“The Launch” is Arcana Collective’s second single taken from “Atlas Lost, Act 1: The Long Sleep”, due for release on February 1st, 2023 via Wormholedeath. The Launch: Damian finds his escape from Earth, leaving behind all he ever knew to make his way into the unknown. He is alone, except for his own thoughts which plague him at night as a vision of red – his deceased wife coming back to haunt him in his nightmares. But with the loneliness also comes peace as he looks out over what was once his home, not knowing if he will ever return. The Launch started off with a challenge to myself to create a track built off of a repetitive triplet pattern, then spice it up with where the accents are placed. It follows in the vein of Leprous with its rhythmic complexity, and I had this vision of making it overly synthetic to represent the technological advancements made in that not-so-far-off future. For this I drew inspiration from 80s synth pop and rock, making use of a lot of synth layers and a Sax solo. There is also a clear shift in theme halfway through that reflects the anxiety of a rocket launch in the first half with the calmness of space in the second.