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SETI AIR Newsletter - August 2023

Aug 22, 2023

Greetings

Bettina Forget

What would you do on the day you received news that we had confirmed first contact with an alien civilization? Party? Panic? Pray? What about a month later, or a year, or ten years? Would everything you knew about yourself profoundly change, or would you just get used to the idea and continue with your daily life? During their time with the AIR program, composer Daedelus contemplated this scenario and set it to music, resulting in the album Xenopocene. Find out more about this fascinating project below.

Make sure to browse the News and Events section for links to podcasts, articles, and exhibition news from our AIRs.

Wishing you clear skies,
Bettina

Artist Spotlight

Daedelus

Trailblazing artist, DJ, and producer Daedelus recently released their album Xenopocene, which imagines the first 10,000 days after first contact with an alien civilization. The album’s title borrows from the term Anthropocene, the unofficial name for the epoch when human activity began to significantly impact the Earth’s climate and ecosystems. Xenopocene’s eleven tracks trace a narrative from Contact - Day 0 to Lightness - Day 10k, and end with a voyage to the nearest exoplanet 6,000 years away. Daedelus’ musical influences range from Gustav Holst to Sun Ra, weaving inspirations from Alice Deejay and Amon Tobin.

“This is Earth music made to dream upwards” ~ Daedelus

Listen to Xenopocene on Bandcamp, where you can also pledge for a colourful vinyl version of the album, complete with a custom zoetrope animated slip mat.

Xenopocene Album

LISTEN HERE

Daedelus has released over 20 LPs as well as countless EPs and remixes, and has played over 1,000 live shows on 6 continents. They are currently Assistant Professor at the Berklee College of Music in Boston as a founding faculty member of the new Electronic Digital Instrument program.