Jon Moon EPK
The Berlin-based Reggae artist is as much a sonic experimenter as he is a guardian of the genre’s roots. Moon has grown into a self-contained force of creativity: a singer, multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and producer. He brings a rare level of artistic control to his projects, all the way from the initial songwriting to the final mixing stages. And if you’ve ever caught one of his live performances, his adept trombone playing adds an extra layer of texture to the rich Reggae stories he weaves.
- Elberton Cisnero for 5 Finger Review
Bio
Jon Moon is a versatile multi-instrumentalist, producer & singer from Berlin. His special love for reggae became apparent early on, as did his connection to Rastafari, which has grown steadily since Jon Moon was in South Africa for the first time in 2013. Four years later, Jon Moon founded his label Yutman Records, moved into a studio with Ganjaman in the new Planet Earth Studios Berlin and released his debut album "TRUST." Since then he has worked both in the studio and on stage with various international artists, produced selections, pushed forward his own projects and, above all, learned a lot! In the last two years in particular, Jon Moon has gained a lot of live experience and, in addition to solo shows, sound system sessions and his work in the "Berlin Boom Orchestra" (trombone & background vocals), he has played as a keyboardist, trombonist, percussionist, background & feature singer with artists like Ganjaman, Lutan Fyah, Memoria, Tóke, Trixstar, Sista Argie & Kush Art at festivals like Rototom Sunsplash (Es), Reggaejam (Ger), Afrikatage Wien (Aut) & Havana World Music (Cu).
Now it's about time to finally focus more on his own music on stage, too!
Download EPK as PDF:
EP
Jon Moon will release his new EP “Live That Life” just in time for summer 2024. After his debut longplayer "TRUST." (2017) and the following EP "Brighter Day" (2020), "Live That Life" is the next logical step in his evolution as a producer and artist. Jon Moon's productions are becoming more self-confident, more delicate, and have a clear stylistic signature. This is particularly obvious in songs like "You & Me" and "Live That Life Today", where influences from classical and film music can hardly be ignored. You get the feeling that Jon Moon is gradually finding his very own sound language, in which he embeds his lyricism and melancholy in soundscapes that are unique and yet unmistakably reggae. The title track "Live That Life Today" is probably the most comprehensive work, whose detailed sound worlds reflect the artist's emotional world.
At the same time, the EP remains refreshingly diverse, with "external productions" by Florian "Stahl" Münzer ("Just Like We" ft. Reign Afrika) and Aleksandar "Aca" Kazić ("Strong & Healthy"), a collab with Jon Moon's partner, the South African singer Bronwyn ("Different Style") and rounded off by three dub and riddim versions. "Live That Life" will be released on Yutman Records May 31st.
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Pre-listen to "Live That Life Today" here.
As a big fan of the sound system scene and heavily inspired by the Rootsbase at the Fusion Festival year after year, Jon Moon has been toying with producing a pure Dub EP for a long time so that he could finally give bass & delay proper attention. As an excursion from the Roots, so to speak, the EP “Dub Vacation” is now being worked on diligently in the background. Enriched with solo instruments such as trombone and vibraphone, these instrumental tunes are primarily produced digitally. Here Jon Moon puts his perfectionism aside and it's essentially about jamming, having fun producing, and experimenting with electronic sound sources & effects in the moment. "Dub Vacation" is scheduled to be released in October - just in time for Jon Moon's solo tour, in which he wants to set off to various sound systems in the republic armed with lyrics, versions, and his trombone.
Live
Since Jon Moon is not only an artist, but also a producer who plays most of the instruments himself, there are various ways to book a solo show: The simplest setup and also possible in small clubs is the "one-man sound show" in which Jon Moon selects his own riddims, performs over them and plays the trombone. This setup can be expanded as desired up to a complete show in which Jon Moon plays his riddims split into stems over a mixer and performs over them. The set is enhanced by the integration of additional instruments such as synthesizers, keys, and guitars. Inspired by the classic soundsystem style, Jon Moon plays some of his productions a second time in order to dub them live or improvise over them. This creates a varied and immersive concert experience that takes you on a journey through the artist's musical world. From classic modern roots reggae to spherical Dub, past acoustic interludes, instrumental solos to driving mix parts - but always with conscious lyrics.
Jon Moon loves exchanging ideas and learning from other people, especially in music and especially live! Several sessions with the Roots Descendents sound system and the veterans of Dandelion Sound gave him a taste for celebrating roots & culture in this special tradition and so Jon Moon can also be booked as an MC and instrumentalist, as a complement to your sound so to say.
Want more live music and less technology? Jon Moon can also be booked with a band!
Don't hesitate to send us a message with your ideas and possibilities if you're interested in booking this energetic live-experience, in whatever form!
