Artist description A unique project - over 4 years in the making - is finally coming to fruition. A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, the National Space Society (NSS) sponsored a strange and unusual competition: the Apollo Awards for Space Songwriting. The winning entries, along with new works from selected singer/songwriters and winners of the Mars Society's similar Rouget de Lisle contest, are featured on a wonderful new album from Prometheus Music. It's called To Touch the Stars -- A Musical Celebration of Space Exploration, and it's in the final mastering phase at Fantasy Studios now, with an expected release date this Christmas. Songs range from the scientific ("If We Had No Moon") to the historic ("Fire in the Sky") to just plain fun ("Dance on the Ceiling"). "These are exciting, well-crafted, professionally-written songs," says multi-instrumentalist Mark Ungar, who lent his expertise on electric guitar and sitar and guitar synthesizer to several of the tracks. "Everyone who was involved really gave it their all, and there are some great performances. This will appeal to anyone who's hooked on the idea of space exploration and likes good songs." "People in the sci-fi community have been writing and singing songs about space for years, but this project really raises the bar - we wanted to put out a really high-quality album, as good as anything that you'd hear on the radio or in movies or on TV, and I think we've succeeded in that." says co-producer Eli Goldberg. "It's also very exciting to have partnered with both the NSS and the Mars Society - each organization's leaders contributed essays to the album booklet. But we'd least expected an excited e-mail from the office of Apollo astronaut Buzz Aldrin - the second man to set foot on the moon - who had downloaded album tracks off the Internet, and subsequently offered his endorsement for the project." Here's what Buzz has to say: "As someone who has actually set foot on the threshold of space and experienced firsthand its majesty and the incredible potential it holds for the human race, I am thrilled by this new collection of original songs celebrating the beginnings of our great endeavor to reach for the stars." Featured singers include writer Stan Clardy (TimeLight), Margaret Davis (Broceliande, Avalon Rising), Julia Ecklar (Divine Intervention), Karl Franzen (Broceliande), Kristoph Klover (Broceliande, Avalon Rising), Karen Linsley (Road to Roswell), and Gunnar Madsen, of acapella monsters The Bobs. New-folk fave Christine Lavin makes a guest appearance with her "Nova episode in 8 minutes" song If We Had No Moon, inspired by the documentary film of the same name by Martin Ives. Veteran songsmith Leslie Fish contributes several numbers, departing from her usual English and American folk influences with the ska rave-up Dance On The Ceiling. This CD incorporates actual recordings from Space Shuttle launches from Liftoff! The Sound of America's Space Shuttle Program. You can purchase Liftoff! from http://www.spacestore.com/.

Music Style Folk/rock and folk

Press Reviews "As someone who has actually set foot on the threshold of space and experienced firsthand its majesty and the incredible potential it holds for the human race, I am thrilled by this new collection of original songs celebrating the beginnings of our great endeavor to reach for the stars." -- Buzz Aldrin

Location Mountain View, CA - USA

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