Sunday, October 18 marks the season one finale of HBO’s breakout horror hit Lovecraft Country, but fans eager for more can tune in to YouTube Live the next day to see Janelle Monae (Hidden Figures, Moonlight) perform a one-of-a-kind virtual concert in the final installment of the show’s VR companion Lovecraft Country: Sanctum. When Lovecraft Country: Sanctum was first announced in September, HBO teased that “a musical experience like no other” would await fans in the third and final installment entitled “Music of the Cosmos”. Today, Rolling Stone announced that this musical experience would be delivered by none other than multitalented musician, actress and activist Monae.
Monae and Lovecraft Country prove a symbiotic match; as UPROXX notes: “[Monae] similarly uses fantastical themes to address real social issues, for unique performance.” Recently, Monae starred in the horror film Antebellum which, in-line with the themes of Lovecraft Country, utilized racial dynamics to elevate the fear and add a layer of social commentary to the project.
“Garden of Eden”, the first installment of Lovecraft Country: Sanctum, featured a gallery of Afrofuturist art provided by artists David Alabo, Devan Shimoyama and Adeyemi Adegbesan. Themes of Afrofuturism are abundant in Monae’s discography, particularly her concept albums chronicaling the tales of the archandriod Cindi Mayweather, via Vox.
When the Mill and HBO’s Lovecraft Country teamed up to create this companion VR series, centering Black art and voices was central to their mission. HBO’s VP of marketing, Dana Flax, cites Monae as a voice that embodies “innovation, justice and Black joy”, making her the ideal candidate for “Music of the Cosmos”, via Rolling Stone.
The prevalent voice in Monae’s film, TV and music projects align well with Lovecraft Country but, beyond that, Monae herself is a fan of the show. “This project gives me the special opportunity to celebrate Lovecraft Country, a show I’m a huge fan of,” Monae reported to Rolling Stone “and connect with fans in completely new way using virtual reality.” The love goes both ways, as Flax refers to himself and his colleagues at HBO as “long-standing fans” of Monae’s art and artistry, via Rolling Stone.
As with the other installments of Lovecraft Country: Sanctum, the VR component of “Music of the Cosmos” will be limited to “100 select influential voices”, however all fans con tune-in to watch on YouTube Live, via Nerdist. The YouTube audience still has the opportunity to interact during the concert by “solving riddles to trigger spells that directly impact the experience” (Nerdist).
“Music of the Cosmos” will stream on YouTube Live at 10:00 pm Eastern Time on Monday October 19. The link for the live event is already active on YouTube so fans can save the date to tune-in and see Monae deliver unique concert and proper send-off to Lovecraft Country.