In 2008 i was commissioned to take part in the compilation "Music for Alien Civilisations", where original music was being sent to space, as a radio transmission from the space station Esrange in Kiruna, in cooperation with the Swedish Space Corporation. The idea and concept was the creation of fellow electronic musician Håkan Lidbo. My contribution was a bit different than the rest, as i chose to record a drum journey. Read excerpts from the CD release here:
"Music for Alien Civilisations
The question: Can music express all of the magnificence that is humanity? Our collected knowledge, our history and our dreams. We want to use music to present an image to life forms in other solar systems of who we earthlings are, while at the same time express our interest in making contact.
We know nothing of beings in other worlds, if they even exist, or how we should communicate with them. Music, we assume, is something universal that can be understood by everyone. Just as with fundamental mathematics. Whether all music in the universe is built upon the intervals and harmonic sequences that is the basis for our music, we will never know. But we can guess. And we can, as did many great composers through the centuries, search for the greatness in music that expresses how fantastic we humans are. If that is even what we want to express.
Twelve of Sweden's best artists within electronica were given the assignment of creating music for alien civilisations. During the spring of 2008, one contribution was presented per broadcast of the radio program Ström on P2. Unique music that really is not meant for human ears - but for beings in unknown worlds.
On June 4th, 2008, the music on this album was broadcasted from the space station Esrange in Kiruna, in cooperation with the Swedish Space Corporation. Radio waves was sent toward a nearby star with a planet system reminding of the the Solar System. Maybe with an Earth-like planet that might have life.
The signal that we send will be very difficult to filter out from the radio waves that our sun is sending out. But if someone exists out there and they have technology way beyond what we have today, and if they actually listen in our direction, then we might get an answer within our life-time.
The third season of Ström on P2 was broadcasted during the spring of 2008. The program is created by electronica producer Andreas Tilliander, journalist Mats Almegard and Dj and gender scholar Anna Gavanas. Håkan Lidbo was the editor for the feature on Music for Alien Civilisations. Ström is the program that inquisitively explores the most interesting and innovative music that exists today, electronica. World famous artists are interviewed alongside obscure and unknown avant-garde artists. Everything is mixed into a smooth flow as in a dj set."
www.hakanlidbo.com/aliencivilizations
sverigesradio.se/elektronisktip2