Radio Équinoxe listeners are familiar with François Aru. A science communicator with a passion for astronomy, he hosts the shows “Visions Nocturnes” and “Skyline” on our station. Today, “Visions Nocturnes” is taking on a new dimension: the project is becoming an album, set to music by Kurtz Mindfields.
More than thirty years of gazing at the sky
It all began in 1992 with a thesis written for the University of Strasbourg as part of a course on planetariums and astronomy. Originally a literary project, “Visions Nocturnes” later evolved into radio shows and then an exhibition. Today, it finds its natural extension in an album, where cosmic music takes center stage once again.
The idea has remained the same from the start: to showcase the sky and examine it from different angles. By narrowing our field of vision, we marvel even more, and we gain a deeper understanding of the night sky. François Aru sums it up with a lovely phrase: “Welcome to the balcony of space.”
Kurtz Mindfields, the traveling companion
Behind Kurtz Mindfields is Jean-Luc Briançon, François Aru’s loyal partner on this journey that is both celestial and musical. Listeners of “Electro Évasion” know him well, as his music is regularly featured on the show.
Their shared adventure began on the show “Visions Nocturnes: The Sky from Every Angle.” It first took shape in 2023 with the album “Planetarium Century,” composed to mark the 100th anniversary of the world’s first planetarium.
With this new album, Kurtz Mindfields presents his most personal musical vision. Its three tracks trace the history of electronic sounds, from analog to digital. Thanks to a new generation of French synthesizers—the NRSynth and the SynthR—digital technology reinterprets analog, much like the sky has been explored over the centuries: landmarks were once celestial, then became terrestrial, and are now returning to the heavens through space exploration.
Three journeys, from the lounge chair to the galaxies
The album consists of three long pieces, each about twenty minutes long, for an hour of immersion:
Wide Fields (Grands champs), 19:31 — “Stars Everywhere.” Deck chair, thermos in hand, star chart, and red flashlight: the night’s vigil begins. The Milky Way reveals itself, nearly 3,000 stars unfold before us, and the constellations guide us in the footsteps of the sky’s surveyors.
Circumpolaris (Circumpolar Sky), 9:07 p.m. — “All Around Us.” The Earth carries us along on its journey, and the constellations revolve around the world’s axis like the hands of a giant clock. The Big Dipper, “the key to the sky,” leads us to the North Star.
Deep Sky (Depths of the Sky), 7:54 p.m. — “Further and Beyond.” From Galileo, Newton, and Herschel to space telescopes, the journey extends to galaxies and the vast Laniakea supercluster. More than 8,000 exoplanets have already been cataloged, and this is just the beginning.
Where to listen to the album
“Visions Nocturnes” is now part of Radio Équinoxe’s lineup: its three tracks are played regularly on the air throughout our programming. The album has also already been featured on “Skyline,” François Aru’s progressive rock show.
It’s available on Bandcamp: https://visionsnocturnes.bandcamp.com/album/visions-nocturnes
To learn more about the project: www.visions-nocturnes.fr
