The Cosmic Blueprint
On the 20th of November we released a new Space Engineers song!
Cosmic Blueprint is an 80s-David-Bowie-inspired song created by Ruben Isarin (composition + production), Tom de Munck (lead guitar), and Bart Zeal (lyrics + lead vocals).
This song is a homage to the experience of playing Space Engineers. It celebrates the joys of designing a ship, taking parts off, adding parts on, and always striving to create the best possible outcome.
With this song, we won the “Sounds of Next Frontier” music competition hosted by Keen Software House! We’re so thankful for participating and being chosen among the winners. It was an awesome journey to be part of!
Writing a space song
We started writing the song when I received an invitation in the mail to join the latest Space Engineers music competition. I got in touch with my friends at Audioscape Studio, with whom I created the last two submissions (and winners) of the competitions of 2021 and 2023. Tom and Ruben were happy to put their heads together and create something awesome with me.
At the time, I was painting the shed I was building in the garden and happened to be listening to some 80s music. Although the last two submissions were very obviously space songs, I wanted to take a risk and try to create a different type of song; a “Guardians of the Galaxy” retro song about space that might’ve made it onto the Awesome Mixtape of Peter Quill in an alternate reality!
Taking the risk!
It was a risk to take this different route. It would definitely not sound inherently “Space Engineery”, but I believed as long as we gave it a good vibe and groove, it might still fit with the game. You see, people float around in space 90% of the time in this game. So we set out to write the soundtrack to their floatiness.
It had to become a song that would make the player feel happy as they cruised around through space, waiting to reach a planet, or worked on their spacecraft anticipating the great lift-off. So Ruben composed an easy-going tune and absolutely mastered the synths for this one, Tom shredded an awesome guitar solo, and I got to work on the lyrics.
The Senior Mister Override
A big chunk of lyrical inspiration came from the premise of David Bowie’s “Starman.” He sings about some entity in the sky that has some kind of connection with us. There are also other 80s musicians who’ve created similar songs (Mister Blue Sky by Electric Light Orchestra for instance), and I figured this song would be perfect to try my hand at this kind of concept.
So I got right to work! I imagined someone had to be the first in the lore of Space Engineers… The first engineer to get off-planet and into space. The first one to mine ores from meteorites. The first to meet Clang. You get the drift; a person with legendary status of which nobody remembers or knows where he may be now. This mythical figure that succeeded where so many others failed became the Senior Mister Override; the centre of the song.
The song is written from the perspective of a current Space Engineer, their struggles, and their dreams. It is a homage to the act of “Space Engineering” and the “Cosmic Blueprint” is the breakthrough of the space engineer, when they finally understand how to get off planet and into the next chapter of their lives.
The song: Cosmic Blueprint
In the end, the song Cosmic Blueprint boils down to being a motivational song. Whatever our struggle; we know people before us have done it, so we know we will be able to do it too. Our idols, our examples, or heck; maybe even our Gods! They will always inspire us to be better than we were before.
Through heartbreak, through disaster, through impossible odds, there are some things in our lives that motivate us to keep going. This song is not just a “haha funny song goes brrr,” but it’s deeper than that. It’s about loving yourself through all the things life might throw at you that could make you end up feeling like a failure.
There is always someone who believes in you out there, even if you don’t believe in yourself. They can be a Senior Mister in the sky or a little voice inside your own head, but one day they will hand you that cosmic blueprint and you’ll take off into the stars!
Lyrics
The senior mister override
Who lives beyond the stars
Started in a drop pod
Just like anyone
He witnessed all our first flights
Saw how we got to Mars
The first to manage lift-off
But now he is long gone
Senior Mister Override
Gave me the cosmic blueprint
Senior Mister Override
Connected Cosmic Love
No obstacle is too big
There’s a diamond in the rough
Repairing, Redesigning
And never too far off
His heart is like a large rig
Connects to cosmic love
His mere presence is blinding
He’s made of real star stuff
Senior Mister Override
Gave me the cosmic blueprint
Senior Mister Override
Connected Cosmic Love
I’ve known many
Unknown Signals
And nobody truly understands
When the rig breaks
And it’s just
Moon Craters
Senior Mister Override
Gave me the cosmic blueprint
Senior Mister Override
Connected Cosmic Love
Senior Mister Override
Gave me the cosmic blueprint
Senior Mister Override
Connected Cosmic Love
Bart the Bard 