Award-Winning Immersive Experience XYZZY Returns For Album Launch
After years of audience requests, the acclaimed soundtrack to XYZZY will finally be released, with a special one-night event at Auckland’s Stardome Observatory & Planetarium celebrating the launch.
On Friday 14 August, audiences can experience the award-winning immersive planetarium work in full, hear from filmmaker and video artist Simon Ward about the making of the project, and enjoy live performances from Stef Animal, Eyeliner and Lachlan Anderson, whose original music forms the heart of the work.
Created by Simon Ward and leading contemporary artist Jess Johnson, XYZZY (pronounced zizzy) has captivated audiences in New Zealand and internationally with its extraordinary full-dome visuals. Developed over more than a decade, Johnson’s intricate hand-drawn compositions are transformed into an endlessly evolving universe of flesh mandalas, self-replicating architecture, undulating worms, hallucinogenic patterns and mysterious alien deities.
While audiences have been asking for the soundtrack since the very first screenings, bringing it to life as an album has taken years. The soundtrack will be released digitally on 12 August, alongside a limited-edition 12-inch gatefold vinyl.
Unlike a traditional film score, the music was never created after the visuals were finished. Drawing on his background as a music video director, Ward conceived XYZZY as a visual album from the outset, commissioning original works from Stef Animal, Luke Rowell (Disasteradio/Eyeliner) and Lachlan Anderson, before building the visual world around the music. Each sequence flows seamlessly into the next, creating an immersive audiovisual journey where sound and image are inseparable.
The resulting soundtrack is as surprising as the visuals themselves. Stef Animal, best known for dreamy electronic soundscapes, delivers infectious, high-energy tracks, while Luke Rowell’s atmospheric compositions evoke the expansive electronic landscapes of Tangerine Dream. Together with Lachlan Anderson’s contributions, the music has become one of the defining elements of the experience.
To mark the album’s release, Stardome will host just two screenings of XYZZY, followed by a conversation with Simon Ward about the decade-long creative journey behind the work and live performances from the musicians featured on the soundtrack.
XYZZY Album Release + Live Performance
Friday 14 August 2026 @ Stardome Observatory & Planetarium, Auckland
Tickets available at https://www.stardome.org.nz/
