SOLSTEIN came into being after multi-instrumentalist Jacob Holm-Lupo (WHITE WILLOW, THE OPIUM CARTEL, DONNER) and drummer Keith Carlock (STEELY DAN, TOTO, JOHN LEGEND, STING) had collaborated with legendary guitarist Georg Wadenius on a track for Holm-Lupo’s DONNER project. The collaboration between the duo worked so well that they decided to come together again on a whole album.
Joining Carlock and Holm-Lupo are up-and-coming guitarist Stian Larsen and keyboardists Brynjar Dambo (WHITE WILLOW) and Bill Bressler, and together they form a project that is inspired by jazz-rock, funk, prog rock and chill-out. The sound they produce is an instrumental form of rock, where jazz harmony combines with proggy arrangements and soul/funk grooves. The end result is laid back and elegant, oscillating between funky fusion and rock.
Given some of the member’s prog backgrounds, there are also echoes of the jazzier side of prog, but, more than anything, SOLSTEIN is a playground for the musicians, where everyone was given free reins to do whatever they felt the music needed. If it put a smile on everyone’s face, it was deemed right.
The result is a self-titled album that is accessible yet adventurous, colourful, groovy and engaging. It melds the groovier side of fusion with elements of prog and funk, but which, rather than having the standard 2020s fusion sound, tends more towards the funkier, more melodic spectrum that brings artists like THE CRUSADERS, IDRIS MUHAMMED, early BOB JAMES and 70s HERBIE HANCOCK to mind.
“Solstein” was mixed and given pristine analogue mastering at Holm-Lupo’s Dude Ranch Studio, and with artwork by Martina Wilek, track listing is as follows:
- Intersection
- Oriental Folk Song
- Southwester
- The Night Owl
- Siriusly
- February 9th
- The Creeper
- Hamada
“Solstein” will be released on Is it Jazz? Records on the 7th July in CD, Digital and LPC formats and is now available to pre-order from:
Bandcamp: https://solstein.bandcamp.com/album/solstein
Is it Jazz Records: Webshop: https://isitjazzrecords.no/
Karisma Records Webshop: https://www.karismarecords.no/shop/
The name SOLSTEIN means Sunstone, and it refers to a relatively rare rock containing copper-red crystals, which, when seen from different angles refracts the light in a very beautiful way. The most significant deposits of the rock are found along the southern coast of Norway where Holm-Lupo lives and runs his studio.
More information about SOLSTEIN can be found on the band’s Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/solsteinband
Additional Information
Solstein
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/solsteinband
Band Contact: aslanlupo@gmail.com
Is it Jazz? Records
Website: https://isitjazzrecords.no/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/IsItJazzRecords/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/isitjazzrecords/
Contact: post@isitjazzrecords.no
PATRICIA THOMAS BAND MANAGEMENT 