‘Among the Stars’ is an 8 piece audio-visual album telling the story of a journey from Earth, following a robot through outer space to settle on another planet and secure the future of humanity among the stars. The music takes us on a story of discovery (both of space and the robot) through the universe, encountering many space phenomena and interesting things along the way.
The album was a collaboration with artist Dean de Barros who provided the visuals for the video of the titular piece.
Eight pieces telling the story of a journey from Earth, through outer space to settle on another planet. The music takes us on a story of discovery through the universe, encountering many space phenomena and interesting things along the way.
Each track runs into the next so you can listen to each track individually or sit and listen to the whole story in one go
Find out more about each piece below:
TERRA FIRMA
The 1st piece in the story is called “Terra Firma”
The start to the story takes place on planet Earth. We start by looking out over the horizon in the middle of the night looking up at the stars. We start to imagine outer space and the adventures that await. Just before the piece ends we take off in a rocket, breaking through the atmosphere and ending up in the peace of space looking out over the blue marble below us.
AMONG THE STARS
The 2nd piece in the story is called “Among the Stars”
We have made it out of the atmosphere and are now sat among the stars looking at the graceful sights that befall us ahead. The stars shimmer and glisten in the dark canvas of space leaving us in awe of its beauty. We relax as we see this and imagine the possibilities in the journey ahead with optimism and excitement. What will we discover on this intergalactic journey? Life?
ECLIPSE
The 3rd piece in the story is called “Eclipse”
As we begin our journey towards the edge of the Milky way, we spot all the planets we are familiar with and are greeted with one last stunning view of the galaxy in the form of an eclipse from behind all the planets. An incredible moment we will remember as we leave the Milky Way for good. Onwards with the journey we press and move into the wider universe.
NEBULA
The 4th piece in the story is called “Nebula”
This piece takes place as we fly past a large Mallegenatic cloud (Nebula) and see its sheer scale and mystifying cloud like structures in the middle of space. We travel near the nebula and then through it as our route to the final planet carries on, on the other side. We encounter a moment of uncertainty as the nebula overwhelms us but as we pass through the other side we realise how incredible they really are
A DYING PLANET
The 5th piece in the story is called “A Dying Planet”
This piece sees us find a planet on our journey which prompts some investigation. We find something very unusual about the planet – it is dying. We land on the planet and stand looking over the desolate landscape in front of us. It is bare yet full of volcanic activity that is tearing the planet apart – the longer we stand there the closer the lava gets to us on the planet’s surface.
We decide to leave and flee the planet which will soon be demolished.
ASTEROIDS
The 6th piece in the story is called “Asteroids”
Finally free of the dying planet we start to notice some incoming debris and projectiles. As we get closer it becomes clear that the debris is actually a massive asteroid belt. We have to get through it – it will take too long to go around so we press on through the asteroid belt avoiding everything in our path.
After much danger we pass through the belt and make it out the other side. Onwards we go with the feeling that something is strange with the way ahead.
THE SINGULARITY
The 7th piece in the story is called “The Singularity”
This piece takes place as we near the end of our journey. We have encountered many phenomena and potentially dangerous situations, but none compare to the last one – the black hole. A massive singularity in the fabric of space, beautiful in nature, but potentially cataclysmic. What will happen when we cross the event horizon?
NEW DAWN
The final piece in the story is called “New Dawn”
We have made it out of the black hole in one piece yet confused and disoriented. Where are we? Further investigation and travel past more dangerous phenomena like supernova lead us to a galaxy of rebirth and habitable planets. We scan the galaxy for life-bearing climates and find one ideal planet and set-off towards it.
As we land on the planet we realise our long journey is complete. A new home has been found. A new dawn for humanity begins.
Animating the project:
Once the music was written, artist Dean was brought on board to the project to animate the story, creating a truly fresh and interesting audio/visual experience.
Dean is a freelance illustrator, animator and storyboard artist. They did their undergraduate degree in Art History at Oxford University and their MA at the Royal College of Art. They’re a big fan of tabletop RPGs and character design!
