Dial Tone
Dial Tone begins with the curiosity to look beyond our planet and see what might be out there. As Earth falls apart, that curiosity takes on more urgency. Somewhere in the silence, there might be an answer or a place worth finding.
The labels explore that search, reaching into space and imagining what we might encounter beyond the world we know.
There’s a smaller joke in the name too. Dial Tone is also the blank look you get when an unfamiliar grape name leaves someone completely lost. For a moment, you’re sending a message and getting nothing back. For us, Dial Tone is always our Mourvèdre.
2017
A satellite dish reaches into the silence beyond Earth. The transmission goes out, but nothing answers. Dial Tone begins with the hope that someone is listening.
2018
A damaged satellite remains in orbit above a distant planet. No signal is coming through. Label artist Dane Curley based the artwork on a Boeing NAVSTAR GPS satellite, developed for navigation on Earth. His mother headed the program that developed it, giving the image a personal connection to a real piece of space history.
2021
A ring world offers a place where life is thriving. Inspired by Halo, this image marks the discovery of the utopia the travelers have been searching for. After the silence and the failed destination, there is finally somewhere worth reaching.
2024
The 2018 artwork returns, revisiting an earlier moment in Dial Tone’s search beyond Earth. It also brings back a piece of artist Dane Curley’s family history, connecting the imagined journey to his mother’s work in space exploration.
