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The cover art of STS9's 'Ad Explorata,' featuring the symbol from the bunker.
Credit: Courtesy of STS9
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They call themselves STS9, and the story behind their new studio effort, "Ad Explorata," sounds like an episode of the TV show "Lost." Intriguing, frustrating, and irresistible at the same time.
This is STS9's third release, and members of the five-piece electronic outfit say the CD was inspired "by the idea that there is always more to be discovered, manifested by the belief that you can always push towards the unknown and unexplored, and created by the will and desire for constant artistic evolution, expression and change."
Now, for the "Genesis of Ad Explorata," and the unusual symbol that graces the album cover:
A family member was messing around with an old shortwave radio, according to the band, a collective of musicians from Santa Cruz, California.
The shortwave radio dial eventually landed on a woman's voice. An artificial voice, counting off numbers. After more searching and research, the band found another similar voice, and information that the numbers were old code used by various government to send messages to spies overseas.
Working with a crypto-hacker, the band matched the numbers with the coordinates of a location in Big Sur, California. There, they found an old, abandoned bunker ... and documents and items inside including a patch sporting a "physically impossible symbol on it."
"... It was thought to be for a secret unit that first used satellites to gather SIGINT (signal intelligence) from other countries during the Cold War. The story is that this team actually gathered signals from another civilization in our galaxy. Their motto was 'Ad Explorata, Forward into the Unexplored.'"
See, told you.
The obscure story hasn't translated to obscurity on the charts. Two tracks from the CD, "Phoneme" and "ATLAS," were both released as singles in the fall and held their own on the electronic charts at iTunes. A third single, "Oil and Water," was released Dec. 1.
All 12 tracks from the album are now available for download.
STS9 (short for Sound Tribe Sector 9) has an activist bent, and donates to causes including Rock Against Cancer, the Make It Right Foundation, Yellow Ribbon Fund, Conscious Alliance, Global Education Fund, New Orleans Area Habitat for Humanity, Mariposa's Art, Headcount and Samaritan House.
This year, 100 percent of STS9's charity work has benefited the Make It Right Foundation, including the release of "Peaceblaster: The New Orleans Make It Right Remixes," which came out in June.
"Peaceblaster" features 30 artists remixing original material from STS9's 2008 release.
Along with the sale of the remix CD, and per ticket fees to shows this year, STS9 is nearing the $100,000 mark on the project, according to a rep for the band.
STS9 will be on the road this winter:
December 29, June Swaner Gates Concert Hall, Denver CO
December 30, Wells Fargo Theatre, Denver CO
December 31, Wells Fargo Theatre, Denver CO
January 2, Revolution Live, Ft. Lauderdale FL
January 3-8, Jam Cruise
February 11, House of Blues, San Diego CA
February 12, Wiltern Theatre, Los Angeles CA
February 13, Fox Theatre, Oakland CA
February 14, Grand Sierra Ballroom, Reno NV
February 18-19, Crystal Ballroom, Portland OR
February 20-21, Showbox (Market), Seattle WA
February 22, Wilma Theatre, Missoula MT
February 25, The Depot, Salt Lake City UT
February 26, House of Blues, Las Vegas NV
February 27, Marquee Theater, Tempe AZ
February 28, Rialto Theatre, Tucson AZ
March 3, George's Majestic, Fayetteville AR
March 4, The Lyric Theatre, Oxford MS
March 5, Cains Ballroom, Tulsa OK
March 6, House of Blues, Dallas TX
March 7, House of Blues, New Orleans LA
March 10, The Music Farm, Charleston SC
March 11, Amos' Southend, Charlotte NC
March 12, The Norva, Norfolk VA
March 13-14, 9:30 Club, Washington DC
March 17, Mr. Small's Theatre, Pittsburgh PA
March 18, Madison Theatre, Covington KY
March 19-20, The Pageant, St. Louis MO.
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