The Hour Blue (L'heure Bleue)

The Hour Blue, or L'Heure Bleue, is a term to describe the hour after the sun sets, after the Magic Hour, when the borders between Earth and Sky are no longer clear.

In the mid 1700s an expedition launched by the Sun and Thunder Exploration Company Limited discovered East Island during the L'Heure Bleue of the day, a strange apparition that appeared off the coast of New Zealand. A team of forty (known as the “Forty First” entered the southern Portail Océanique and only three returned (“The Lucky Three”).

The Lucky Three discovered many wonders and made contact with a strange and vibrant world. The Sun and Thunder Exploration Company Limited claimed and authorized a 500 year exclusive license to trade with this world, which began a rich and illustrious period in the life of the Company.

Knowledge of the Hour Blue World became lost over the years, and many of the legends and myths faded into the mist. In 2009 a team of inventors, artists, engineers, scientists, and writers re-opened a hidden doorway to the lost Portail Océanique, beginning the modern era of the Hour Blue.

In 2020 the reformed Sun and Thunder Group acquired the vast archives and trade licenses of the original Sun and Thunder Exploration Company Limited. The Sun and Thunder Group includes Sun and Thunder World Productions, which was recently formed to bring the myths, legends, stories, history, and objects from the Hour Blue World to our world here on Earth. The Sun and Thunder Group has also quietly reformed an expedition team, which has recently made several forays into the Hour Blue World, from a newly found Portail Océanique located on the South Island of New Zealand.

The Hour Blue Expeditions began anew in 2009 as a thought and a dream, manifesting into a creative project and collaboration with the wonderful Weta Workshop team in Wellington, New Zealand. The collaboration began with a friendly communication exchange that included the sentence:

“Weta Workshop is a friend to robots”

It is best to allow the Hour Blue to be discovered by the pieces we release, including art, music, writings, books, and short films. We also hope to produce a series of feature films, and eventually the Hour Blue Storyworld, a reflection of the actual Hour Blue World, which can become an evergreen place which may exist in its own way.

Below you will find an early Hour Blue music composition, written by R.Abovitz and Module (an amazing composer and musician from New Zealand) provides a bit of feeling for what we are creating :-)