2019 First Place award for Music Writing from the Association of Alternative Newsmedia

Two black holes circling each other deep in space, going round and round until they finally collide. The impact sends waves rippling out into the universe, gravitational radiation warping space and time. Undetectable until just a few years ago, Albert Einstein’s theory of relativity first predicted the existence of gravitational waves in 1916, sending scientists on a century long journey of discovery — a search to record and observe the effects of massive, violent cosmic collisions and explosions.

Zimmer’s dad was one of those scientists, and the Parisian DJ and producer’s first single, “Landing,” off his forthcoming album is a tribute to the years of work that culminated in the scientific discovery.

“I wrote the track in one afternoon,” Zimmer says from his apartment (and studio) in Paris. “I felt this sensation… after awhile I realized it was the exact same feeling I had when my dad told me he had discovered gravitational waves. It’s all based on that feeling of looking for something for a very long time and it finally coming together.”

Like the gravitational waves that break through the space time continuum, rippling through the universe at almost undetectable speeds, the different elements of Zimmer’s music bump up against each other creating entire worlds as they interact. Tropical drumbeats run into synthesized melodies, torn in two by gently plucked piano and blaring trumpet notes. Almost impalpable laser sounds layer in the background, occasionally breaking into center focus with hypnotic capability. While potentially chaotic, the end result is anything but; what it’s saying is up to the listener.

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