Those seeing Soler for the first time are often amazed even before the Macau-born twins start to play. With their Italian-Myanmese features, you wouldn't necessarily assume they were proficient in Cantonese. The pop-rock duo actually have seven languages under their belts - including Putonghua.
The Acconci brothers, now based in Hong Kong, refuse to be considered foreigners. 'We speak Chinese,' is the first thing Julio says after we meet.
On their debut album, Stereo Sound, which was released last week, there are six Cantonese numbers, three Putonghua songs and two in English. The twins, who wrote all the music and the English lyrics, invited rocker Paul Wong Koon-chung to write the Chinese lyrics.
The duo have been doing a lot of live shows, and are due to perform in Tsim Sha Tsui's M1 Bar and Central's Red Rock next week, to promote the new disc.
The brothers say launching their career in Hong Kong has been a long, tough journey. 'We were naive about how the industry works,' says Julio, the older sibling. 'Over the years, we've made a lot of mistakes - but nothing we couldn't fix. So here we are today with a simple and straightforward album.'
Encouraged by their Myanmese mother, the self- taught musicians started to play the harmonica and organ when they were kids. But when their father died when they were 15, the twins moved from Macau to Italy. On top of having to learn another language, they also struggled to fit into an environment where they were seen as foreigners. However, Italy proved to be a valuable lesson in social etiquette.
'We weren't looking for people to understand us. But we learnt their ways and tried to adapt,' says guitarist and vocalist Dino.