Sounds of Space: Utilising the sonic language of 'space music' in music production.

Research examining the relationship between popular music and outer space has largely focused on lyrical themes, visual aesthetics, cultural meanings, and science-fiction film soundtracks. Comparatively little attention has been paid to the sonic devices through which popular music represents the cosmic and extra-terrestrial. This study addresses that gap by identifying and analysing the sonic language of space music across a broad range of popular music traditions from the 1950s to the present. Using thematic analysis of musical texts and a practice-led research methodology, the project examines recurring sonic signifiers associated with outer space, science-fiction futurism, and imagined extra-terrestrial environments. Through this process, the term caelophone—a taxonomy of sonic tropes—was developed to describe sounds, their source and methods of performance and production, that function as representations of cosmic themes. These caelophones were identified across diverse genres, including cosmic jazz, space rock, electronic music, psychedelic music, and techno, revealing a shared vocabulary of sonic metaphor that transcends stylistic boundaries. The findings contribute a new analytical framework for the study of thematic representation in music and demonstrate the significance of studio production, instrumentation, and performance practices in constructing sonic representations of the extraterrestrial. The taxonomy was subsequently applied through the creation of an original multi-genre music album and accompanying liner notes, providing a practical demonstration of how the identified sonic language can inform contemporary creative practice. The project contributes to musicology, sound studies, and music production scholarship by offering a systematic account of how outer space has been sonically imagined and reimagined in popular music across seven decades.