Every 100 thousand years or more a new intelligent species develops on this planet and then vanishes. It takes that length of time for all its traces to be erased completely so that the next emerging civilisation always has the naiveness, ignorance or even arrogance to believe that they are the first; the ones the Earth was created for, the first to have discovered fire, invented language, knowledge, technology, philosophy, music, literature and all that defines civilisation. But despite the meaning of the word civilised, all these highly developed civilisations failed because they failed to be civilised; because their most powerful tools were left in the hands of their most powerful fools. This album tells the story of one such civilised species: the current one and it could also easily have been titled “the ultimatum” or “the last warning”. There is an eerie and desolate feeling as the winds of nuclear fallout blow, after the SOS call signal begins this musical landscape journey on Planet of Our Time; a planet full of dreams, love and hope – a planet of life, an astronomical treasure! Many, throughout history have warned about materialistic development happening too fast and at a rate faster than that of spiritual enhancement: gods, prophets, philosophers, scientists, artists, John Lennon and alike. Many contemporary voices are struggling to convince a disbelieving and indifferent world population of the danger of imminent extinction because of the effects on our environment of the hungry materialistic monster we have created. Or simply, about the fact that wars have never stopped in the last 100 years as new enemies, rather than friends, are continually being created. If our hopes and dreams of an eternal life on this planet are to materialise, then what should we do? Tracks Planet of our Time (instrumental prelude) An SOS call signal, eerie winds and ambient cinematic luscious strings paint a deserted landscape of things to come. Halfway, a mood change to a dreamy atmosphere of hope for a world where all is right. A chill out, almost classical piece with mathematical patterns of harmonic chord progressions. Man and Earth An upbeat song of a dream about what today could be like if only Man and Earth became friends again. On Jupiter Jupiter is thought to be one of the most unfriendly planets in our solar system, as it is covered with poisonous gasses. Yet, the situation on Earth is so desperate that… anywhere… even on Jupiter, would be better than here. 11 of the 11th (instrumental interlude) A tribute to all the victims of wars, the cities that were flattened, the 18 year old soldiers whose lives were stolen, the children without fathers, the mothers without children, the missing persons of Sychari and the victims of the Cold War which still goes on. Breathing is not allowed This song started its life as a short poem and had three re-incarnations, each time with a new verse added about some latest technology. It’s a warning about the failure of technology to free our time, solve our food problems and now, eager to take away our personal freedom. Orwell’s 1984 is in a cookie near you. An Astronomical Treasure The most optimistic and spiritual song of this collection inspired by Handel’s music and shortwave radio propaganda station idents, contains the main message of this album that: not only life on Earth is a gift, it is also a treasure - an astronomical treasure worth more than anything else in the Universe. I Speak for Earth This song was the initial inspiration for this album. This symphonic production came about in the midst of the cold war when some western governments were issuing booklets to their citizens with instructions on how to build nuclear bunkers in their back yards, suggesting that it was possible to survive a nuclear war. The song tells a humorous story of a human appearing at a space business conference (taking place somewhere like in Douglas Adams’ Restaurant at the End of the Universe) and giving a speech trying to entice aliens to come and invest on Earth by spelling out all our great achievements. Does the Earth last longer than the speech? Astronomical Treasure 2 (instrumental) A short instrumental version of the song in a classical arrangement, immediately following the explosion of the Earth. Is it a Dream? This album finishes with a question about a dream. Is it a Dream is also the opening song on the next album in this trilogy and it is given here as a bonus track. © Pano 1980-2016 Released October 24th 2016