Keyboard legend Vangelis will be the guest of the next Space Rocks Uplink broadcast which airs tonight at 8 pm (BST), 9 pm (CEST), and 3 pm (EDT).
Vangelis will be discussing how space inspires his music, its connection as an integral part of culture, as well as humanity’s responsibility to the Earth, and how artists and scientists can foster a responsible attitude towards our planet with co-hosts Alexander Milas and ESA’s Mark McCaughrean.
Vangelis has close links to the European Space Agency. In 2012 when he made a video call with ESA astronaut André Kuipers during his mission aboard the International Space Station, and in 2014, he composed new music in honor of ESA’s Rosetta mission to Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko.
Three tracks were published online at the time of the Philae module landing on the comet and in 2016, a full album with the name Rosetta was released, dedicated to ESA’s mission team. The album received a Grammy Award nomination for Best New Age Album at the 59th Annual Grammy Awards.
Space Rocks is a celebration of music and culture and the great beyond. Their connections with prog and Prog Magazine run deep. In one memorable Uplink from 2018, Queen guitarist and doctor in astrophysics Brian May displayed a selection of the products produced by his London Stereoscopic Company as well as joining a panel discussion alongside ESA astronaut Tim Peake at Indigo at The O2 in London.
In 2008 May re-founded and became the new manager of The London Stereoscopic Company Ltd. The company was initially founded in 1854 in the bustling heart of London. The London Stereoscopic Company were leaders in this craze which gave still images a depth and life never before seen and swept through England, Europe, and eventually the United States. In a world which had never experienced television, the movies, or the internet, this was understandably a revelation!
Lonely Robot, the now-defunct Arcane Roots, and Charlotte Hatherley headlined Space Rocks’ organization’s inaugural live event at Indigo at the O2 in 2018 while in 2020 the event featured Anathema, Amplifier, and Voyager. And Steven Wilson, Marillion’s Steve Rothery, and Prog Editor Jerry Ewing have also been previous guests on Space Rocks’ Uplink.