MEKONG: Soul, the first part of the MEKONG Trilogy, resurrects memories of human life and movement along the Mekong River through sound, bridging cultures of Southeast Asia through time and space by providing a multimedia platform for new music from Vietnamese and Western instruments. The work weaves temple sounds, ritual music, and fishing songs from Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, Vietnam, and Myanmar with ambient sound, spoken word, historical objects, and live media. MEKONG: Soul tells the stories of everyday resilience, and reveals why those who live beyond the region still regard Mother Mekong as a spiritual home.

Using traditional instruments from Southeast Asia, graphic global warming data, electronic music, live media, and a Cambodian myth about natural cycles, Mekong: LIFE explores issues of natural resource exploitation. The narrative of Mekong: LIFE is a modern interpretation of a traditional myth about a goddess, protector of the waters, in perennial conflict with an ogre. The work’s musical structure combines the counterintuitive and improvisational styles of Burmese and Vietnamese music. Through a modern-day lens, this project brings different communities together for open dialogue about the lives, the people, the impact, and the future of the river.

IN PROGRESS — Description forthcoming