Milky Way Underground is a fiction podcast that my friend Grant Stewart is writing, directing, and allowing me to musically score. He co-created it with producer Christy Gressman, and it’s being presented by TRAX, a network that specializes in podcasts for kids in their early teens. Today, we’ve released our third episode, where we begin to reveal what makes this show so special and surreal.
On the surface, Milky Way Underground is about two siblings’ journey into a mysterious, otherworldly place. That story is one of the more evident strands of narrative; but it’s also about trust, trauma, and the messy character of consciousness itself.
Grant was always going to be a writer with a deep and intuitive understanding of how to tell touching, unpretentious stories. I’ve been fortunate enough to have seen some of his (as of yet) unpublished works, and his bravery and unwillingness to hide or obscure painful truths has always been one of his strongest points.
When doctors discovered an (unruptured) aneurysm in Grant’s brain in 2018, these innate qualities were augmented by powerful investigations into the delicate nature of reality — as well as the limitations of cognition and language — within his creative output. It changed him forever and, I think, helped transform what was already a very bold voice into something very much his own. His emotional courage continues to shine throughout, allowing for a broad and incredibly generous approach to dramatic writing.
Working on the music for Milky Way Underground has been a challenge, a privilege, and at times cathartic. Grant offered me his confidence and candor, and the result is some of the best music I’ve ever made. I blended MIDI (a relatively new tool for me) with an ample amount of woodwinds and keys, discovering a lot in the process. The palate bent towards the serene, which was healing for me after a bruising year. I feel very lucky to have been asked to contribute.
The team that Grant assembled is truly dreamlike: sound design/mixing by Michael Hammond (my sometimes bandmate in No Lands), show art by Eleanor Davis (who previously provided art for Pegasuses-XL), voice acting and sonic wizardry from Robert Ashley, interactive design by Stephen Borden, and a brilliant cast of actors. While the show is geared towards kids, I think anyone with an appreciation for Twin Peaks, Hayao Miyazaki, or The Adventures of Pete & Pete will find plenty to explore here. I hope that people can find the same kind of peace and profundity as listeners that I found as a collaborator in Milky Way Underground.
You can listen to the show by going to its website, or by finding it in your phone’s podcast app, or through Spotify or any other podcast platform.
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I have an insane amount of music coming your way over the next twelve months. Some of it will even be live! More soon – thanks for reading.