Music for First Contact, by Post Coal Prom Queen

Music for First Contact

by Post Coal Prom Queen

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Full Digital Discography

15

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Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of PCPQ EP [Remixes], I See No Gods Up Here (radio edit), Cosmo Canyon ft. Pallmer, Music for First Contact, Free Radio Phobos, Cartoons and Rocket Fumes, Salt (COP26 version), Supai No Kodomo (ft. macaroom), and 7 more. , and , .

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1.	I See No Gods Up Here 07:34	lyrics	buy track
Memory of Earth Film show me long ago Millennia recorded for a TV show I bathe in pixels of crashing waves On shores we never saw But in electric dreams Memory of Earth Film show me long ago Millennia recorded for a TV show I gaze in wonder At landscapes tamed while cells run wild Memory of Earth Film show the starting gun Hush audience, my favourite part is playing now Pools of slime reach for minds In celestial places we drew on rock faces
2.	Wheeling Through The Void 04:27	lyrics	buy track
Cosmic tongues, infinite lungs The fish from the water, it walked up when ordered Apes with our stones we made into phones and spoke This frequency, we hear it we widen our eyes This frequency, we hear it we widen our minds Voices from the deep Which timeline do we go on down? We navigate orbits of mind Cosmic tongues, infinite lungs The fish from the water, it walked up when ordered Apes with our stones we made into phones and spoke This frequency, we hear it we widen our minds
3.	See Red Peace 01:18	lyrics	buy track
Alone, See red peace
4.	Free Radio Phobos 03:07	lyrics	buy track
Suddenly, suddenly we find ourselves in spotlight Illuminate, illuminated in the dark forest Rabbit in the headlights Of monstrous machines Like submarines But made of teeth Really, I find it kind of funny The systems that we live in Are alien to me anyway Suddenly, suddenly we find ourselves in spotlight Rabbit in the headlights Of monstrous machines Like submarines With smiling teeth Really, I find it kind of funny The systems that we live in Are alien to me
5.	Daylight On Deimos 04:50	lyrics	buy track
Daylight on Deimos Voice of hope
6.	Cosmic Tongues 01:18		buy track
7.	From Glasgow To Mars 03:11	lyrics	buy track
Now the choice is ours One step to the stars My world is yours Glasgow to Mars Favouring the brave Oh, my world is yours Glasgow to Mars Favouring the brave One step to the stars Oh, my world is yours Glasgow to Mars Favouring the brave
8.	Sapere Aude 08:02	lyrics	buy track
Sapere aude Awake from this slumber Growing pains we shake off Wisdom flows in our blood Sapere aude Awake from this slumber Growing pains we shake off Wisdom flows in our blood Slumber! Slumber! Slumber! Slumber!

about

Album launch tickets: linktr.ee/pcpq

Music for First Contact is an opera by Post Coal Prom Queen.

Music for First Contact tells the story of humanity’s first contact with extraterrestrial intelligence. 1000 years in the future a space station orbiting Mars - manned by descendants of Scottish explorers - detects a signal that is clearly intelligent. The question then becomes, do they reply or do they stay silent?

The narrative of the album is an exploration of the dark forest theory, popularised by Cixin Liu’s Three Body Problem novel. It’s theorised that all life seeks to preserve itself and, upon discovering a different life form, no species can guarantee that it will not be annihilated by this new species. Therefore, the safest option for any life form is to stay quiet to avoid detection, and if it detects others, destroy them before it itself is destroyed.

The tracks explore the dark forest theory, propaganda, fear and hope all through the lens of Scottish identity. The album also satirises the current political climate and the use of heavy-handed propaganda by both sides of the political spectrum to push flawed agendas - although it is important to note that we land firmly on the ‘yes’ side of the spectrum, whether it is Scottish independence or first contact.

Each song is an extrapolation of one of four arias written by PCPQ for voice and piano. Music for First Contact debuted as an interactive referendum at the 2022 Hidden Door Festival in Edinburgh to a sold out audience. The audience were asked to vote on whether or not to make first contact with the extraterrestrial intelligence. The audience voted 92% in favour of making first contact.

credits

released April 28, 2023

Post Coal Prom Queen (PCPQ) are Lily Higham and Gordon Johnstone

Soprano vocals on tracks 1-3,5-8 - Stephanie Lamprea
Violin on tracks 1,2,4,5,7 - Laura Wilkie
Saxophone on tracks 1,2,4,5,7,8 - Calum Cummins
Piano on tracks 1,5 - Baichuan Hui
Synth bass on track 2 and guitar on track 7 - Phil McBride

Produced and mixed by PCPQ and Phil McBride at The Sonic Lodge recording studio in Edinburgh. Mastered by Louis Lemoine-Soubeyrat.

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about

Post Coal Prom Queen Scotland, UK

Post Coal Prom Queen are Lily Higham and Gordon Johnstone. PCPQ have developed a unique sound by blending organic textures, retrofuturistic synths, and mechanical beats with ambitious pop sensibilities - fused together with Lily's distinct vocals.

postcoalpromqueen.com

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