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This song is inspired by my experience staying in a ger and immersing myself in the daily life of the locals during my time in Mongolia.
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Mongolia is a vast country, about four times the size of Japan, with a population of 3.4 million people. Much of the land consists of grasslands, deserts, and high mountain areas. Despite its size, the population is smaller than that of L.A., and half of the population lives in the capital.
During my stay in August 2023, I visited the home of a nomadic family, where children from the city were visiting for summer vacation. I had the opportunity to witness one of them undergoing a ritual similar to Japan's Shichi-Go-San(children’s rite), where they had their hair cut.
Mongolia has their religious roots in Tibetan Buddhism, but shamanism thrives on the grasslands, with altars (ovoo) scattered throughout, honoring spirits. Eastern religious rituals associated with shamanism often include "orin(kind of a bell)" made of iron or tin, and the non-Western scale, free from the constraints of the Western musical scale, is striking (it's common to find numerous iron items enshrined in temples in Ulaanbaatar). Incorporating the sound of iron, which is not bound by traditional scales, particularly in the first half along with imagery of the horsehead fiddle (resembling a violin), creates a religious atmosphere. Initially solemn, the gathering transitions to a festive atmosphere once rituals are completed, similar to Japan and other countries.
However, encounters with people are limited to the vicinity of the ger. Venturing away reveals vast, uninhabited landscapes. While Mongolia's terrain is majestic, much of it is dominated by desolate grasslands or even barren deserts, devoid of vegetation. Feeling a sense of nostalgia amidst the vast grasslands, there's also a sense of loneliness compared to the densely populated areas I'm accustomed to. In the latter part of the piece, I sought to incorporate this melancholy. As the landscape is so grand, I aimed for a progressive scale expansion.
During a guide-led visit to my relatives' ger, driving through the unmarked paths of the grasslands, the guide emphasized the importance of following the tracks left by pioneers; veering off course could be disastrous. These tracks, called as the Steppe Trail, serve as markers connecting people in the sparsely populated and unsettled Mongolian grasslands. I wanted to capture these aspects of Mongolia's landscape in the title.
By the way, throughout the piece, you can hear the sound of rattling bones. In Mongolia, people roll sheep's joints to predict the future, so I incorporated that imagery into the music.
- Genre
- Electronic