"Everything is designed to destroy your empathy because if you suddenly understood all the suffering and your interconnectedness, you’d fall to your knees and weep in the streets."Kappa Kappa
In our modern world, we’ve grown so accustomed to seeing earth as an endless resource, to be exploited, altered, and used. Climate change, the looming catastrophe staring us all in the face, often feels distant, like it’s happening to someone else, somewhere else. We see heartbreaking images of melting glaciers, burning forests, and animals caught in the wreckage of our consumer-driven world. And yet, it barely slows us down. We’re surrounded by systems that numb our empathy, that encourage us to keep going, buying, consuming, ensuring that the wheels of capitalism spin on smoothly.
But what if we could reclaim that empathy, feel our profound connection to the planet? This is precisely the mission of Madame Gandhi, an artist, activist, and award-winning music producer celebrated for her empowering, percussive electronic music infused with social change. Her latest project, 'Sounds of Climate Change', combines music with environmentalism, creating a haunting and transformative sonic experience. Inspired by a 2022 expedition to Antarctica, Gandhi witnessed firsthand the fragile beauty of a region on the brink of catastrophe. She partnered with Sound MANA, a creative retreat and Ableton Live training center set within two acres of serene woodlands where artists can disconnect from urban life and immerse themselves in mindful, purpose-driven creation. With their team of engineers, Gandhi transformed these natural recordings into musical elements like synthesizers and bass tones, in a nature-derived electronic music sample pack. The samples also help raise funds for the 2041 Foundation, which promotes sustainable practices to protect places like Antarctica.
Watch a video on it below.
Music has always had this unparalleled power to slip past the mind’s defenses and land right in the heart. The simple but revolutionary purpose behind a penguin’s squawk as synth lead, or the crispy sound of ice cracking, woven into a delicate hi-hat, was to the natural rhythms and melodies of Earth itself resonate through our headphones and speakers, and to be filled with its beauty and an urgency to protect it.
Everytime a video of an animal sound trends like the last mating call of the the Kauai o bird, the most liked comment is always, "someone sample it". Since hip-hop and electronic music, even rock (The Beatles & The Beastie Boys) sampling has become a way for us to understand and celebrate our planet, its people and their culture. Why should animals not be a part of it? Billie Eilish singing the meow meow version of What Was I Made For in her concert may seem silly, but I think subliminally its a sign of how we're taking ourselves less seriously; like we're not the most important species on the planet.
Rather than using fear or guilt, Gandhi’s music draws people in with wonder and awe. By immersing people in the nature's music, she invites us to connect, to love, and, ultimately, to protect the very source of these sounds; not in a despair over its destruction, but a celebration of our shared existence.
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