KIND WORDS ABOUT FANTASIA FOR FÉLICETTE

“Fantasia for Félicette is gorgeous — the more I listen to it, the better it gets. The pacing is perfect.”
          — early listener

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“Such sad tales that you are able to express so well, both musically and lyrically."

          — early listener​

“I feel like I completely understand their story from your songs. That is very very good musical storytelling.”
          — YouTube listener​

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“Like a warm blanket, a gentle hug, the soft glowing hum of the cosmos on a cool summer's night."

          — YouTube listener

HOW FANTASIA FOR FÉLICETTE CAME TO BE

It’s been a little over two years since I wrote Lullaby for Laika. In that time, I’ve graduated college, moved across the country, and now I live with a cat. Her name is Zelda. She’s technically my roommate’s cat, but she’s my roommate and my friend by extension. She’s the friendliest cat I’ve ever met; apparently her breed is known for being especially doglike in their affection. Unfortunately, it’s also known for having a slightly shorter lifespan, which, of course, sends me into a spiral of anticipatory grief quite often.

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I love a good parallel, so when I found myself thinking about all of this, I knew I had to write about Félicette.

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Fantasia for Félicette turns to a comparatively lesser-known story from the early Space Age to explore a different kind of grief. Félicette was a stray cat recruited by the French space program and launched into space on October 18, 1963, becoming the first feline to travel beyond Earth’s atmosphere. Unlike Laika, Félicette survived her mission, returning to Earth with electrodes still implanted in her brain to monitor the effects of spaceflight, but was euthanized two months later for neurological examination.

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Rather than recounting the tragedy that followed, I found myself more interested in imagining the fragile weeks after her return: when she is still here – still within reach – but something inside her has already begun to drift beyond the people who love her.

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Through lines like “There’s stardust in your eyes,” “You drift when you dream,” and the repeated plea, “Mais je veux que tu restes ici, avec moi” (“But I want you to stay here with me”), I wanted this song to embrace grieving a loss that hasn’t happened yet.

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As a sidenote: my French is very rudimentary, so I’m crossing my fingers that the pronunciation is at least passable, haha.

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Similarly to its companion piece, I wanted this song to feel dreamlike and weightless, suspended somewhere between Earth and the stars. It’s built around shimmering piano, impressionistic harmonies inspired by French composers, and sweeping strings, layered with acoustic guitar, banjo, and ethereal ambient textures. The result is a drifting, dreamlike soundscape, mirroring the lyrics’ balance of wonder and heartbreak existing side by side.

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Where Lullaby for Laika is about wishing I could bring someone back home, Fantasia for Félicette is about wishing I could keep them there.

LYRICS

Ma petite étoile

You’ve come so far

You fell from darkened skies

And I find somehow

You’re different now

There’s stardust in your eyes

You hum when you sleep

You drift when you dream

Et je veux que tu restes

Ici, avec moi

It’s an autumn night

You’re curled up tight

Electrodes blinking slow

And then something stirs

The signal blurs

There’s somewhere else you go

You turn to the hall

Hearing some distant call

Mais je veux que tu restes

Ici, avec moi

(instrumental)

Ma petite étoile

You’ve come so far

You’re here on borrowed time

CREDITS (2026)

Composition and Lyrics: Ellis Piper

Recorded by Sam Swinnerton & Ellis Piper


Produced by Sam Swinnerton & Ellis Piper


Mixed & mastered by Sam Swinnerton

Vocals, violin, viola, harmonica, piano & auxiliary instruments: Ellis Piper


Guitar, banjo, bass, theremin & auxiliary instruments: Sam Swinnerton


Backing vocals: Ellie Kashinn


Auxiliary piano: Simon Wesley

Cover art: Ellis Piper

Release date: September 25, 2026

Release type: Single

Label: Independent, Starbird Records

Genres: Singer-songwriter, indie folk, chamber pop

Language: English, French

one more thing...

Fantasia for Félicette has a twin! you can find its companion song, Lullaby for Laika, right here: