They may be painfully average as a production duo, but the lads from The Chainsmokers are set to achieve something no other pop act in history has to date. The New York-based EDM act will become the very first (charting) musicians to perform at the edge of space when they put on a literal out-of-this-world concert some 20 miles above the Earth’s atmosphere. And while the obvious jokes about hoping they don’t come back have already become as inescapable as ‘Closer’ was in 2016, it’s hard to deny the hit-making duo their diplomatic moment as they partner with fledgling space tourism company World View to stage the monumental event. The Chainsmokers representing Earth at a concert in space – What could go wrong?
The Chainsmokers – Drew Taggart and Alex Pall – announced earlier this week that they will be heading up to space with World View on one of the company’s inaugural flights in 2024, where the duo will perform from inside the pressurised capsule as it’s tethered to a stratospheric balloon.
“We have always dreamed of going to space and are stoked to collaborate with World View to have this adventure and experience,” read a statement released by The Chainsmokers.
“We know the views of both Earth and space are going to be incredible and inspiring and we hope to leverage this flight for creativity on future projects.”
While The Chainsmokers are an odd choice to have headline your one-act space festival, World View seem to want to tap into the same market that’d easily chew up generic bangers like ‘Closer,’ ‘Paris,’ and the Chris Martin-featuring ‘Something Just Like This.’
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Ryan Hartman, CEO of World View, told the Associated Press that the initiative was born out of a desire to send more artists into space with the hope that the trip may “inspire them to do something different than they would have otherwise done.”
And who knows. Maybe The Chainsmokers will start making good, inspired music post-space.
“We think about inspiring new perspectives and how those new perspectives can lead to a radically improved future for our Earth,” said Hartman.
“To be able to reach the audience of The Chainsmokers through Alex and Drew’s work contributes to our mission as well. It’s something that I’m personally inspired by and excited about.”
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While I’m not sure anyone would want to be sent to space by someone who is inspired by The Chainsmokers, the World View balloon capsule should be occupied by six other people when it ferries the production duo out to space in 2024. The vessel is rated to reach a peak altitude of 100,000 feet and each flight will last 6-12 hours. It’s unclear whether The Chainsmokers will be performing their concert in space for the entire duration of the flight, but for the sake of the other people there, I hope the answer is no.
The Chainsmokers released their fourth studio album earlier this year, titled So Far So Good with a string of music videos for singles ‘Riptide,’ ‘iPad,’ and ‘High.’ They aren’t worth watching, and it’s not worth listening to, but clearly you don’t need to be any good to be chosen as Earth’s ambassadors of culture.
