Soundtrack Review: Spaceship Earth (2020)

The soundtrack for the recently released documentary Spaceship Earth is now available from Milan Records. Spaceship Earth is the true, stranger-than-fiction, adventure of eight visionaries who in 1991 spent two years quarantined inside of a self-engineered replica of Earth’s ecosystem called BIOSPHERE 2. The experiment was a worldwide phenomenon, chronicling daily existence in the face of life threatening ecological disaster and a growing criticism that it was nothing more than a cult. The bizarre story is both a cautionary tale and a hopeful lesson of how a small group of dreamers can potentially reimagine a new world.

The soundtrack for Spaceship Earth was composed by Owen Pallett, who is a composer, violinist, keyboardist, and vocalist. They have released a string of critically praised solo recordings, winning the Polaris Prize in 2006. They currently release albums with Secret City Records and Domino Recording Co., and have performed as a solo performer with orchestras worldwide. Their chamber music work has been commissioned by The National Ballet of Canada, The Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Bang On A Can, The Barbican, among many others. They also served as curator of the TSO’s New Creations Festival in 2017.

Of the soundtrack, composer Owen Pallett says:

This is my second collaboration with Matt Wolf, after 2019’s Recorder: The Marion Stokes Project. The film Spaceship Earth chronologically spans from 1960 to present day— it is serious, it is comedic, it is retro, it is futuristic, it is scientific and it is highly human. It is also distinctly American. As a result, I was inspired by 60s sci-fi film scores, Nino Rota, as well as American 20th century music— John Adams and Aaron Copland.

All of those influences are evident in Pallett’s score for Spaceship Earth, which is among the most beautiful I’ve heard this year. The music for this documentary runs a huge gamut from nearly symphonic to an American style that is, as the composer indicated, clearly inspired by the music of Aaron Copland (“Synergia Ranch” in particular). I may have listened to a few of the pieces out of order, but I was instantly struck by a four-part piece organized under the title “Biosphere 2.” Played back to back, these four pieces reminded me of a symphony, with themes weaving together and coming back at the end of the piece. It’s not often I hear a symphonic piece of music while listening to a soundtrack, but that is indeed what the four parts of “Biosphere 2” reminded me of.

And it only got better from there. Most of the soundtrack is delightfully musical, with a sense of “sci-fi” lurking around every corner. If you didn’t know what this documentary was about, you could be forgiven for thinking it was about literal space travel. It would be interesting to know, specifically, which sci-fi film scores influenced Pallett, as their influence can clearly be felt.

But there was also a touch of weirdness (in a good way) as well. As I mentioned earlier, “Synergia Ranch” was clearly inspired by the music of Aaron Copland (it put me in mind of “Hoedown” in case you were wondering) and it definitely stands out from the music around it.

In conclusion, the soundtrack for Spaceship Earth is beautifully done, and I applaud Owen Pallett for creating such beautiful music to accompany the documentary. Let me know what you think about Spaceship Earth (and the soundtrack) in the comments below and have a great day!