English electro-pop musician Thomas Dolby has announced plans to kick of a 2012 North American tour in support of his latest effort A Map of the Floating City. The first stop on the upcoming tour will be at Austin’s SXSW Festival on March 16, after which Dolby will make stops across the U.S. and Canada, concluding with a Los Angeles performance on April 17.

Fans who attend these dates will get a chance to interact with Dolby’s set. The tour, called “Time Capsule,” will feature just that: Dolby has provided a “chrome and brass-plated road trailer” in which up to three fans can create and upload a personal video “to the Future.” According to a  press release, the machine will be parked outside of every tour stop and at selected television and radio stations along the way.

Clips will be uploaded to on a forthcoming YouTube channel, and users will have the option to upload to their personal Facebook and Twitter pages. Videos with the most views will be awarded prizes.

In a somewhat draconian set of capsule instructions, Dolby says, “If you had 30 seconds to explain to an alien visitor what went wrong with our civilization, what would you say? Our species may not be around much longer, so you might as well leave a welcome message for the next guys!”

Presumably, Dolby assumes that the human race will still be around come March 16, as tickets are available now. Check out full tour dates, the time capsule, and Dolby appearance on a BBC Breakfast special below:

Thomas Dolby’s tour dates are as follows:
03/16 — Austin, TX — South by Southwest
03/17 — New Orleans, LA — Tipitinas
03/18 — Orlando, FL — Social
03/19 — Birmingham, AL — Workplay (Seated)
03/20 — Atlanta, GA — The Loft
03/21 — Greenville, SC — Handlebar
03/23 — Annapolis, MD — Ram’s Head
03/24 — Philadelphia, PA — World Café
03/25 — Alexandria, VA — Birchmere
03/28 — Sellersville, PA — Sellersville Theater
03/29 — New York, NY — Canal Room
03/30 — Northhampton, MA — Iron Horse
03/31 — Ridgefield, CT — Ridgefield Playhouse
04/01 — Montreal, QC — L’Astral
04/02 — Toronto, ON — Mod Club
04/04 — Detroit, MI — Royal Oak
04/05 — Chicago, IL — Park West
04/06 — Minneapolis, MN — Cedar Cultural Center
04/10 — Vancouver, BC — Rio Theatre
04/11 — Seattle, WA — Showbox at the Market
04/13 — San Francisco, CA — Red Devil Lounge
04/14 — Sacramento, CA — Harlows
04/16 — San Diego, CA — Anthology
04/17 — Los Angeles, CA — Largo

Source.