#audio story
From the producer/composer of Welcome to Night Vale and Alice Isn’t Dead:
Back in May I started a new project called “In A Walled City”, a non-linear series of audio fiction, poetry, music, and noise. This is a project that is deeply personal and, for me, spiritual. as I began working on the sixth episode, the west coast was consumed in fire. I know many of my friends throughout the American west experienced this as well, or worse. the ash fall, the choking air, the dark sky, a perpetual column of smoke out the window, the red glow at night. for some time, when the fires came particularly close, I lost myself to constantly refreshing satellite heat maps and webcams. It was difficult to think. Somehow it slowly became “normal”, just like everything else. The fire season continues on, the fire closest to me has been burning for a month but is mostly contained, now there are others. All of this time, as social unrest is growing, state forces are becoming more reactionary and violent, rumors and disinformation gain traction, and this merges with the fires as they are bent into political agendas and used by fascists to fuel conspiracy theories. This is the world I was channeling while doing this work.
I initially expected this piece to take a few weeks but it ended up being closer to two months. It is one of the most difficult pieces of audio I have produced. It’s hard to categorize or describe this project. I have it on one website as a series of albums, and I also distribute it on podcast platforms. It is a series, in the sense of how the music works, but it is not chronological, and you can listen to it in any order. it is a narrative but there is no overt protagonist (although there are consistent and important characters if you pay attention). I sometimes call it “audio fiction” as that seems like a sensible way to explain it to a potential audience, but the truth is I don’t really consider it fictional, and much of the imagery comes directly from my dreams. As such, it is distorted and fragmented for my protection and yours. Please see below for links to hear “Staves of Smoke”, the latest piece.
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Bandcamp: https://disparition.bandcamp.com/album/6-staves-of-smoke
Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/in-a-walled-city/id1526192366
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/18ZkP5CrZBaS0CZ74bkyYZ
I am about to finish the second season of the two princes. and I have to say Amir in this season really gets on my nerves. I know good stories need conflicts and Amir’s story arc is quite plausible, but can the story only be interesting if we turns the two protagonists against each other? I don’t think so.
Anyway, it’s still an amazing audio play. Go check it out if you are by any chance even a tiny bit in need some fun and wholesome gay fantasy stories. The voice acting and sound design are consistently superb also.
