Through the COVID-19 pandemic, Denver musician Jon Shockness, a former Air Dubai member who’s been dropping music as Kid Astronaut since 2015, has done more than just put out new recordings. The songwriter has also been building a universe for his upcoming album, COSMOS, set to drop in January.
He’s teasing the album with a video for his song “The Alchemist,” which pays homage to Paulo Coelho’s book of the same name. The spiritually driven novel, which has become a modern self-help classic, tells a fictional story about a man’s search for personal meaning and treasure in life.
The video, which was filmed at the Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve, will be available on the Kid Astronaut YouTube page on December 8, but first, it will premiere on a live stream at 5 p.m. Wednesday, December 2.
In the video, Shockness plays the titular role, searching for his personal treasure, much like the character in the book. The video functions as a “portal” into the song, he says. A project driven by a fictional story is something new for the singer.
“As an artist, my videos have been cool, but I’ve always wanted to make something picturesque that tells a story,” Shockness says. “So we wrote a script, and my manager and I worked on it together. About two or three weeks later, we went up to the Sand Dunes.”
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In partnership with Lively Studios, Shockness will premiere the video on an interactive live stream on December 2, along with two new songs from his upcoming album; there will also be a Q&A.
Shockness has been working with a variety of producers on COSMOS since the middle of this year, and the songs, more upbeat and uplifting than his usual introspective fare, have come together quickly.
“Once I hear the music, it takes about three to five seconds for the melody and words to come to me,” he explains. “I open myself as a channel and let the music flow through me.”
The virtual watch party for “The Alchemist” takes place at 5 p.m. on Wednesday, December 2. Free tickets are available here.
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