ILAN ESHKERI NEW ALBUM ‘SPACE STATION EARTH’ IS OUT NOW
Ilan Eshkeri today releases his new album ‘Space Station Earth’ via Sony Masterworks – Listen here. The album is accompanied by an immersive, out-of-this-world tour created in collaboration with the European Space Agency (ESA), which will debut at London’s Royal Albert Hall this Sunday.
The ‘Space Station Earth’ album uses Eshkeri’s evocative blend of modern electronic and vintage acoustic instrumentation to convey through music the extraordinary emotional voyage that astronauts experience in space. The synth-pop album allows the listener to see through the eyes of astronauts and lose themself in emotionally charged music. Eshkeri has previewed the album with previous singles ‘Stars’ and ‘Aurora’, and the new album focus track “Maps” – a synth lead track that opens the album and live show.
The ‘Space Station Earth’ live show is a music-led, immersive experience that allows the audience to see through the eyes of astronauts and to contemplate our planet, the stars and the exploration of the universe. Eshkeri’s exceptional new music will be complemented by images he shot at various ESA locations, as well as unique footage filmed by astronauts aboard the International Space Station.
Eshkeri says, “I got to see rocket launches, take part in a zero-gravity flight, and a chance to get lost in their video archive, as well as the opportunity to get advice from ESA scientists and astronauts. I started creating the music with synthesisers and then I started to add strings, brass and choir to deliver the awe-inspiring, epic scale that only an orchestra can. I never imagined I’d have the privilege of collaborating with astronauts to try to impart the experience of space travel through music, of looking out into the darkness of space and back upon our beautiful and fragile planet.”
These stunning images will be projected across three massive screens together with a stunning light show to create an incredible audience experience. Without dialogue or narration, audiences can expect to lose themselves in the wonderful combination of emotionally charged music and extraordinary visuals, and leave filled with awe and wonder.
The Royal Albert Hall event will open with a pre-show Q&A featuring Ilan Eshkeri and special guest Tim Peake. The project began when the astronaut Tim Peake contacted Eshkeri to say that he was a fan of his work. Tickets for the show are available here. Subsequent shows will feature different special guest astronauts: Andreas Mogensen in Denmark and Sweden, and Matthias Maurer at all three shows in Germany.
Tim Peake says, “There aren’t many words that can truly describe the beauty of seeing Earth from space and ‘Space Station Earth’ attempts to do this by using music and video to capture the emotion of human spaceflight and exploration. Featuring previously unreleased footage from ESA astronauts and accompanied by a live orchestra, the show creates a unique experience, one that celebrates space and unites the audience, just as exploration unites humankind.”
The Mission Patches and T-shirts which you can buy all say ‘crew’ on them. It’s a small detail with a much bigger meaning: if we think of ourselves as crew, we can work together to actively look after the planet and each other. As Eshkeri explains, “When you are onboard the International Space Station you are extremely aware that if you don’t look after the vessel you are travelling in and you don’t look after your fellow travellers, you will not survive the journey. Then, when you get your chance to look down from space at our home, you realise the same is true, we have to look after our planet and each other. For too long we have behaved like passengers, now we must choose to be the crew of our Space Station Earth.”
Ilan Eshkeri is an award-winning composer, artist, songwriter, producer and creator whose work features in concert, theatre, film, television and video games. His eclectic body of work is united by his love of narrative. He has won and been nominated for many awards, including two BAFTAs and two Ivor Novellos. His extensive catalogue includes music for diverse projects such as ‘Still Alice’, ‘Stardust’, ‘A Perfect Planet’ and ‘Ghost of Tsushima’.
Eshkeri’s long-term collaborators include the legendary naturalist Sir David Attenborough and actor/director Ralph Fiennes. His other creative partnerships include Annie Lennox, David Gilmour, Sinead O’Connor, KT Tunstall, Tom Odell, Emeli Sandé, Ash and Coldplay.
‘Space Station Earth’ tracklist:
- ‘Maps’
- ‘Sun’
- ‘Day’
- ‘Rocket’
- ‘Launch’
- ‘International Space Station’
- ‘Astronauts’
- ‘Night (Part 1)’
- ‘Night (Part 2)’
- ‘Aurora’
- ‘Stars’
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