Press Release –
Los Angeles, CA: Los Angeles, CA: Composer, musician and Grammy nominated immersive pioneer James Hood today announced the February 27th release of his new soundtrack album Astronomica, the musical companion to his new multi-sensory 360 immersive planetarium and theatre experience that is being shown across the U.S. now.
The Astronomica album was recorded and produced at Hood’s Space Farm Studio in Alta Dena, CA and includes music that Hood recorded with The Hungarian National Orchestra in Budapest, Hungary. The Astronomica soundtrack was the last piece of music James recorded at the studio which was lost in the Eaton Fires on January 7th, 2025 but was thankfully backed up prior to the tragedy.
So, who exactly is James Hood? Not only did he spend some formative time drumming with the Pretenders, but Hood established an early ambient foothold with Moodswings, the electronica duo he formed with fellow producer Grant Showbiz (The Smiths, Billy Bragg), In 1992, the duo dropped their perennially influential Moodfood album which boasts the chart topping single “Spiritual High (State of Independence) Part II” with Chrissie Hynde on lead vocals.
Soon after, Hood reached for the stars and in the process, brought planetariums back into vogue, selling over 2 million tickets in the U.S. alone to his 360° multi-sensory theatre/planetarium immersive shows Mesmerica and Beautifica, making him the #1 immersive artist in the world.
In addition to those pulse-pounding, planetarium projects, Hood also hit #1 on the iTunes World Music Charts with his 2014 album Ceremony — and then achieved #1 status again in 2015 & 2017 with his LP’s Pure Ceremony & Mesmerica.
Now, James Hood has launched Astronomica, an even bigger, better, and broader-reaching live multimedia with a musical component that contains three-dimensional multitudes, expressed through his expansive musical arrangements and imaginative visual presentation, the latter of which was very much influenced by all the time Hood spent in and around Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles. “I wanted to create a show where it looks like the music and the visuals are creating each other, and are symbiotically linked,” he explains. “And then I found a bunch of really cool artists who work in full dome creation.”
Hood’s creative path remains crystal-clear. “There’s no wrong way to dream. I think the only thing musicians and artists should be doing right now is to try to comfort and inspire.” “The music I make has always been reaching for the softer part of people’s psyche. We’re much more transcendent than we may realize. The real win for me as an artist is to lead people toward experiencing themselves. At my shows, we are providing an environment where people can explore the nether regions of their mind where they discover that they’re much more magnificent, complex, and beautiful than they ever thought possible.”
“What my show (Astronomica) does spectacularly well is that it takes a humanistic approach — that we, as human beings, are already magnificent, and indescribably complex. None of us really know our origins. The reality is that we have a universe inside us, and I think that’s part of what we’re supposed to do, and not just go to work to survive in society. We’re human beings, not human doings.”
Hood concludes, “It’s such an incredible thing I get to do. I mean, it’s the best job in the world, you know.” It’s also the best job out of this world as well, and if James Hood has his way, then Astronomica will be the very next immersive step to lead us all into another multi-dimensional reality together.”
The soundtrack for Astronomica will be available on February 27th and will be available on digital outlets. Visit: https://www.jameshood.com/
