Musician and producer Jon Hopkins has released the new single “Forever Held” in collaboration with NASA. The song is a full orchestral piece, with strings arranged by Ólafur Arnalds. The single also comes with an accompanying music video, directed by Erica Bernhard.
Watch and listen to “Forever Held”:
“Forever Held” is emotive and cinematic. According to the press release, the song’s purpose is to touch on themes of planet Earth and its context within space. Fitting with the themes of the song, it will be featured in NASA’s Space for Earth experience, the first immersive experience at NASA headquarters in Washington, D.C. open to the public. Inspiration for “Forever Held” also comes from letters written by NASA Creative Director Erica Bernhard. She wrote love letters from Earth to Space and ended them with the phrase “Forever enveloped in your gravity,” inspiring the title “Forever Held” for the single.
Regarding the song, Hopkins says, “I took this opportunity to create a full orchestral piece. I wanted to make something timeless that would transmit the feeling of being ‘held’ by the Earth. I was thinking about the fragility and power of our planet and of the human race’s role in its own destiny.”
Before this release, Coldplay had used “Forever Held” to open their Moon Music album and their headlining show at Glastonbury in 2023. And, earlier this year, Hopkins released Ritual, an album that includes songs such as “Ritual”.
NASA’s Space for Earth is described in the press release as “The interactive physical exhibit is located in the east lobby of NASA Headquarters in Washington, DC, where visitors are invited to see Earth as NASA astronauts see it from space. Open M-F, 8:30 AM – 5:30 PM.” More information on the immersive experience can be found here.
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