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Part 2 of a two disc concept album of a future civilization on Mars.

MARSTROPOLIS
CD Liner Notes

This double CD came about in a highly unusual way. I was browsing the Internet one night looking for video game cheat codes and ran across a site where a group of people are making another version of this game. Soon, I discovered they were looking for people to work on it; everyone from graphics to sound, design to testing, and music.
At that moment in time, the Muses sprinkled their magic gold dust over me. This is the only way I know how to describe it. I was instantly inspired and began writing and recording.
The result of this massive infusion of inspiration is the album MARSTROPOLIS, which took one month to the day for me to complete. The CDs are packed full of tunes ranging through a wide variety of styles. You will find New Age, Trance, Dance, Techno, World, Jazz Fusion, Rock & Roll, and combinations of all the mentioned styles. Even though the music is instrumental, there’s something here for everyone.
Below is a fictional look at a story of Mars, set in the future, with each track representing a part of the story. While you listen to the tracks, immerse yourself in this virtual, future world. Take in the sights and the sounds. Be sure to visit often. Once will never be enough.

Welcome To MARSTROPOLIS
You have stepped into the future, a future where the planet Mars has not only been colonized, but has become an independent society. As you step off the landing platform of your transport shuttle, you find yourself inside a busy spaceport connected to cities under protective domes. The surface of Mars is spotted with many a sprawling megalopolis, thriving and flourishing. Gleaming buildings a kilometer tall stretch into the sky. Lanes of traffic float over streets. Even though this isn’t Earth, or it’s moon, the feel is the same. People hurry off to jobs, they shop, eat, visit parks and beaches, or head home to houses constructed of geodesic domes; everything people normally do, simply set on another planet.
The music you will find in this collection was inspired by an idea for a video game. Allow yourself to be transported to a world much like home and feel your way through many styles and rhythms. Use your imagination to unlock the many awaiting pleasures. Enjoy your stay in MARSTROPOLIS.

Rob Astor

MARSTROPOLIS
Š 2005 By Rob Astor
All tracks composed, arranged, performed, recorded, and produced by Rob Astor.

CD Number 2

Janet Jetson
Meet the leading musical superstar of the 2250s, Janet Jetson. Often, Miss Jetson emulates the music of the late twentieth and early twenty-first century pop star Janet Jackson. Selling out arenas with her catchy songs and flashy entourage of dancers, Janet is Mars’ top concert industry attraction. Her popularity has grown to the point where she draws in devoted fans from both Earth and the Jupiter Colonies. There is a staying power in her style you will instantly notice when you tune into the Holo-Entertainment Network. No matter what century it is, people like fun, feel-good music. Janet Jetson delivers. According to her publicist, after recording a new album this winter, Miss Jetson plans to do her first world tour of Earth next year with follow-up dates on the moon, a world tour of Mars, and make one stop in the Jupiter Colonies. Whew! She’ll complete the first ever tour of the civilized solar system!

Millennium 3.5
Artificial Intelligence abounds on Mars. Many of the structures and technologies couldn’t have been built and developed without their contributions. Like humans, A.I.s like to unwind after stressful workweeks. Some have taken up musical composition as a hobby or even as a second profession. In fact, A.I. music has become a popular nightclub staple and was recently given its own place within the Interplanetary Electronic Arts Celebration held every summer in MARSTROPOLIS.

Technical Dyslexia
Because there are so many opportunities for employment in the field of electronics on Mars, medical science has identified a new pre-existing condition in people who are exposed to too much new technology too quickly. Without the proper training, anyone will feel intimidated by the complex holographic computer systems commonplace in modern society. When someone is brand new to certain computer functions, or is unable to comprehend what they’re doing with the equipment, they are said to have Technical Dyslexia. Not to worry; in most people, Technical Dyslexia is temporary and passes once they understand their gadgets. We find it laughable now, however, on Earth in the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries, there were people who couldn’t program a computerized clock on their entertainment devices. Obviously, Technical Dyslexia is a condition born of the electronics age.

Take The X Train
Becoming an industrial super power, Mars leads the way in innovative technologies. Mining at the northern and southern polar caps feeds raw materials to the equatorial settlements. Using electromagnetic rail guns and vacuum tubes, the X Train can reach a speed fifty times faster than the Bullet Train back on twenty-first century Earth. It’s possible for Martian residents to live in the warmer climate of the equator and commute to lucrative jobs located in the far reaches of Mars’ northern and southern hemispheres. Comparatively, the X Train on Earth would enable someone to live in Los Angeles and work in New York City. Commute time? A mere matter of minutes.

Next Stop, Europa
Second only to MARSTROPOLIS, the fastest growing population centers in the solar system are the Jupiter Colonies. Often, people seeking challenge will leave the cradle of the red planet and take up residence in the colder regions of civilized space. The work available is grueling, however, the money to be made is astronomical. Once shielding strong enough to deflect Jupiter’s deadly magnetic fields was developed in conjunction with the MARSTROPOLIS University, the first settlements at Jupiter were constructed on the icy surface of Europa. Mining operations proved valuable with the excavation of ice and raw materials deposited within Europa’s deep glaciers by meteorites. Ice was transported to Mars, where it remains a leading trade commodity. Establishments were soon constructed on two of Jupiter’s other Galilean moons, Callisto and Ganymede. These small collections of cities are growing rapidly, developing their own unique technologies for survival, and weaving the fabric of their own individual cultures. Currently, MARSTROPOLIS enjoys being recognized as the hub of human civilization and the prime place to live in the solar system. It’s estimated that in as little as two hundred and fifty years, the Jupiter Colonies will hold this coveted title. The dependency of such growth here in this part of space will ultimately depend on humanity’s next established outpost, the colonization of frigid Titan, Saturn’s largest satellite.

Tholos Restored
In ancient Greece, Tholos was home of the temple of Athena Pronaia, Goddess Of Wisdom. A replicated version has been constructed on Mars, in honor of mankind’s achievements, and to remind everyone civilizations can exist in peace and prosper through mutual cooperation, something Athena would applaud. As you walk through the marble structure flanked with towering columns and gaze up at the magnificent statue clad in gold overlay, you might hear distant sounds, almost musical in nature, awakening and heightening your mind.

Ambient Wonder
Something truly wonderful has been discovered on Mars. No one knows yet how to classify it. A mammoth crystal, glowing softly from some inner and unknown source, was recently excavated and taken to the MARSTROPOLIS Research Center. Rumor has it scientists studying this treasure have discovered sound waves emanating from within. What’s more, the patterns are repetitive and intelligent.

Flooding Valles Marineris
Terraforming has worked on a local level. Scientists set up a massive dome over parts of Valles Marineris, enclosing it from the carbon dioxide atmosphere. Bio-engineered algae brought oxygen to the local atmosphere. After decades of work, a brand new ecosystem is born. In Valles Marineris, rain falls for the first time in perhaps millions of years on Mars, bringing life giving nitrates to the planet’s red soil.

Temple Of Red
Spirituality is an important part of the lives of those who live in MARSTROPOLIS. They have much to be thankful for in these prosperous times. Seated at the edge of the MARSTROPOLIS Botanical Gardens, a mammoth temple, carved from granite and marble, welcomes every religion and every denomination thereof. The temple’s doors are always open. Services are held every day of the week to accommodate the busy schedules of temple members. Community activities on the temple grounds are year round celebrations and include ethnic festivals, carnivals, and family picnics. Ideally located near many nearby parks and recreation centers, congregation members also plan for activities within the greater society.

Legend Of Neith
In Earth’s ancient past, one of the most incredible legends was handed down by Plato; the enigmatic story of Atlantis. Plato heard the story from a Priest in Solon, Egypt, where he was told the Greeks no longer remembered their own distant past. The story of Atlantis was related to Plato, as inscribed on a column. Here, an interesting cross between the religions of the Greeks and the Egyptians was also relayed to Plato. The same goddess who founded the city of Solon was also the same goddess who founded Athens. In Egypt, she was known as Neith. In Greece, she was known as Athena. The story of Atlantis remains shrouded in mystery and mythology, right into modern times. The Philosophy Department at MARSTROPOLIS University often speculates on how Martian civilization will be remembered in the millennia to come. Will mankind be given credit for the founding of civilization on another world, or will the story grow over hundreds of generations to the point where, much like the Ancient Greeks, memory will be lost? Instead of gods and goddesses, it’s often thought by the Philosophy Department that the colonization of the solar system will be accredited to some extraterrestrial culture, because every era has popular mythologies and this era is filled with stories of flying saucers and secret alien contact.

Arcology City
Within the last five decades, the population of Mars has almost doubled. In an attempt to house the population, massive self-contained cities called Arcologies were developed and built within the densest heart of MARSTROPOLIS. They benefit society in every way by supplying services to the city, such as power, water purification, and help curb a growing trash problem through a recycling program with a ninety percent success rate. Arcologies provide MARSTROPOLIS with a larger tax base, making it possible to fund the many civic centers and annually held events as well as cover operating costs. They also bring revenue to commerce and provide jobs to residents throughout the region. The dense bulk of an Arcology often gleams like stainless steel, their round towers capped with transparent domes housing parks and lakes. Some even have a doughnut-like glass ring enclosing forests, providing valuable oxygen to the environment. Stately and majestic, Arcologies, when they were first introduced, were dark and foreboding structures. People feared them and the residents they housed. Period fiction often reflected those fears with stories of mutated inhabitants, sometimes kidnapping children, or killing otherwise unsuspecting people. An old school yard rhyme from those early times happily chanted the line, “All the mutants live in Dark Arco City”. In modern times, no one gives a second thought to such silly notions. In fact, the next generation of Arcology is being developed to house small civilizations in space. It’s strongly hinted this variation will be the first form of interstellar travel for human kind. Plans seem to be in motion to launch the first of these behemoths toward Alpha Centauri, the closest star system to our Sun at 4.3 light-years, within the next 150 years. The next step of human expansion has begun.

Rock & Red
As cultures divide and expand, small parts begin to evolve into brand new cultural shoots. Music is no exception. Every variety has found its way into Martian culture where it is reshaped and takes on new life. Rock & Roll has transformed in the hands of Martians, giving birth to what is commonly referred to as Rock & Red; Rock & Roll Martian style, as evidenced in this track.

Video Man
No matter where you travel on Mars, you’re sure to be bombarded with some form of video advertising. Giant holographic billboards awash with neon stand high over the entertainment districts and casinos. Every shop and restaurant has some form of news kiosk. In MARSTROPOLIS, one young man can be found with his ever-present helmet-like headset over ebony hair. He often dances along the sidewalks, watching something on viewscreens of transparent yellow material shielding his eyes. Be sure to ask him for information on any of the latest music, movies or domestic programming. Whatever you want to know, he can tell you. He knows everything about Janet Jetson!

Orbital Arcade (Video Game Carnival Version)
Mars is host to one of the most spectacular attractions in civilized space aimed at a teenage audience, the Orbital Arcade. Here, there is a perpetual carnival atmosphere. Every single holo-game known to exist can be found in this gigantic tritanium sphere. Be sure to see the Mid-Way Circus, sample good old-fashioned county fair food, and try the latest sport, Hyperpulsion Skating. Also, there’s an array of extreme roller coasters, a massive water park, and a zero-g auditorium where the wildest concerts have taken place. Janet Jetson is scheduled to appear this summer!

2230 (Techno Beat)
Fun and infectious, another popular groove found in nightclubs. The music of Mars tends to lean on synthesizer heavy compositions, making it possible for nearly anyone with a keyboard, or a computer with music software, to become a minor player on the Martian music scene. Rob Astor, who this piece is credited to, is one such musician, having many loyal friends and a small following.

We Are All Optical Delusions
Have you ever wondered if life is just one great big computer game controlled by someone outside of our existence? Sounds like a religious belief for the electronics age. It’s also a common thought in the minds of people who live in MARSTROPOLIS. Secretly, they hope whoever is steering their destinies is benevolent. No one wants to think whoever is at the controls will wish them harm or cause major disruptions to their lives. They also hope their existence has meaning and the things they accomplish, individually and collectively, will be remembered. No one wants to know they are a waste of precious computer space. There is some comfort in this line of thought, however. Should things go spinning far out of control, the game can be paused and restarted from a point when things were glorious, never allowing for any conflict or catastrophe. The bad is over written and simply never exists. Everything will always be perfect and stable. Everyone will always lead good and productive lives.

Trappings Of Time
Mars has always had time. Time to witness catastrophic bombardments in the solar system’s distant past. Time for microscopic life to develop. Time for its life giving oceans to evaporate. Time for life to leave its footprint in the planet’s fossil record. Time for giving serious thought to splitting in half. Time to wait an eternity for life to return to its barren surface. In modern times, the spirit of Mars has been reawakened with human intervention. For Mars, now there is time to live. Time to breathe. Time to grow. Time to flourish. Time to thrive. Time to dream of a future once lost to oblivion.

Blue Sunset
On Earth, the nitrogen and oxygen atmosphere scatters blue rays from sunlight, making the sky blue. At sunset, red rays make the sun appear orange-red as the planet rotates, causing light to filter through thicker layers of air before reaching the surface. Except within Mars’ domed cities, the red planet’s atmosphere is carbon dioxide, which scatters red rays from sunlight, giving the Martian sky a rusty tint. This makes for a truly unique and beautiful sunset of blue. There are many parks and viewing platforms in Mars’ cities where you will find young lovers at sunset, bathed in the haunting blue light.

Bonus Track

Echoes Of Raindrops (Xack’s Theme) (Rain Forest Effects)
The original version of this track is on my first CD, QUADRANGULAR OSCILLATIONS. It is still one of my very favorite compositions, even six years after first being written. I also recorded several variations. One of them is an extended version, also on the QUADRANGULAR OSCILLATIONS CD. However, I often thought of how nice the music would be set against rain. While taking a break in the MARSTROPOLIS sessions, I finally took this piece of music and remixed it with rain and forest sounds, to add the effect I was originally going for, although the music itself sounds like a spring rain coming to an end, I think my efforts paid off. The track, as peaceful and relaxing as ever, is even more so with the sounds of nature added.