Twenty years ago, Dino Acconci emerged as a major force in the Hong Kong music scene. It came after he and his twin brother’s band Soler released its debut album Stereo (雙聲道) in July of 2005, with songs in Cantonese, English, and Mandarin. “失魂” (Lost Soul) and “海嘯” (Tsunami) became instant hits. The following year, Soler recorded the Mandarin-language “Mo Sheng Ren” (“Stranger”), which also gained lots of traction in Taiwan.
More hits followed as this duo with mixed ancestry from Italy and the Karen ethnic group from Myanmar captivated fans with a melodic blend of rock, folk, and blues. Nowadays, however, Dino Acconci lives a quieter life with his wife and son in Vancouver. He maintains Soler in partnership with his Hong Kong-based twin Julio.
“We did a 20-year anniversary concert in September in Macau, and we had a choir called Ocean Walker join us,” Acconci tells Pancouver over Zoom.
On Saturday (November 8), Acconci will return to the stage without his brother at the Jade Music Fest to perform some of Soler’s most popular songs, including “Mo Sheng Ren”. And he’ll again be accompanied by a choir at this free 12:30 p.m. showcase at Waterfront Theatre on Granville Island.
“The person who was our choir master back in Macau for that show just moved to Richmond,” he says. “So, he’s helped me put together a group.”
Acconci says that he’ll also perform the Soler hit “風的季節 (Season of Wind)”. It was a cover version of a song made famous by Hong Kong singer Paula Tsui in the 1980s, which Soler included on its Canto album.
“It became one of the biggest songs in the Cantonese language,” Acconci says.
Watch Soler’s music video (above) for “風的季節 (Season of Wind)”.
Acconci shares his family history
So how did the son of an Italian father and Karen mother from Myanmar learn to speak Cantonese like a native of Guangdong? It’s because the Acconci twins were born and raised in Macau, a former Portuguese colony about 65 kilometres from Hong Kong.
Sometimes when he’s in the presence of Asians, they will treat him as more Western. But then when he starts speaking fluent Cantonese, their perspective and reaction to him often changes.
“They don’t expect it because most people who speak Cantonese—traditionally—have a Han look,” Acconci notes. “So, some might be taken aback; others are generally just surprised.”
His father was born in a small town outside of Pisa, Italy, in 1905. He gained recognition in the area as a sculptor and became friends with the much older Italian opera composer Giacomo Puccini. Acconci’s dad had 11 children with his first wife before being widowed.
The musician said that his father landed a job with a British company, who stationed him in Shanghai in 1936.
“After he finished that project, he went back down to Hong Kong because the company, being British, was based out of Hong Kong,” Acconci explains.
When the Japanese attacked Hong Kong in the Second World War, Acconci’s dad fled to Macau, bringing his family with him. That’s where the father met Acconci’s mother, a pharmacist from a town about an hour from Yangon. They married and had four children, including the twins who were born in 1972.
The parents spoke to one another in English and kids from both mothers spoke Cantonese in Macau.
“That made it much easier for me to pick up Cantonese as a kid, because I had no Chinese relatives,” Acconci says.
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Learning languages in Europe
As a kid, he also learned a bit of Italian because his dad spoke to some of the older siblings in that language. But he wasn’t able to learn the Karen language because his dad discouraged his mother from speaking her native tongue with the kids.
When Italy won the World Cup in 1982, Acconci’s enthusiasm for learning Italian intensified. He had travelled to the country on a two-month vacation, and the team’s captain and goalie, Dino Zoff, shared his first name. This spurred greater interest in his father’s native language.
“It was so dreamy—the whole thing,” Acconci recalled. “I was just trying to understand it and fit in, making friends with the locals. Before that, I never really attempted or understood it.”
After finishing school in Macau, he and his brother moved to Florence for their studies. And their language skills improved immeasurably. Acconci recalls studying Latin, German, and French. In those days, the twins founded Soler and were even signed by the Italian division of the record company EMI.
“Unfortunately, there was some management changes,” Acconci says. “The CEO got swapped out and this new guy came in. He wasn’t interested in our music and that was the end of the Italian leg of our story.”
This year, Soler released a new single called “翻天覆地” (Turn the World Upside Down).
Mentored by Paul Wong
He returned to home to Asia and began playing guitar for artists in Hong Kong. His big break came in 2001 when one of the city’s most famous musicians, Paul Wong, invited him to join a rock band called Hann. Wong is best known as a member of Beyond, which churned out many hits in the 1980s and 1990s.
Acconci describes Wong as a fearless, idealistic, and passionate musician, unafraid of controversy, who treated his band members well.
“He had a huge impact on the way I primarily viewed the industry,” Acconci reveals.
Years later, Acconci played guitar for Beyond at a reunion concert, performing their signature song, “Boundless Oceans, Vast Skies”.
“They were my heroes,” Acconci acknowledges. “These guys really made an impact on us kids back then.”
The Jade Music Fest will present Dino Acconci in a free showcase at 12:30 p.m. on Saturday (November 8) at Waterfront Theatre (1412 Cartwright Street). Vancouver singer-songwriter Daniel Lew and the Taiwanese Hakka folk trio HoNi will also perform at the showcase, which is part of the festival’s Granville Island Takeover. For more information, visit the festival website. Follow Pancouver on X @PancouverMedia and Bluesky @pancouver.bsky.social. The publication is also on Instagram @PancouverMedia.
