In his nearly 50-year career, former Led Zeppelin vocalist and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame member Plant has indeed gone to far distant lands, not as forlorn lover but as intrepid musical explorer. To write and produce lullaby and… The Ceaseless Roar, though, he returned to his native England, enriched by all he has seen, heard, and investigated. For the last few years, Plant has lived and recorded in America, working with musicians in Nashville, residing for a spell in Austin, and making time to drive along the byways of Mississippi, fueled by the sound of the delta blues that has inspired him since he was teenager (a car journey recollected in the new “Turn It Up”). He had previously traversed North and West Africa, following the trail of the blues back to the desert, where he famously joined nomadic Tuareg musicians and others at the renowned Festival of the Desert in Essakene, Mali. But now his creative wanderings have led him back to his native England and a rediscovery—and a reappraisal—of himself as an artist and songwriter.

While collaborating on record and on stage with bluegrass superstar Alison Krauss or hitting the road with guitarist Buddy Miller and singer songwriter Patty Griffin as part of his more recent Band of Joy, he largely performed other people’s songs: modern and traditional folk, blues, and bluegrass, trying to better understand and assimilate the particularly American sound of this music. His success, especially with Krauss, was extraordinary, and it expanded his fan base far beyond the world of classic rock. Plant’s knowledge and taste, combined with Krauss’s virtuosity, proved formidable, interpreting songs from Gene Clark, Sam Phillips, Tom Waits, and Townes Van Zandt, among others. Looking back, Plant remarks, “I was really happy to learn my trade, to extend my trade, so that I could make my way into the guild of good singers.”

Mgmt: andres@paperclip.no
Booking: thomas.reade@allofloride.eu (World except), brent@good-direction.agency (US+CAN), watty@movidamusica.com (MX)

For over a decade now the name Satin Jackets has been synonymous with sublimely laidback Balearic house and sun kissed disco. The brainchild of German producer Tim Bernhardt who, following a successful career producing house music under a variety of different aliases, launched Satin Jackets as a vehicle to explore his lifelong love of disco and the clean, polished productions of artists like Chic and Trevor Horn.

“I had always been fascinated by just how glossy people like Nile Rodgers made their music,” Bernhardt explains. “It always sounded like the musical equivalent of a fashion magazine’s cover. I’d been making somewhat more underground music for a while but really wanted to go in totally the other direction and create this really smooth, polished sound.”

That first Satin Jackets release, the dreamlike You Make Me Feel Good, would set the tone for what was to come. Released on the iconic Belgian label Eskimo Recordings, which had previously helped launch the careers of artists like Aeroplane and Lindstrøm & Prins Thomas, it was an instant hit. Its graceful melodies, airy textures and yearning chorus became the soundtrack to the setting sun at parties worldwide.

With almost metronomic precision You Make Me Feel Good was followed by a string of acclaimed singles and remixes for some of the genre’s biggest names, including Goldroom and Blank & Jones, establishing Bernhardt as one of the most exciting new names in the nu-disco scene. While the face behind the mask may have remained a mystery, Satin Jackets’ warm, polished take on disco soon made the name familiar to music lovers around the world.

Taking things to the next level, 2016’s debut Satin Jackets album, Panorama Pacifico, firmly cemented Bernhardt’s position as both Eskimo’s flagship artist and as one of the biggest nu-disco producers around. Winning praise from the likes of Mixmag, DJ Mag and Groove, the album has gone on to click up over 75 million streams on Spotify alone, and Satin Jackets’ golden mask has become a regular fixture behind the decks at clubs and festivals from Mexico City to Seoul.

2019’s follow up, Solar Nights, would see Bernhardt further develop and refine the Satin Jackets sound. Rapturously received by fans, DJs and press alike, the album, propelled by singles like the global hit ‘Northern Lights’, proved that, much like the original disco artists that first inspired the project, Bernhardt was just as capable of crafting radio friendly pop hits as tracks for the dance floor.

While the pandemic may have put plans for global tours and festival appearances on hold, Bernhardt kept himself busy as clubland went into hibernation. Having relocated to Munich just before lockdown, a succession of singles that ranged from out-and-out pop collaborations to instrumental, chilled-out tracks as well as a series of live Lockdown Streams kept Bernhardt in touch with his ever growing legion of fans. Indeed, it was those Lockdown Streams and the response from his fans that allowed Bernhardt to rediscover, in his own words, “the connection between what I do and what people feel” and sow the seeds for what was to come.

Now as we emerge blinking into the new world, Bernhardt returns with Satin Jackets’ third album, the aptly titled Reunion. Where the first two Satin Jackets albums saw Bernhardt work to first develop his own sound and then elevate his productions to another level, Reunion reveals a musician and producer wholly at ease with both his abilities in the studio and artistic vision. 

From blissful instrumental tracks that seem to effortlessly float above the clouds, through to bittersweet wistful pop songs featuring the likes of Australian star Panama, Belgian singer Ivy Falls, US based vocalist Metaxas and up-and-coming British singer Tailor, Reunion is a strikingly confident album that layers new depths and dimensions to the Satin Jackets sound and sets the stage for the next exciting chapter of the Satin Jackets story.

Peter Maxwell Roehrig is following