From 1971 to 1998, Michigan native John Shepherd broadcasted a myriad of music from his grandparents’ living room into outer space. From reggae to electronic, Shepherd’s hand-curated DJ sets were transmitted into the cosmos with a mission to reach alien ears. The extraterrestrial enthusiast dedicated upwards of eight hours a day to his efforts, eventually expanding his operation to a separate building on his grandparents’ property. Named “Project STRAT,” the operation’s goal was to entice alien lifeforms to come close enough to Earth for Shepherd to research them.
Unfortunately, Shepherd never made contact with unknown life, but his passion and hard work did not go unnoticed. Netflix recently announced a documentary detailing the galactic radio station and its founder titled “John Was Trying to Contact Aliens.” The official trailer for the documentary features music from Shepherd’s expansive record collection, including Keith Jarrett, Fela Kuti, Can, Kraftwerk, and more.
Music is the perfect medium through which to communicate with aliens, posited Shephard. According to Shepherd,
“You don’t need to translate if something can be felt through the soul, through the mind. There’s always that twilight zone in between reality and music that allows you a certain imaginary landscape—you can go there and figure things out, or just sort of relax and cruise with flow.”
Watch the trailer for John Was Trying to Contact Aliens below.
Featured image: Netflix
