Nostramus

Get my latest Nostramus music at Bandcamp

Some of my recent production work with various guests and other artists including Singer Songwriter/Narrator Ell Jo is available for sale here

Dream Nebula

New Single from Nostramus

Last week I released “Proxima Ultra”, the first track of the Alien Ear Flower Series, a project that had been shelved since 2019.
“Dream Nebula” follows, Official Release November 15th 2023. Special fans release Friday 13th October 2023, resuming this modular album.
Both tracks are released in the spirit of a double ‘A’ sided single.

The project allows each Ear Flower to unfurl with two tracks every season, when appropriate cosmic conditions allow.

“Dream Nebula” Available to buy on Bandcamp here
Apple, Spotify, Amazon and all Stream services to follow on November 15th

Nostramus creates Alien Ear Flowers to plunge the listener into deep lush, ambient music, expanding into scifi and cosmic compositions.
This rich texture of sounds, tumbling with movement, musically styled with electronic/orchestral grace and grandeur, reminds all life forms they are obligated to evolve.

In these untypical ambient encounters, Nostramus invites acknowledgment of the past where a predicted future never occurred. But Dream Nebula deals with a dream that became reality, albeit a hallucinated one.

The alchemy shaping these tracks captures engaged intellect and driving life-force, joyous in a state of liberation, propelled through Space, equipped and prepared to encounter imagined worlds and beings.
Such in-depth work requires a sense of nobility and compassion.
The journey is real, or in our dreams; either way, it exists.  

Some central questions behind Alien Ear flowers are: Is it prudent to ever pause and contemplate past mistakes?
Also, as a lived experience, what is true reality?

Remember this is an ambient vibe, look out for the hashtags before purchasing. If you are looking for ground shaking Drum and Bass this might not be your thing, these Alien Ear Flowers are profoundly ambient and immersive – sci fi noir and fantasy.

“Proxima Ultra” and “Dream Nebula” will also be available on most online streaming platforms – release dates to come!

Steve Spon October 2023

Copyright October 2023
– Mixed in immersive Binaural Sound
Concept written and produced by Steve Spon for Nostramus
Big thanks to Ella Jo for ideas, inspiration and typing
Inspired by “To Mars by A Bomb” The Orion story.

Nostramus Discography including “Dream Nebula” here

Proxima Ultra

New Single from Nostramus

New Nostramus Single out for subscribers on Bandcamp 6th Oct for “Bandcamp Friday”. Part 1 of a duo-track release. Part 2 available Friday 13 October 2023.’Proxima Ultima’ on mainline streaming platforms official launch date release is December 15, 2023.
Departing from usual Nostramus D&B flavours, this doublet of songs takes a more surreal path, with the concept of looking back into the past where predicted futures failed to materialize in Proxima Ultima. Part Two – Dream Nebula describes a dream becoming a reality albeit an hallucinated one.
Nostramus has a long tradition of embracing sci fi, blending ideas with social comment in past material, including the stunning 1997 album “Earthlights”, so this theme is set to continue with these coming releases.

Nostramus Discography including “Proxima Ultra” available at Bandcamp here

In 2019 I envisaged producing a new album I would call “Alien Ear Flowers”, but fate decreed that this album could not come to fruition at the time. However, I already began composing two tracks to open this theme and here in 2023 they have arrived, perhaps where they were meant to land, a few years into their future.

The first track, “Proxima Ultra” and the second “Dream Nebula” are now heading for release as I have decided to release both tracks together, as one would have once released a double ‘A’ sided single, a long time ago.
“Proxima Ultra” will be released Friday 6th October and the second “Dream Nebula” will be one week later on Friday 13th October (Hurrah!)

In general, my work indicates a fascination with the concept of Time, the great uncontrollable force. The planets, Proxima Centauri and Ultima are planets belonging to the nearest star system to our own and I can envisage a time in the future when we send probes there, if we survive the next hundred years or so! Maybe we would send people or AI proxies!

An earlier version of “Proxima Ultra” has existed as a demo on my website for some time and I used it as a soundtrack on a couple of my ‘Dronescaping Britain’ Youtube films. But these 2023 editions are a new crisp mix with added ambience and mood effects.

The music reflects a cosmic-type journey or how contact with our closest stellar neighbours might even sound. Remember this is an ambient vibe, look out for the hashtags before purchasing. These tracks do not represent ground shaking Drum and Bass – these tracks are more nuanced, like the background music aliens would listen to whilst visiting an interplanetary cafe, so these tracks are for seekers of a profound ambient and immersive sci fi type of experience!

Background ideas that inspired me to write Proxima Ultra:

The dream that never materialized was a concept named the Orion Project. The (genuine) idea was to send a massive ship into space, powered by atomic bombs. This ship would be able to visit the planets of the solar system and eventually fly out to the nearby solar systems, namely Proxima Centauri, situated about 4 and a quarter light years away.

The Proxima Centauri configuration is the closest system to Earth, comprising of three stars including Alpha Centauri, a red dwarf and the closest star to the Sun. As well as possible Gas Giants orbiting the stars an Earthlike planet has been detected in the habitable zone, but it is not yet known if it could harbour life.

Many have imagined voyages to the Proxima system, a journey that could take hundreds if not thousands of years by chemical rockets. An idea that gained consideration for powering this journey involved an aircraft-carrier sized object such as a multigenerational spaceship, powered by rapidly exploding atomic bombs!

The writer, Stephen Baxter has written a duology about a fictional journey to Proxima, to visit a habitable planet in that system which he called “Ultra”. My song toasts that idea, and why not?
The James Webb telescope recently focused closely on many planets or objects orbiting the three stars of Proxima, and may return with exciting results!

The Orion mission was ultimately cancelled by President Kennedy, rightfully horrified at the prospect of creating a thousand atom Bomb blasts to propel this huge ship into orbit. Thus the dreams of Freeman Dyson, the acclaimed British Physicist in charge and his enthusiastic team, ended.
Steve Spon October 2023

released October 6, 2023
– Mixed in immersive Binaural Sound
Concept written and produced by Steve Spon for Nostramus
Big thanks to Ella Jo for ideas, inspiration and typing
Inspired by “To Mars by A Bomb” The Orion story.

Nostramus Discography including “Proxima Ultra” available at Bandcamp here



DOOMSDAY DOT COM! ALBUM BY NOSTRAMUS


Nostramus Doomsday Dot Com-front
Nostramus Doomsday Dot Com-front

DOOMSDAY DOT COM….

Is this the end of drum and bass as we know it?

A sound concept tapestry with a strong musical current, including samples which expose media hysteria with both dark and light themes. Nostramus comments on the phenomena that shape our early 21st century; times where fear is founded for some, and a plaything for others.
Tracks – 12
Label – Diamond Seed Productions, Year – 2012
Price – £10.00  SALE! Now only £7.99 inc free shipping*

Digital Download – Here and iTunes
Sample clips on Soundcloud here

Buy CD Purchase CD View Product


ALL CD ALBUMS AVAILABLE FOR £10.00 NOW ONLY £7.99 INC FREE SHIPPING!*


Nostramus-Earthlights-front
Nostramus-Earthlights-front

EARTHLIGHTS REMASTERED…..

’21st century pagan drum and bass’

The ‘Earthlights’ album by Spon’s alter ego Nosramus was released in 1997 by Recordings of Substance in the UK and Shadow Records in the US to critical acclaim. Now remastered in 2010. More info.
Tracks – 10
Label – Diamond Seed Productions, Year – 2010
Price – £10.00  SALE! Now only £7.99 inc free shipping*
Buy CD
Digital Download – I Tunes, E Music, Amazon
Sample sound clips here


Nostramus-THC-Dark-Ambience CD Album
Nostramus-THC-Dark-Ambience CD Album

DARK AMBIENCE PROJECT…..

THE HIDDEN CORE

A feast of sound-scarped nightmare visions and eclectic journeys. Culled from the darker psychotropic-fueled imagination of The Big Eye, Bud Brothers and Nostramus’s Steve Spon.
More info..
Tracks – 13
Label – Diamond Seed Productions, Year – 2011
Price – £10.00  SALE! Now only £7.99 inc free shipping*
Buy CD
Digital Download – Available soon
Sample sound clips – Available soon

[products ids=”1428, 1435, 1430″]
Purchase all three of the above albums for just £16.49!
[product id=”1494″]


NOSTRAMUS 1998

Nostramus: photo by Hugh Byrne
Nostramus: photo by Hugh Byrne

1997 – Spon, Caroline Nische, MC13

photo: Hugh Byrne

“Nostramus .. puts you awake in a dream. Wondering if it could be real. There should be a place where you can rest your soul.”

The future is coming..

The alchemy that is Nostramus has been around for a long time, manifesting itself in various incarnations going right back to the time of Punk. The Big Eye harnessed this power for a time, but it just wasn’t a sound enough church to accommodate the chaotic uplifting magic that is Spon & Nostramus.

During the summer of 1995, Spon witnessed the excitement of the unfurling drum’n’bass massive, musical horizons expanding rapidly, new beats opening whole universes to explore, and some of the wickedest parties, led by the Exodus Collective and their renegade sound system. He could not resist. These experiences led to profound inspiration, which in turn focused on capturing moods and atmospheres in an invigorating new musical expression.

To avoid the inevitable post-party come down, Nostramus would compose new songs, trying to behold, distil and capture the atmosphere of those transcendental moments. Soon, with enough ideas ready to go, it was time to introduce other people to the project. MC13 and Derek E. Smith were there all along, collecting samples and data, but the cherries on the cake were still to come.

Meanwhile, The Big Eye seemed deeply entrenched in a terminally imploding Techno scene, so Nostramus became the ideal way for Spon to explore these new and exciting soundscapes. The first album which came from this exploration is an inspiring, powerful and genuine musical achievement. Called Earthlights, it was released in Europe in July 1997 and America in March 1998. Earthlights has contributions from Prince Malachi, Danny Nugent, Derek E. Smith, Caroline Nische and the MC13.

There is a wealth of material available within the ‘archives’ of Spon, including many master tapes and outtakes from The Big Eye, The Bud Brothers, The Hidden Core and of course Nostramus. Look out for the Dark Ambience Project.

The Music of Nostramus is
at home in the future!

The Nostramus ’98 line-up had contributions from artists on the last album (Caroline Nische, MC13 and Danny Nugent) plus DJ Tryst, Flow (percussion), Riad Abji (bass), Fez (guitar), MC Sufferer and Merlin (sitar and bodhran).


In 2003, Nostramus released ‘Hero of Bamboo Stick

A collaboration with ‘Check-One-Two’ It came out on a Vinyl 12″ White Label by ‘ Jolt-Recordings’.


Links

Full Nostramus Discography

Comment with your Facebook, Yahoo, AOL or Hotmail

 

Dronescaping Britain

2021 see’s a new direction as I went out and bought a mini drone aircraft with a 4K camera and gimbal, so now I make small films using my own or my produced music as soundtrack. Please visit my Dronescaping Britain (Formerly – Dronescaping Ynys Prydain) Youtube Chanell to keep up with the latest content. If you could please click the ‘Like’ button whilst at Youtube, or better still ‘Subscribe’ or ‘Comment’ that would be awesome as it really helps with the flipping algo’s there. Many thanks.

Mabinogia V1 ~ One hour of Dreamy Flights around West Wales