Podcast

The slogan used to advertise Ridley Scott’s science fiction film Alien is nothing more than a statement of fact: In space, no one can hear you scream. But isn’t the idea of sound everywhere in space, which is permeated to the last corner by cosmic background radiation, like an echo of the Big Bang?

With quotes from works by Isaac Asimov, Jimmy Carter, Samuel R. Delany, Donna Haraway, N.K. Jemisin, Ursula K. Le Guin, Stanisław Lem, Sun Ra, Arkadi and Boris Strugazki.

Music:
Elysia Crampton – Morning Star-Red Glare-Sequoia Bridge
Hama – Terroir
Ornette Coleman – Science Fiction
Debit – 3rd Night
Bebe and Louis Barron – Ancient Krell Music (Forbidden Planet)
Muhal Richard Abrams – Conversations With The Three Of Me
HHY & The Macumbas – Gysin Version (feat. Adrian Sherwood)
Chuck Berry – Johnny B. Goode
Mahi Musicians of Benin – Cengunmé
Sun Ra & His Arkestra – Space is the Place

In the approach to Jupiter, the sun can be heard singing. But apart from the soundscapes on neighboring planets or in black holes, according to probability theory there is also extraterrestrial music. Science fiction literature has made it possible to understand how it might sound: a cacophony of smells or a symphony of free energy flows.

With quotes from works by Isaac Asimov, Octavia E. Butler, Becky Chambers, Edward George, Stanislav Lem, Andi Petculescu, Sun Ra.

Music:
Elysia Crampton – Morning Star-Red Glare-Sequoia Bridge
Ursula K. Le Guin & Todd Barton – Heron Dance
Ursula Bogner – Sonne = Blackbox
Janelle Monáe – Neon Gumbo
Earth, Wind & Fire – Star
Rashad Becker – Themes II
Klein – ray
Flying Lotus – Camel
Sun Ra & His Arkestra – Rocket Number Nine
Ursula K. Le Guin & Todd Barton – A Teaching Poem

If truth is stranger than fiction, why shouldn’t music be stranger than science fiction? Sounds manipulate space and time, unlock new dimensions and open wormholes in parallel universes. In this respect, sonic fiction does the same as fantasy literature: It distorts the present and creates space for alternative worlds.

With quotes from works by J. G. Ballard, Jimmy Carter, Becky Chambers, Kodwo Eshun, Ursula K. Le Guin, Daniel Oberhaus, Sun Ra, Holger Schulze, David Tudor, Whitney Wei.

Music:
Elysia Crampton – Morning Star-Red Glare-Sequoia Bridge
Fatima Al Qadiri – Aftermath
Earth, Wind & Fire – Jupiter
Caterina Barbieri – Closest Approach to Your Orbit
John Williams – Close Encounters of the Third Kind
Parliament – Mothership Connection (Star Child)
Janelle Monáe – BaBopByeYa
Drexciya – Intro: Temple Of Dos De Agua
Drexciya – Andreaen Sand Dunes
Lonnie Holley – In It Too Deep
June Tyson – Satellites Are Spinning