Europa, a tone poem for flutes and electronics

Europa is the result of a year long collaboration with flautist Karin de Fleyt. We began working together in early 2014, simply to explore the sound of the flute through the prism of electronics. Soon, from the wealth of evocative sounds that emerged, a narrative began to take shape about the search for life on Jupiter’s icy moon. Here are some clips of an early recording (we are planning a commercial recording in 2015).

What would it mean to find life beyond earth? If we were to learn that life is a rare, yet consistently emergent phenomenon, it would have a profound impact on our perspective here on Earth. In order to explore this question emotionally, Europa presents a dramatization of a voyage to Jupiter’s sixth moon in search of microbial life beneath its icy surface.

Narrated by the intrepid solo flautist (alternating flute, piccolo and bass flute), we experience: a rocket blast and the struggle to leave Earth’s gravity, the void of space and the pain of isolation. Now lost, a vision of a goddess leads the way as Europa rears up and we impact with the ice. Stranded amongst the glaciers and glorious geysers of oxygenated water, we begin to drill for the oceans beneath. What will we discover? Will it change us for the better? Europa invites you to contemplate.