Hakan Lidbo Expands Audience: To Space
Håkan Lidbo is dreaming of a crossover success, but it doesn’t involve MySpace sponsoring his […]
Håkan Lidbo is dreaming of a crossover success, but it doesn’t involve MySpace sponsoring his tour or MTV promoting his video. In fact, the prolific techno artist is trying to reach an audience even wider and stranger than the mainstream pop crowd. That’s right, he wants to play music for aliens.
In the first attempt that we know of since the Voyager missions of the late ’70s, Lidbo is seriously trying to get his music “out there.”
“We will send radio waves,” he says. “They travel with the speed of light so that the composers that send out the musical messages might still be alive when we receive the answer.”
XLR8R doesn’t currently have an astro-physicist on staff, but the plan seems to be technologically legit, especially because the Swedish Space Corporation is involved.
Also involved is a crew of Swedish artists, including Olof Driejer of The Knife, Andreas Tilliander, Smyglyssna, and plenty others willing to have their music “picked up by alien civilizations.” In case you think you might be missing out, they’ll be broadcasting the transmissions on Swedish Public Radio and even putting out a CD “for the earthlings.”
We’re not too sure what to expect as a response to the project, but Lidbo isn’t worried. “The answer will come some day,” he says. “We are totally convinced.”