The Ocean wound up being a prescient name for Berlin’s long-running atmospheric sludge-metal ensemble: Much like a changing tide, the ever-fluid project has seen members come and go over the course of its 26 years, with core member Robin Staps weathering the storm over across 10 albums now. The latest of these, Solaris, saw the biggest change in personnel yet, with only a third of the players heard on 2023’s Holocene returning. Yet the resulting record fails to reflect any sense of tenuousness, with the new set of voices—quite literally, with the addition of death metal vocalist Enrico Tiberi and Elizabeth Colour Wheel’s Lane Shi—added to the band’s lineup helping it to keep an even keel.
With Solaris out in the world for nearly a month now, Staps is offering us a glimpse behind the scenes in a new mini doc about the album’s recording at Berlin’s iconic Hansa Studios, where artists like Iggy Pop, David Bowie, Depeche Mode, and Tangerine Dream have all recorded before them. In fact, the latter’s Thorsten Quaeschning answered the call to visit the band during their sessions to provide keys and other direction, as we see in the short film The Ocean is sharing today. Elsewhere, the band’s new percussionist Jordi Farré discusses the rigorous onboarding process and Staps geeks out at all of the old instruments newly accessible to him within the studio space.
“This film tells the story of the making of Solaris—the setbacks, the chaos, and the moments of triumph we experienced along the way,” Staps shares. “Making an album like this isn’t always the inspiring and rewarding experience one might imagine. Long hours, exhaustion, and the pressure of working against the clock can take their toll. Yet despite all this we never lost sight of the importance of spontaneity and the unexpected turns that make the creative process so rewarding.”
Check out the full 16-minute doc below, and stream or purchase Solaris here.
