In 2014, NASA released a vast library of sounds recorded from space, making them available to the public for royalty-free use in creative projects. Upon learning about this, I immediately visited NASA's website, downloaded a bunch of these sounds, and began chopping, looping, editing, and arranging them into a track. These included sounds collected from NASA's space exploration programs, featuring strange bleeps, bloops, low rumbles, pings, and more. Listening for rhythms and pitches, I sought to establish a unique direction.

Right away, I found inspiration in these sounds, unlike anything I was currently using in my music. Knowing that I was composing a piece for Realistic Orchestra, I transformed many of these inspirations into riffs, phrases, and grooves for the band. While the result is fairly abstract—no one would listen to it and think, "Oh wow, this song sounds like it was written from space sounds!"—it certainly helped me create a sound that was otherworldly, distinct from what a standard jazz orchestra would typically play.

I ended up loving the samples I arranged so much that I used them in the live performance, triggering them from an iPad on stage that the drummer played along to with earbuds—an unconventional move for most jazz orchestras.

A big shoutout to my movement collaborators/choreographers—Shannon Vau De Vire, Sandia, and Shaina E—for taking my wild 9-minute demo and turning it into a fully realized visual performance. Inspired by campy 1960s/70s sci-fi movies, these ladies brought a much-needed sense of humor to what often ends up being a mostly serious jazz big band. We are incredibly proud of this track and the video, filmed and edited by our longtime collaborator Steve Reddell. Special thanks to Chris Fletcher for the brilliantly mixed audio, and to Alex Budman and Mike Olmos for their post-production work, helping me fill in additional parts to bring this epic piece to its final glory.