Now’s a better time than any to start tracking solar patterns and moon phases. In fact, we are about to enter one of the most intense solar cycles of the last 400 years, which will produce some of the most unreal aurora borealis to be seen in record-keeping history. The next few years should be interesting to watch as our atmosphere changes, and keeping a calendar is a good way to slow down and notice the changes as they happen over the course of a year’s time.

Anonymous Monk Records has just released a poster-sized calendar beginning March 2009 and ending February 2010, including shadowy greyscale illustrations and a compilation of gentle folk songs made by their musician friends, one song for each month of the year:

March by Viking Moses
April by Ben Kamen
May (Mayday) by Spenking
June by Golden Ghost
July (Juli) by Ashley Eriksson
August (Arco Iris Alrededor de la Luna) by Karl Blau
September (Month #9 (Shining the Moon)) by Paleo
October (Apple Pies & Apple Juice) by Ruth Allison
November by Eleanor Murray
December by Twig Palace
January (New Days) by Karrie Hopper
February by Eli Moore

Learn more about this project, download music by the artists and order the calendar here.

Above: Close-up of calendar, beautifully designed by Eric Sarai (eris)