A Morning Star Of Hope

from 0 To 1 by Alien Alarms

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about

“A Morning Star Of Hope” began as ThreeCoarseWaves, an experimental synth piece recorded by DozenCrows using their new custom oscillator:

“This track features the first public outing of a single custom oscillator used for the drones,
designed and built by Nick Tuckett/DozenCrows/Magwitch Modular. Based on the new SSI2130 integrated circuit - the first new VCO chip created for musical applications in decades, using modern IC design, fabrication and packaging. This chip is efficient, highly stable and very small, so more features could be fitted into the overall oscillator design - resulting in very rich sounds from additional overtone circuitry, with two sub-octaves and a fifth note that can be mixed with the main morphable waveform of the oscillator.

The backbone of the track was originally a much longer experimental piece exploring different evolving atmospheres; one dark, harsh, discordant drone with disturbing overtones (using the new oscillator), the other a more tuneful rhythmic form of organic arpeggio emerging from random interactions of three low frequency waves. These were conjoined using a swooping, panning "palette cleanser" of white noise, and the three elements were played against each other live using a combination of intuitive analogue instrument controls, conducted by the performer who was influenced by their initial feelings and reactions to what was being experienced as these atmospheres were heard - a true human/machine feedback loop.”

The original piece can be found online here: soundcloud.com/dozencrows/threecoarsewaves/s-89nMrqPZvfI?si=348f37d3775343d2accfb5c97e92503e&fbclid=IwAR2-VceeXk0bF79AcVo2IRE5-WTcctUnZ2HKlCVKhzIEE1WqQJlWM3zM2ho

When I heard it, I loved the way the piece moved from ominous to hopeful and back and the retro futuristic sound which immediately made me think of using “War Of The Worlds” to create vocals over it. The opening descriptions of the aliens planning their attack were a great fit for the ominous opening drones, but then I found the later descriptions of the Earth as a “morning star of hope” which worked well for the more upbeat middle section and then the part asking “are we such apostles of mercy?” seemed like a great way to leave the track hanging as the synths returned to darker territory.

I’m really happy with the way I was able to tease out an environmental and anti-colonial message which feels very relevant today from a science-fiction story over 100 years old. Will we be able to maintain our “Morning Star Of Hope” or will it become a dead planet exhausted of resources like Mars? Will we be able to unwind our colonial past and become apostles of mercy or feel compelled to venture out and conquer Mars, despite it being so much less hospitable than our home?

It was great being inspired by ThreeCoarseWaves’ work and to use an existing piece of music as a starting point for something new. I hope to be able to work with DozenCrows and do it again soon!

lyrics

No one would have that this world was being watched keenly and closely
by intelligences greater than man’s.
Across the gulf of space,
minds that are to our minds
as ours are to those of the beasts that perish,
intellects vast and cool and unsympathetic,
regarded this earth with envious eyes,

looking across space with instruments,
and intelligences
such as we have scarcely dreamed of.

They see:
a morning star of hope,
our own warmer planet,
green with vegetation.

They see:
a morning star of hope.

They see:
a morning star of hope;
our own warmer planet,
green with vegetation.

And we men,
must be to them,
at least as alien and lowly as monkeys and lemurs to us
And we men,
must be to them,
at least as alien.

And before we judge of them too harshly
Are we such apostles of mercy?
Are we such apostles of mercy?
Are we such apostles of mercy?

And before we judge of them too harshly
Are we such apostles of mercy?
Are we such apostles of mercy?
Are we such apostles of mercy?

credits

from 0 To 1, track released January 7, 2022
Music: Jim Purbrick and Nick Tuckett
Vocals: Cori Samuel
Words: H. G. Wells
Image: NASA

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Alien Alarms Brighton, UK

Alien Alarms combine poetry, prose, philosophy and found sounds with live, improvised generative rhythms, beat chopping and custom software to make music about love, loss, technology and society for the head, the feet and the heart.

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