Published
Tue, Mar 21, 2023, 20:40
- The artist, who identifies as disabled, wants listeners to imagine how the solar system's tough environment imposes constraints on all human bodies.
Crip Rave cofounder Stefana Fratila has announced a new concept album that probes the concept of physical disabilities in outer space.
I want to leave this Earth behind is a double-LP based on what the artist calls "Crip futurity"—a notion that all human bodies are considered disabled in the Milky Way galaxy and beyond. Each of the eight tracks is named after planets in the solar system and contains soundscapes representing the weather on that respective planet. The album arrives via Halocline Trance on April 21st, with a cassette version available on Not Not Fun Records.
"My vision is for the album to engage listeners in an exercise of imagining the sounds of interplanetary atmospheres—conditions which are inherently unlivable, unbreathable, converting all human body-minds into disabled-bodied-ness," Toronto-based Fratila explained in a press statement. "Since I identify as Crip, or disabled, this idea deeply resonates with me."
The record was inspired by Fratila's trips to NASA centres, where she worked with experts to explore what planets would sound like if they were each a different room. Her research led to the creation of eight open-source VST plug-ins that are meant to mimic each planet's atmospheric conditions. Called Sononaut, these DAW tools were made in collaboration with artist and coder Jen Kutler using calculations by NASA scientist Dr. Conor Nixon. The plug-ins were used in the making I want to leave this Earth behind.
For more details on Sononaut, visit the official website
To learn about Crip Rave, a Toronto collective focused on disabled ravers that Fratila cofounded, revisit RA's 2022 feature.
Listen to "Earth."
Tracklist
01. Mercury
02. Venus
03. Earth
04. Mars
05. Jupiter
06. Saturn
07. Uranus
08. Neptune
Halocline Trance will release I want to leave this Earth behind on April 21st, 2023.
