Artists UMI (left) and Louis VI (right) have teamed up with the United Nations Museum – UN Live to re-release a song featuring the sounds of nature for Earth Day. Rusby, Orson Esquivel.hide caption
toggle caption Ryusei Sabi, Orson Esquivel.
Artists UMI (left) and Louis VI (right) have teamed up with the United Nations Museum – UN Live to re-release a song featuring the sounds of nature for Earth Day.
Rusby, Orson Esquivel.
When London-based hip-hop artist Louis VI looks at social media over the past few years, he keeps seeing the same image: an orange sky from wildfire smoke.
“It was one of those weird, eerily beautiful things where Mother Nature says, 'Hey, this isn't right,'” he said.
The lyrics of his song “Orange Skies” explore themes of environmental destruction.
“It’s time to call for climate justice.”
Because our black people are on the front lines.
don't you see what i see too
Hurricanes and fires flared, flooding the Savannah Basin. ”
The song was originally released last year with vocals and instruments, but has been remixed with new up-and-coming artist nature.
The new song was created as part of an advocacy and fundraising project called Sounds Right, a partnership between the United Nations, artists such as Ellie Goulding and Brian Eno, and the estate of the late David Bowie. Music created for this project will generate streaming royalties for conservation organizations.
Artist Louis VI's song “Orange Skies” (feat. NATURE) protests against environmental destruction.Orson Esquivel Hide Caption
Toggle caption Orson Esquivel
Artist Louis VI's song “Orange Skies” (feat. NATURE) protests against environmental destruction.
orson esquivel
The Louis VI remix features the sounds of a rainforest protesting deforestation caused by palm oil production in Southeast Asia, where the sounds were recorded.
Manufacturers are “cultivating a vacant lot in the jungle,” he said. [in Borneo, an island in Southeast Asia] Planting monocultures of palm oil trees has a very negative impact on biodiversity and also makes it more susceptible to fire. ”
After the poem, “Cut down the forest until it blows smoke,” a chainsaw sound is recorded for five seconds before the music resumes.
Louis VI said, “I wanted to include a variety of natural sounds, so I intentionally included sounds that were not necessarily beautiful.'' The sounds collected by the label Biophonica also include orangutans, cicadas, blue-bellied hummingbirds, and more.
“Orange Skies” ends with the harrowing sound of a fire burning through a rainforest. The sound drowns out the vocals.
Why is reaching young people important?
This project was created by the United Nations Museum – UN Live, a division of the United Nations that aims to engage people, especially young people, through popular culture.
“This is one of the most powerful ways to reach people in their everyday lives and bring them into conversation about the biggest issues of our time, including biodiversity conservation,” says UN Live's Sounds Rights Global Program Director said Gabriel Smails. Start an initiative.
In a 2024 Harvard University survey of approximately 2,000 18- to 29-year-olds in the United States, nearly half of respondents believed that the government should do more to curb climate change, even at the expense of economic growth. It turned out that he felt that way. His 6% of respondents cited environmental issues as their top concern.
Efforts to increase climate change awareness among youth are key to conservation efforts, said Raisa “Ray” Barrera, D.C. regional program manager for the Student Conservation Association. This nonprofit connects youth with conservation projects such as planting trees and building trails.
“I would like to say that 100% of the young people who participate in our program are very aware of the effects of climate change on the environment,” Barrera said. “But I'd be lying if I said that.”
UN Live's Smails said the scale of the climate crisis can feel insurmountable and young people don't always know what to do. By listening to the featured tracks, you're giving royalties back to conservation efforts.”
Louis VI wanted his songs to include enough natural sounds to give listeners a childlike sense of wonder at the outside world, but also be catchy enough to have wide appeal. Masu.
Louis VI wants to attract listeners with his music and inspire them with the sounds of nature in “Orange Skies”.Orson Esquivel Hide Caption
Toggle caption Orson Esquivel
Louis VI wants to attract listeners with his music and inspire them with the sounds of nature in “Orange Skies”.
orson esquivel
“At the end of the day, it's the music that has to draw people in. It's the sugar around this subject that's a bit of a hard pill to swallow,” said Louis VI.
He said one of his fears was being in nature and hearing complete silence.
“When people ask for peace and silence, I don't actually think they are asking for true silence,” Louis VI said. “What they're really looking for are the sounds of nature, because we've evolved the sounds of nature to mean everything's okay. When you hear a bird, it means there aren't any predators around.” I understand.”
nature as meditation
Rather than reflect on the reality of environmental destruction like Louis VI's tracks, Los Angeles-based singer-songwriter UMI takes a different approach.
“The deepest intention I have for my music is for people to feel a sense of calm and peace, even if they don't realize it's happening,” she says. said.
UMI begins the show with a calming meditation for the audience. Being in nature gives her great peace, so she wants listeners to experience that feeling for her.
“Nature is everything,” UMI said, adding that she often goes outside when she can't write.
Singer-songwriter UMI hopes her music helps listeners feel at ease.eddie mandel hide her caption
Toggle caption Eddie Mandel
Singer-songwriter UMI hopes her music helps listeners feel at ease.
eddie mandel
“When I feel anxious, being barefoot on the grass calms me down,” UMI said. “I feel like I can't help but care about things that are so important to me.”
The remix of her 2023 song “Wherever Ur” features K-pop band BTS's V, as well as some of the approximately 5,000 voice memos she collected on her phone.
“I think if I see something beautiful or encounter a beautiful moment, I'm more interested in capturing the sound than the image,” UMI said.
And now listeners can hear it too.
The song (feat. NATURE) is available on all major music streaming platforms.
This article was edited for radio by Phil Harrell, with digital editors Obed Manuel and Erica Aguilar.