Prometheus Music,
a U.S. based specialty label has just released a new CD, To
Touch the Stars, featuring songs that celebrate the history
and future of human space exploration.
This album has received enthusiastic endorsements from astronaut
Buzz Aldrin and influential
space author and Mars expert Dr. Robert Zubrin, as well as coverage
on SPACE.com, MSNBC, Popular Science, Air & Space/Smithsonian,
The Space Show, Discovery Channel, San Francisco Chronicle, Seattle
Times, and other prominent news sources.
Included in this wonderful collection is Pioneers of Mars,
a powerful work written by Toronto partners in life and song Karen
Linsley and Lloyd Landa. The composition
was awarded first place in the Mars Society's Rouget de Lisle
songwriting competition, the purpose of which was to find an official
anthem for Mars exploration.
This song was recently honored by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory
as the wake-up
music for the Opportunity rover on sol 20
of its mission.
Listen to Pioneers
of Mars: [RealAudio] [MP3
excerpt]
Co-author Landa did not live to see his dream actualized. Ten
days before the song's public debut at the Third International
Mars Society Convention, he was taken by a heart attack. Linsley
performed with tears in her eyes to a standing ovation. Exhorting
the audience of Mars enthusiasts Linsley exclaimed, "Get
to Mars. And when the notes of this song are heard on Martian
soil, he will live again." In the words of Dr. Zubrin, "I
have never been so moved."
The project grew out of a partnership between Prometheus, the
Mars Society, and the
National Space Society (NSS).
"If we are to win the hearts and souls of humanity to the
vision of a spacefaring future, the space exploration movement
must also develop its songs," says Zubrin. The CD includes
forewords by award-winning space science author Marianne
Dyson and Zubrin.
Buzz Aldrin, the legendary Apollo 11 Astronaut,
offered his endorsement for the CD after being moved to tears
by Fire in the Sky, another song recorded for
the album:
“As someone who has actually set foot on the threshold
of space and experienced firsthand its majesty and the incredible
potential it holds for the human race, I am thrilled by this
new collection of original songs celebrating the beginnings
of our great endeavor to reach for the stars.”
Listen to Fire in the Sky:
[MP3]
Songs range from the scientific to the historic to the whimsical. "These are exciting, well-crafted, professionally-written songs in a variety of styles," says multi-instrumentalist Mark Ungar, who lent his expertise on electric guitar and sitar, vocals and guitar synthesizer to several of the tracks. "Everyone who was involved turned in great performances. It'll appeal to anyone who appreciates original songwriting and is inspired by the exploration of space."
