Brian Eno Flies “Capsule,” Relaunches Apollo, Awarded Asteroid

Ambient musician Brian Eno recently advanced the track “Capsule” that is taken from the bonus disc “album” included as the second disc of his upcoming July 19 release, a remastered and “extended” version of his classic Apollo: Atmospheres & Soundtracks. “Capsule” reunites Eno with Apollo‘s original musical cast, his brother Roger and famed producer Daniel Lanois, and is the second track on the For All Mankind companion disc, that “album” a furthering of the mission begun on the first disc. 

A short backstory for this tricky and tangential concept is back in 1983, filmmaker and director Al Reinert created his Apollo documentary (later renamed For All Mankind), it comprised of 35mm footage of the moon landing, adding “real time commentary” and reminiscences by the original astronauts for its eventual wide release in 1989. Brian Eno, with Roger Eno and Daniel Lanois, supplied the original soundtrack, parts of which were removed for the movie’s 1989 revision. However, Eno’s album, released back in 1983, featured not only the original cut of the film’s music sequentially but also retained and riffed on the movie’s original title, Apollo. 

This new 2019 re-release of Apollo: Atmospheres & Soundtracks celebrates the 50th anniversary of the moon landing as well as the 30th anniversary of For All Mankind, that title, as previously mentioned, assigned to Apollo’s companion disc. The …Mankind disc expands the original album’s music by eleven tracks and the whole project was remastered at Abbey Road Studios. For the uninitiated, Apollo is an iconic project in the ambient and experimental genres, its music having been further popularized by usage in the movies Trainspotting, Traffic, 28 Days Later, and more. In 2012, one of the original album’s tracks, “An Ending (Ascent),” was used in the London Olympics opening ceremony.

Brian Eno also received the Stephen Hawking Medal for his contribution to the popularization of science at the Starmus V Festival in Zurich, Switzerland. The ceremony occurred this past Monday, June 24, with Bill Nye hosting, during which Eno was presented with a certificate stating that Asteroid 81948 officially was named after the artist, it now dubbed “Brian Peter George St John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno,” aka “Eno.” It was presented by the asteroid’s discoverer, Marc Buie, of the Southwest Research Institute.

written by Mike Ragogna

Disc 1 – Apollo: Atmospheres & Soundtracks / Remastered

01. Under Stars (4:29)

02. The Secret Place (3:31)

03. Matta (4:20)

04. Signals (2:47)

05. An Ending (Ascent) (4:24)

06. Under Stars II (3:23)

07. Drift’ (3:05)

08. Silver Morning (2:40)

09. Deep Blue Day (3:58)

10. Weightless (4:35)

11. Always Returning (4:04)

12. Stars (8:02)

Disc 2: For All Mankind 

01. The End Of A Thin Cord (4:08)

02. Capsule (3:13)

03. At The Foot Of A Ladder (3:35)

04. Waking Up (2:29)

05. Clear Desert Night (3:11)

06. Over The Canaries (4:41)

07. Last Step From The Surface (3:58)

08. Fine-grained (3:34)

09. Under The Moon (3:10)

10. Strange Quiet (4:09)

11. Like I Was A Spectator (4:23)

Formats:

· 2LP 180gram vinyl in a gatefold sleeve

· Limited numbered 2CD edition with 24-page full color hardcover book

· Standard 2CD edition

· Special digital edition with exclusive cover art

· Standard digital edition