Stranded Alien, the synthwave project of Philip Helmer, better known as The NTT, released the ten-track album The Dark Forest on 4 November 2026.
The Bandcamp notes say the record is “inspired by and humbly dedicated to the wonderful science fiction of Liu Cixin.” The title borrows from The Dark Forest, the 2008 sequel to The Three-Body Problem in Liu’s Remembrance of Earth’s Past trilogy.
Fans of the books will spot the references straight away. “Do Not Respond to This Signal” opens the album, and the running order passes through “The Wallfacer’s Idyllic Life”, “The Deterrence Era”, “The Teardrop and the Fleet” and “The New Swordholder” before closing on “Blue Space”.
Helmer wrote all the music and plays the keyboards, with McBrainious on bass and B.U.R.T. on drums. The cover keeps it simple: a blue sunrise breaking over a planet’s horizon under a sky full of stars.
Stranded Alien works out of Daegu, South Korea, and The Dark Forest joins a long space-themed run on Bandcamp that includes Megalopolis, The Celestial Palace, Opera Gargantua and Stranded Alien X, alongside The NTT’s Funk Odyssey series.
Bandcamp – https://thestrandedalien.bandcamp.com/album/the-dark-forest
YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@theNTT.StrandedAlien
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