Sonic Geographies of Hope: How can Song become an Act of Restoration for a Damaged Planet? by Angela Valenzuela (Loica)

I dedicate this work to Robin Wall Kimmerer’s call for acts of restoration for our damaged planet. I choose song composition and performance as a way to find pathways for personal and collective restoration. Through the methods of artistic research I write Songs inspired by my experience of ecological grief, academic reading, interviews to song composers, and journaling. As a contribution from my work, I present a new compositional methodology, Sonic Geographies of Hope. This methodology calls for song composers to write songs grounded in personal and collective grief of our damaged planet. I suggest that this type of songs can become an act of restoration and create collective resonance for more hopeful ways of existing and experiencing the world. This methodology is heavily influenced by the work of A. Hazelwood and her methodology Geographies of Hope in Praxis. While it is inspired by it, it focuses mainly on emotional geographies. This work represents a starting point to explore Song methodologies to nurture immaterial geographies for concrete, structural ecological restoration. It is an exploration to find ways to restore yourself to continue to fight for the dignity of the places, more-than human life and people we love.

While practicing Sonic Geographies of Hope to transform the world is important, this cannot be done in isolation from other forms of engagement with specific environmental issues in a damaged planet. Political advocacy, community organizing and practical grass roots activism are just some examples on how to engage. As stated by A. Hazelwood (2023) “hope rolls out as a multifaceted journey-destination replete with arduous place-based, political, relational, spiritual-psychological, and emotional topographies, thus, a Geography of Hope” (A Hazelwood, 2023, p.1489). It has been shown that differently from A. Hazelwood’s Geographies of Hope, Sonic Geographies of Hope focuses mainly on emotional topographies, or what I have referred to as emotional geographies. The limitations of Sonic Geographies of Hope is that it cannot exist in isolation from practical work.
Sonic Geographies of Hope aims to open new possibilities in our minds and hearts to support the work of Geographies of Hope in Praxis in different communities, place-based peoples fighting for their ancestral lands, territories and hopeful ways of being and experiencing the world. For this type of work, it will be important for Song composers to educate themselves and get politically involved in the issues they write about. Especially if they write as outsiders as an attempt to stand in solidarity with other groups. This work must be done with respect towards the communities, people and more-than human beings that are being represented in the Song. If a Song composer is not careful enough, there is a risk for misrepresentation, or falling into perpetuating harmful narratives regarding a specific issue.

As stated by A Hazelwood (2023) the work of Geographies of Hope in Praxis is about “withstanding extractive colonial punches and fighting for the dignity of the people and places we love.” (A Hazelwood, 2023, p.1463) The responsibility of a Song composer who wants to engage with Sonic Geographies of Hope, is to constantly educate themselves by actively listening to others and fight through Song for the dignity of the people and places we love.

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6. Discussion