InstRURmental by Binaural Space

101 years ago today, on January 25, 1921, Karel Čapek's play R.U.R. had its world premiere in Prague's National Theatre. My album Karel Čapek's RUR, released exactly a year ago, commemorated this anniversary. This album, InstRURmental, is the instrumental version of that album, as desired by my fans.

Čapek's play was a fundamental work about artificial, factory-assembled servants called "robots", a word derived from Czech term for forced serfs' labour. This word was suggested to Čapek by his brother Josef but it was the very play, R.U.R., that introduced it to the world. Without R.U.R. – Rossum's Universal Robots – there wouldn't have been Asimov's three laws of robotics, no androids, no replicants, no other humanoids for a much longer time.

It's surprising how the themes introduced in RUR have been more and more valid and elaborated in philosophy, literature and film – one of the most recent examples has been the movie Don't Look Up where, too, the humanity risks its whole existence for profit. As Alquist in RUR says: "It is we who are to blame. For our own selfish ends, for profit, for progress, we have destroyed mankind. Now we'll burst with all our greatness."

For me personally R.U.R. is the most significant and important play written in the 20th Century for us today: Čapek's robots weren't equipped just with physical power but also with brains capable of independent thinking. As thus they preceded what we now call Artificial Intelligence.

But the play itself is not just fundamental – it is beautiful, brilliantly written and unforgettable. I was very lucky that my friend, a roommate from the dorms where I lived during my studies, opened the world of the arguably best Czech theatre of that period for me two decades ago. I didn't care about theatres we went to with schools but I would give my heart to that one immediately.

The most crucial performance for me happened five years after we began going to the Klicpera Theater in Hradec Králové regularly. A new director, David Drábek, would start a new, wonderful epoch there with the very R.U.R.

I was totally enchanted and fascinated by the play so I went to see it several times, although I lived in another city and had to travel back by very early morning trains. On one of the performances I even did something I wouldn't repeat, ever: I took a few pictures – that's how obsessed I was with the experience. And because the premiere of the play took place the very year I started dating a fantastic girl, I took her there with me, too. I was happy to see she also felt the huge power of Čapek's masterpiece. So I married her. ;-) And that friend/room-mate who had opened the world of theatre to me would join us as my best man.

Today, 16 years later, and 101 years after the premiere night, I am thrilled, humbled and nervous to share with you my own treatment of R.U.R., first time without Čapek's brilliant words.

I love R.U.R. and I adore Karel Čapek. In this way I daringly merged my musical journey with Čapek's creative genius and, perhaps, participated on the evolution of the beloved play for new audiences. Now I'm linked with "RUR" forever, like generations of creators before me and it feels both scary and awesome. I'm very happy I followed the little idea I had in July 2020 when visiting Čapek's Museum with my wife and our two kids, and I worked hard to achieve something I'm still very proud of and grateful for 12 months after the first release.

If only one person loves this like I loved that performance 16 years ago, I'll be satisfied and happy. And if it inspires anyone to think about AI in a different way, my mission with all things RUR will have been accomplished.

Enjoy your listening adventure and thank you for your support as well as for reading – not just this; in general.

Binaural Space, 25th January 2022, from in front of the National Theatre in Prague where RUR was premiered 101 years ago today

Ambient traditionalists say to Binaural Space what the Emperor said to Mozart: “Too many notes.” In both cases, the rest of the world tends to disagree.

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