I’m probably not going out on a limb when I say that for many people, Christmas has long since strayed from its Christian roots. In the secular world, it has become a family celebration, a time for reflection and emotional bonding.
God knows there are enough Christmas songs that celebrate this holiday with an unbearable amount of sugar-coated kitsch. We have been bombarded with them in supermarkets for quite some time now. And from here on, it only gets more intense: currently, the classics, Last Christmas by Wham! and Mariah Carey’s All I Want For Christmas Is You, are at number 11 and 10 in the Swiss singles charts.
So why did the psychedelic band Suzan Köcher’s Suprafon, recently honoured with the prestigious popNRW Award, decide to write a Christmas song? What do they have to offer the world?
And I’d much rather be back on Earth
Than to spend this Space Christmas
Far away from the World
As it turns out: a lot. Space Christmas tackles the subject with sober honesty. Instead of caricatured exaggeration with Christmas trees and mistletoe, Suzan Köcher’s Suprafon floats in space with its lulling, dreamy and psychedelic sound.
The image of a female astronaut looking down at Earth from the vast distance of the black void is repeatedly taken up in music. For example, in David Bowie’s Space Oddity (1969), Elton John’s Rocket Man (1972), or Peter Schilling’s homage to Bowie, Major Tom (Coming Home) (1982).
Here am I floating ’round my tin can
Far above the moon
Planet Earth is blue
And there’s nothing I can do
—David Bowie – Space Oddity
And I’m gonna be high as a kite by then
I miss the Earth so much, I miss my wife
It’s lonely out in space
On such a timeless flight
—Elton John – Rocket Man
In Space Christmas, Suzan Köcher’s Suprafon combines this allegory of longing for interpersonal connection and belonging with the Christmas season.
And even though this time of year can also be full of stress, conflict and pain (something the band addresses in their 2017 single Cinnamon), Space Christmas reminds us that we should be grateful for the people around us. It is a comforting anthem for all those who feel lonely and far from home during the festive season.
