Episode 34
Travelling Light E034S01 Transcript
[Title music: rhythmic electronic folk.]
H.R. Owen
Travelling Light: Episode Thirty Four.
[The music fades out.]
The Traveller
Entry HE85006-2: Regarding the musical traditions of the Amorzene people.
Key words: Amorzene; arts and crafts; ethnography; music; musical instruments.
Notes:
There are very few constants across the various cultures of the galaxy. Even those concepts which seem almost universal appear in such varied forms that one would be hard pressed to identify what, if any, commonality there is between them.
Take music, for example. Before I left Emerraine, I would have taken it for granted that I knew what music was. I would have given a definition along the lines of, “Intentional sound organised into different rhythms or pitch.”
But that definition simply does not account for the breadth of what 'music' might mean to different people across the galaxy.
For example, the Incuero people of Regia consider the sounds of their holy river to be a form of religious music, regardless of the lack of intention behind the sounds themselves.
Closer to home, the Shagoshian metal grinding that Aman listens to while she pilots the Tola is certainly… intentional. But I fail to hear any kind of organisation in the noise.
For the Amorzene people, music need not even be something one can hear. As a species, the Amorzene do not experience sound in the same way as humans – or Quvetts, for that matter.
Instead, their bodies register sound waves as something more akin to touch, though I am told that this is an incomplete analogy. I suspect the actual sensation is not one a person can understand without the ability to directly experience it.
The profound physicality of Amorzene music has led to a very special relationship between musicians and their instruments. The musician's own body contributes to the instrument's vibrations, not only by the conscious act of playing but through the subtle movement of blood and breath through the body itself.
A person's instrument is much more than just a tool for making music. It is considered to be an extension of themselves, attuned to their very body, a profoundly personal item with an almost symbiotic relationship to the player.
This relationship forms a crucial part of how the Amorzene understand music as a whole. The quality of a musical piece is judged not only by how pleasurable or challenging the piece might be, but also in how the musician's connection to their instrument inflects their playing.
When a musician dies or is otherwise unable to continue playing, their instruments are passed on to family members and friends.
This practice keeps these precious objects in constant use and allows the musical connection to not only exist between the player and the instrument, but also between the generations.
Music in general is an important communal and cultural activity among the Amorzene. Children are taught to play from a very young age, and music-making sessions form an important part of everyday social life.
The emphasis in these performances is always on the pleasure of playing, and the experience of playing with friends and community members.
There is not much interest in virtuosic solo performance. If one plays alone, one does so for the mere pleasure of playing or to enjoy the connection between oneself and one's instrument rather than to improve one's technical skill.
There is also very little in the way of recorded music among the Amorzene. The not-quite-touch that Amorzene experience when uh, “listening” to music, for want of a better word, can be experienced through recorded performances. But it lacks the emotional depth of seeing a musician perform who is closely bonded to their instrument.
However, an Amorzene performance is not quite like any other I have ever experienced. The very nature of Amorzene music means that there is very little actual sound produced.
As a hearing person, my experience of the performance I attended was one of near silence. It was surprisingly profound.
I was drawn to consider the sounds of the people around me, to hear their breathing and the subtle shifts of their body as we sat together in this intentional stillness. All the ordinary sounds of life reframed as something artful, beautiful, worthy of close attention.
This, however, was a rather formal event. In more casual settings, the audience often moves with the music, vibrating the air with their own enjoyment.
This is especially true for young Amorzene, who are encouraged to embrace this more physical enjoyment of music as part of their musical education.
I do not often wish to be other than I am. But as much as I enjoyed the concert, such as it was, I do wish I could experience Amorzene music as they do. Though in either case, I very much prefer it to Aman's metal grinding.
[The sound of the data stick whirring fades in, cutting out when the data stick is removed with a click.]
The Traveller
6th Herach 850
To the community at Emerraine, who carry the Light.
When I was first preparing for this journey, I spent a good deal of time considering how I would adapt to the endless novelty of a life in transit, considering what I might do to give my days a sense of continuity as we hopped from planet to planet – from world to world.
But in all my preparations, I never imagined I might simply grow used to it.
I was born and raised in Emerraine, and never spent more than a week or two away from the city in all my life. I had hardly left the province before this trip, never mind interstellar travel.
And yet, I have felt trapped for the last month as the Tola pinged back and forth between the same three ports in the same stale system. I should never have imagined that I would be so relieved to finally return to the constant forward motion that has, apparently, become my normal.
Of course, not everything is as it was… [sighs]
Personally, I think there is a lot to be said for a good wallow! [laughs] I am also a fan of sulking, on occasion, and while I am not quite temperamentally suited to brooding, I have been known to mope with the best of them.
But as justified as such behaviour may feel sometimes, it does not actually improve anything.
So, after a few more days sitting about in my cabin, I dusted myself off and have since been making an effort to get out of my room and socialise a little more.
We were in transit most of today, so I took myself down to Annaliese's laboratory to see if she wanted company.
“Hello, you,” she said, greeting me with a smile. “You're not going to try and reorganise my specimens, are you? I know you've been having a hard go of it, but I don't think I deserve that.”
“I promise to keep my hands to myself,” I said, pulling out a stool and taking a seat.
Annaliese's laboratory is one of my favourite places on the ship. Plants cover every surface, even more of them now than there were when I first helped her unpack all that time ago in Port Taroth. They make even the ship's recycled air taste fresh and green, and I felt my spirits rise just by being there.
Annaliese's company has the same effect. She did not pause in her work, but folded my presence into her day with easy, thoughtless welcome.
“How are you, anyway?” she asked, not looking up from her microscope.
“Fine,” I said. That made her look, if only to shoot me a profoundly sceptical look. “I am! Everyone is being very kind to me. Wolph asked the other day if I wanted to go with him to the scrap yard and hit things with a big hammer.”
“Oh, how sweet! [laughs] I did notice Hesje pulling out all the stops over dinner.”
I could not help the face I made at that. “I have never heard a person talk so much, and so fast, about so many different topics!” I said over Annaliese's laughter. “They were like a one-person entertainment feed!”
“Oh, you know what they're like. I'm sure they're worried that if they let you sit in silence for too long, you'll start sobbing into your bowl.” [laughs]
Annaliese finished with the slide she was examining and tapped something into a handheld notation device before coming over to where I was sat, her mobility chair whirring gently as it moved.
“Let's have a look at you,” she said, sounding more like a physician than a botanist. She looked me over with a keen, assessing eye.
“You do seem a little better. More colour in your cheeks, certainly, and you don't look quite as tired as you did.”
“Thank you,” I said. “It is so good of you notice.”
She ignored me. Instead, she cupped my face with one hand, holding my gaze. “I worry about you. For someone who talks so much, you've been very tight lipped about this particular subject.”
I wanted to say that I was fine, that there was nothing for her to worry about. But my throat was suddenly squeezed tight with emotion.
I had not realised until she said it, but she was right. I have hardly said a word to anyone about Óli's departure. First I hid from the others, and since then I have simply gone along with their attempts to cheer me up.
I found I did not want to change the subject. I did not want to chat about nothing and take my mind off things. I wanted to be honest with my friend, and to let her… To let her look after me.
Tears filled my eyes as I tried to speak. [tearful] “I... I am… [sniffs] I am just very sad,” I confessed. “I miss them. I miss them so much.”
Annaliese melted at my words. “Oh, sweetheart. When was the last time you had a hug, hm? No, if you have to think about it, it's been too long. Come on. Come here.”
And she folded me into her arms with such characteristic, no-nonsense competence I could not help but smile, even as the tears began to fall.
Her robes smelled of perfume and plants and growth medium, and she ran her hands through my hair as I cried in a way that reminded me, of all things, of my grandmother. And then, I cried even harder.
But just like my grandmother, she did not let me go until I was good and ready.
[Title music: rhythmic instrumental folk. It plays throughout the closing credits.]
H.R. Owen
Travelling Light was created by H.R. Owen and Matt McDyre, and is a Monstrous Productions podcast. This episode was written and performed by H.R. Owen.
This week’s entry to the archives was based on two similar ideas from Resfeber and Naomi, with accompanying artwork available on our social media accounts.
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