Seven Songs of Yearning
for a New World, Sung by a Starship
Format: Performance
Dates: 05 Sep; 07 Oct; 15 Oct 2026
Venue: Kaivos-festivaali, Outokumpu (FI); Ballhaus Ost, Berlin (DE); JUCKPULVER festival, Marburg (DE)
Duration: 50 min
Language: English, Damiá
Tickets: Kaivos-festivaali; Ballhaus Ost
Song lyrics: Online PDF
Preshow playlist: Listen here
Dates: 05 Sep; 07 Oct; 15 Oct 2026
Venue: Kaivos-festivaali, Outokumpu (FI); Ballhaus Ost, Berlin (DE); JUCKPULVER festival, Marburg (DE)
Duration: 50 min
Language: English, Damiá
Tickets: Kaivos-festivaali; Ballhaus Ost
Song lyrics: Online PDF
Preshow playlist: Listen here
Lyrics, text: ONCE WE WERE ISLANDS
Music: Ruby Louise Rose
Performance: ONCE WE WERE ISLANDS, Ruby Louise Rose
Contributing artists, Desire Machines - a night of Queer sci-fi: Óscar Barbosa; Lor Burns; elliott cennetoglu; CoCo & Alice Thibes; ethan allison folk; Jean P’ark; Anna T.
Music: Ruby Louise Rose
Performance: ONCE WE WERE ISLANDS, Ruby Louise Rose
Contributing artists, Desire Machines - a night of Queer sci-fi: Óscar Barbosa; Lor Burns; elliott cennetoglu; CoCo & Alice Thibes; ethan allison folk; Jean P’ark; Anna T.
Seven Songs of Yearning for a New World, Sung by a Starship is a sci-fi musical and the first stage collaboration between ONCE WE WERE ISLANDS and Ruby Louise Rose. This Queer Futurist work combines original songs with poetic text to tell the story of Queer refugees carried through space on a starship powered by desire.
Music and songs are composed by Ruby Louise Rose to text and lyrics created by ONCE WE WERE ISLANDS and woven together into a 50-minute event performed live by Aslan, Chris, and Ruby with modulated voice, bass guitar and electronics.
Music and songs are composed by Ruby Louise Rose to text and lyrics created by ONCE WE WERE ISLANDS and woven together into a 50-minute event performed live by Aslan, Chris, and Ruby with modulated voice, bass guitar and electronics.
For the first Berlin showing, as part of Desire Machines - a night of Queer sci-fi, we invite friends old and new from the city and beyond to bring you an eclectic assortment of Queer sci-fi goodies, including short films, readings, music and more with Óscar Barbosa, Lor Burns, elliott cennetoglu, CoCo & Alice Thibes, ethan allison folk, Jean P’ark, and Anna T.
The Otherland Bookstore will be selling a selection of Queer sci-fi at the event. To close Ruby Louise Rose will play a sci-fi themed DJ set.
Join us for an evening of speculative wonder!
The Otherland Bookstore will be selling a selection of Queer sci-fi at the event. To close Ruby Louise Rose will play a sci-fi themed DJ set.
Join us for an evening of speculative wonder!
Desire Machines & sea photography by Óscar Babosa; diagram overlay by Ruby Louise Rose. Rehearsal photography by ONCE WE WERE ISLANDS.
Seven Songs of Yearning is a production by ONCE WE WERE ISLANDS & Ruby Louise Rose in cooperation with Ballhaus Ost, Theater neben dem Turm, and Kaivos-festivaali. Funded by the Finnish Arts and Culture Agency and the Finnish Cultural Foundation. Music development residencies at UrbanApa / Nordic Culture Point and at Tuo Tuo.
Thanks to: all the participating artists of Desire Machines; Louie Wende at the Otherland bookstore; Kristin Gerwien & the JUCKPULVER team; Katariina Vähäkallio, Vellu Kuronen & the Kaivos-festivaali team; the team at Ballhaus Ost; Kaitlyn D Hamilton & Joni Judén at Tuo Tuo; Lisa Kalkowski, Milla Millasnoore & the UrbanApa team, Anki Hellberg-Sågfors at Nordic Culture Point; Santeri Vornanen; Jesse Partanen; Juliana Irene Smith & Arvid van der Rijt; Lotta Anttila.
Seven Songs of Yearning is a production by ONCE WE WERE ISLANDS & Ruby Louise Rose in cooperation with Ballhaus Ost, Theater neben dem Turm, and Kaivos-festivaali. Funded by the Finnish Arts and Culture Agency and the Finnish Cultural Foundation. Music development residencies at UrbanApa / Nordic Culture Point and at Tuo Tuo.
Thanks to: all the participating artists of Desire Machines; Louie Wende at the Otherland bookstore; Kristin Gerwien & the JUCKPULVER team; Katariina Vähäkallio, Vellu Kuronen & the Kaivos-festivaali team; the team at Ballhaus Ost; Kaitlyn D Hamilton & Joni Judén at Tuo Tuo; Lisa Kalkowski, Milla Millasnoore & the UrbanApa team, Anki Hellberg-Sågfors at Nordic Culture Point; Santeri Vornanen; Jesse Partanen; Juliana Irene Smith & Arvid van der Rijt; Lotta Anttila.