Charles Darwin was an edgy dude. When On the Origin of Species was published in 1859, his ideas rocked the foundation of his church-centric society . Maybe that’s why he’s popping up–in operatic form–in one of the weirdest interpretations yet of his life and the theory of evolution.

In 2008, the music group The Knife started collaborating with a Danish theater production company called Hotel Pro Forma to create a Darwin-inspired pop opera.

Just check out this video from one of the performances at Hotel Pro Forma last year:

It takes some serious thinking outside the box to throw this production together. The theater company’s website says, “Hotel Pro Forma displaces the notion of theatre into new territories that lie between art and non-art, theatre and non-theatre, between the physical and the metaphysical expression. ”

Whoah.

If you prefer a more subdued art-meets-evolution experience, The Knife released the studio recording of the opera soundtrack on March 1. The album, called Tomorrow In A Year, was first released digitally in February. The music definitely comes across differently without the visuals. A reviewer from The Guardian found “pockets of beauty” in the ethereal electro-pop album, but according to Paste Magazine, the music floats too much–and misses something as a strictly audio piece.

See for yourself. You can download or live stream the music here.

[Home page image credit: Sara Hernandez]