' | *Released: September 8, 2017 *Formats: CD, digital download | 77 |- ! scope="row"| ''Load''<ref>{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=2020-05-26|title=Solutions release new EP 'LOAD' on the 3rd of next month|url=https://www.newsis.com/view/?id=NISX20200526_0001037087|access-date=2020-12-15|website=newsis|language=ko}}</ref> | *Released: June 3, 2020 *Formats: CD, digital download | — |}
=== Singles === {| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;" |- ! rowspan="2" | Title<ref name="discography"/> ! rowspan="2" | Year ! colspan="2" | Peak chart<br>positions ! rowspan="2" | Album |- ! style="width:3em;font-size:90%;" |KOR<br><ref>{{cite web|url=http://gaonchart.co.kr/main/section/chart/online.gaon?nationGbn=T&serviceGbn=ALL|title=Gaon Digital Chart|work=Gaon}}</ref> ! style="width:3em;font-size:90%;" |US<br>World<br><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.billboard.com/biz/charts/world-digital-songs|title=World Digital Songs|work=Billboard}}</ref> |- ! scope="row" |"Sounds of the Universe"<ref name="duo"/> | rowspan="2" | 2012 | — || — | {{n/a}} |- ! scope="row" |"Talk, Dance, Party for Love"<ref name="duo"/> | — || — | {{n/a}} |- ! scope="row" |"Stage" | 2015 | — || — | {{n/a}} |- ! scope="row" |"Ticket To The Moon" | 2016 | — || — | {{n/a}} |- ! scope="row" |"All That You Want" <small>(당신이 원하는 모든 것)</small><ref name="season2"/> | rowspan="2" | 2017 | — || 19 | SM Station Season 2 |- ! scope="row" |"Love Again" | — || — | {{n/a}} |- ! scope="row" |"Love Again (Japanese Ver.)" | rowspan="2" | 2018 | — || — | {{n/a}} |- ! scope="row" |"Mood For Love" | — || — | {{n/a}} |- |}
=== Collaborations === {| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align: center;" ! Title ! Year ! Other artist(s) |- ! scope="row" | "Beautiful"<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.xportsnews.com/?ac=article_view&entry_id=782732|website=xportsnews | title= 러블리즈 케이, 하이그라운드 新프로젝트 참여…신곡 발표 | date= October 26, 2016|language=ko}}</ref> | 2016 | Kei (LOVELYZ) |- |}
== Awards and nominations == === Mint Paper Awards === {{awards table|style=text-align:center}} |- | 2012 | The Solutions |Rookie of The Year <ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.indiefulrok.com/2013/01/winners-of-mint-paper-awards-2012/|website=indiefulrok| title= Winners of Mint Paper Awards 2012 | date= January 8, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://mintpaper.com/v2/news_notice_re.html?no=543| website=mintpaper.com| title= Mint Paper Awards 2012 수상자 발표 | date= January 2, 2013}}</ref> | {{won}} {{end}}
== References == {{Reflist}}
== External links == *[http://bandthesolutions.com Official Facebook]
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Solutions}} Category:2012 establishments in South Korea Category:Musical groups established in 2012 Category:South Korean indie rock groups Category:South Korean rock music groups