These Musicians Turned Moonlight Into Sound
On October 17, 2024, a small audience gathered at Farrington Observatory outside Joshua Tree to hear something that had never existed in quite this form. Above them, a telescope collected light from the Hunter's Moon. Below, a modular synthesizer turned that light into music.
The experiment was the work of Brian Weitz, better known as Geologist from Animal Collective, and artist Kyle Simon, founder of the observatory. Simon had spent years experimenting with telescopes fitted with photodiodes and optical sensors. For this performance, the pair routed the
incoming light signal through an analog amplifier, using it to control elements of Weitz's synthesizer, including pitch and filtering.
The result is The Sirens, an experimental recording that owes as much to astronomy as it does to electronic music. Rather than assigning musical notes to astronomical data after the fact, the artists allowed changing light signals to influence the sound in real time. The performance draws on ideas ranging from ancient Greek mythology to the scientific study of celestial vibrations.
Recorded under the full moon and scheduled for release October 16, 2026, The Sirens is available for digital preorder starting at $8, with a second limited cassette pressing also offered.
Check out the full details at Geologist & Kyle Simon.
Comments