REAMONN Take a moment to examine the history of any of the enduring bands in the annals of rock ‘n’ roll. Not one of them turned back. They all reach a point when they achieve a record-breaking peak, but the mediocre ones think there’s nowhere left to climb and retreat. Some just switch to autopilot. The great ones keep climbing, and Reamonn are ready to reach a new pinnacle. Their fifth studio album is titled, definitively, ‘Reamonn’, and proudly displays the results of the band’s greatest creative endeavours to date. It’s the ultimate statement by a band who in recent times have claimed their place at the top table, not just through millions of record sales but at high-profile events where the world was truly watching. ‘Reamonn’ the album, arrives on the heels of the band’s performance in Berlin in July 2008 on the memorable occasion of Senator Barack Obama’s speech at the Victory Monument. That in itself was the latest global endorsement of a band that also played at the Live8 and Live Earth concerts. As it’s released, the multi-platinum German-based five-piece are coming up to their tenth anniversary together. But the party can wait till later, because right now it’s time for them to reaffirm what made them mighty in the first place and take it to a new plateau. In every sense, this is Reamonn’s career album. “We had times when you knew you were standing on the same ground that a lot of bands had stood on before and we knew that a lot of them didn’t make it,” says Reamonn’s Irish-born frontman Rea Garvey. “There was a lot of ‘make or break’ going on with this album, and I’m glad we made it!” “We wanted to get to the next level, and a lot of people would say we were already at a high level. The last tour we did in Europe was sold-out arenas. But we’ve been around the live circuit in Europe and now want the world!” Recorded in Berlin, Los Angeles and Vancouver, the new album sees the band working for the first time with three outside producers, all of whose creative input was welcomed in a way that the band has never allowed before. “One thing that’s happened on this album a lot,” says Garvey, “is we’ve been letting people in. Normally we’re like a closed shop. At first you resist suggestions, because you have your way and you do it the way you know. Then you realise ‘Why do you want to resist? What are you afraid of?’ “There’s a lot of fear about music sometimes. You think your music’s so precious you’re not going to allow anybody in. Whereas, in fact, the more people that are involved, the more precious it becomes.” ‘Reamonn’ becomes the latest entry in a distinguished body of work that began with the debut album ‘Tuesday’ in 2000. But as Rea says of the band’s unswerving determination to outdo itself each time: “Every album has been the first album. Everybody is fighting for the same thing.” Demo sessions for ‘Reamonn’ began in Freiburg, leading to recordings in Berlin, and to reinforce the band’s continent-spanning appeal and approach, they were produced by a Colombian who lives in Miami, Grammy Award-winning classical pianist Julio Reyes Copello. After crafting hugely successful Latin pop albums by Jennifer Lopez, Ricky Martin, Chayanne, Paulina Rubio and more, movie soundtracks and many other projects, Copello made the journey to Berlin to help give a new dimension to Reamonn’s sound, working at the downtown cellar studio Trixx. Next on the team were the German duo the Berman Brothers, the massively successful siblings Christian and Frank Berman, whose work as producers, songwriters and musicians has been recognised since the mid-1990s with some 80 gold and platinum records. Their wide-ranging work has taken in such artists as Hanson and Sophie B.Hawkins and the creation and production of ‘Rhythms del Mundo,’ the non-profit-making album that cast British and American musical greats with their Cuban counterparts. Garvey speaks with fondness of the fun the band had in two months of recordings with the Bermans in Berlin. Then to Vancouver, where the band took sessions with Brian Howes, the acclaimed Canadian producer of rock giants such as Chris Cornell, Daughtry and Hinder. “We were putting pressure on everyone we could for him to work with us,” says Rea. “ This guy is one of the most sought after producers in North America having produced two of the most successful acts there last year….Brian is a maker of legends and a lover of music…we took every minute of everyday in studio to make the music better and better and better than ever before!” “Every step forward was like a step back because for every part of the album that got better through the work with different producers and mixer engineers Meant that we had to go back and redo al the parts from before! When you decide to make an album which is called after the band then you are saying this is who the band is, this is how they sound, and this is what they stand for, so it better be better than GOOD!” It’s ten years, a lot of sweat and airmiles, and a rock ‘n’ roll lifetime since Reamonn formed in Baden-Württemberg. Repatriated Irishman Garvey teamed with drummer Mike ('Gomezz') Gommeringer, after Rea, who'd been with local band the Reckless Pedestrians, placed a small ad looking for collaborators. Lead guitarist Uwe Bossert and multi-instrumentalist Sebi Padotzke knew each other, Uwe told bass player Philipp Rauenbusch and very soon the formative band were understanding each other both linguistically and musically. In 1999, they went public, with a Hamburg showcase crammed with label reps, and had instant success when the debut single 'Supergirl' became a top ten hit in Germany. The 'Tuesday' album came out in 2000 and went platinum, as the band started creating their reputation as an epic live band. The sophomore album 'Dream No.7' followed in 2001 and brought new acclaim, before 2003’s 'Beautiful Sky' delivered double platinum glory, hits with the title track as well as 'Star' and 'Alright', and album sales that spread via the GSA territories right through Europe, supported by massive shows from Istanbul to Israel to Ireland. After the 2004 live album 'Raise Your Hands', a document of their performing power recorded at a Cologne concert, 2006 brought ‘Wish’, produced in Los Angeles by Greg Fidelman (Red Hot Chili Peppers, Johnny Cash). It was the first time the band had worked with an outside producer, opening a new door that they’ve kicked down altogether on ‘Reamonn’. Naturally, the new album will be celebrated on stage, with live work due to begin in the new year. Ten years in each other’s pockets will teach a band whether they have the guts for the glory, and ‘Reamonn’ tells the world emphatically that this band does.