Solar Moon - Redbook (2021)

With this, their fourth album in 27 years of band history, Germany’s probably most peculiar downtempo soundsystem sets the record straight quite literally… and in their own trademark way: Tom Dams, Razoof and George Solar like their music slow, minimalistic and timeless.

Solar Moon’s “Redbook” contains yet another hand picked collection of carefully undusted/refurbished “shelve darlings” from their extensive studio vaults, spiced up with two brand new tracks to round off a sonic journey spanning 23 years between the individual tunes. And if you wouldn’t know, you couldn’t tell.

While the first single “Mwezi” for example was crafted only just this spring (with the basics provided by George Solar in Ibiza, then overdubbed by Razoof in Kampala/Uganda and finalized by Tom Dams & Razoof in Tom’s Studio Forstmehren, located deep within the german countryside), “Into The Void” is a live-in-the-studio recording from back in 1998 - featuring original member O'Finken on guitar and originally made for a documentary on german Artronaut Charles Wilp (which never materialised in the end). However: the music survived - and aged quite well indeed. Because Solar Moon first and foremost always sounded just like: Solar Moon. Which is also why the “secret 5th band member” and Solar Moon "godfather”, legendary synthesizer pioneer Klaus Schulze, insisted on including this particuar tune… as it documents the bands approach when he met them first.

In between the lines, the “Redbook” holds quite a few surprises and a couple of well known guests from the inner bands’ circles: legendary UK soulstress and former Nightmares On Wax vocalist Sarah Winton (who already contributed to the 2018 “Blackbook” album) charmingly demands “No More War”, while long time collaborator Don Abi aka Abiodun conjures up the “Ghostbusta Dub” over a rather cinematic and yet pretty mighty roots reggae riddim... originally made as a remix for one of Razoof’s earlier solo efforts.

Then there is “Azul”, a sun soaked tribute to the bands’ favourite balearic beach bar (vocalized by Tom himself), as well as the lush & languid instrumentals of “The Eagle” and “Rishikesh Hop”, the latter wrapped around one of Razoof’s countless field recordings from his numerous trips to India.

As a sort of bonus track, “Noomun” comes as an energetic, unpolished jam on a powerful loop, shining a bright light into a sonic universe that over the decades has been described by clueless critics as “Pink Floyd taking a shower in the Portishead dressing room” or even “Germany’s own version of Massive Attack”. Which might sound flattering at first glance, but the three band members just smile about any comparison until today because they know that first and foremost, and since 27 years, they mainly just sound like: Solar Moon.

And the “Redbook” is yet another proof of just that.