Current Media Issue 19 - Sound

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Lost in

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Home

Welcome home, Muop. I miss you so much dear”.

sounds you are willing to perceive, and sounds you intuitively take no accounts. While I was murmuring the lyrics on the way home, I paid no heed to Momma’s daily conversation with the taxi driver or even the song that was playing on his radio. I indulged myself in the sounds of music, such as carefreely but also zealously.

It’s Momma. It’s my beloved mom’s voice that I have been craving to hear ever since my first day in the far, far away land - the US. Has your curiosity ever sparkled up at how people can initiate a conversation, or entertain the dialogues, or explicitly revolutionary – make a sound?

Since I was a child, I’ve always thought making a sound is… literally making a sound.

Occasionally radiant, seasonally echoing, simultaneously blaring, nothing more. Had that homeward bound not occurred, I wouldn’t have cherished every sound I’ve made, every sound I’ve thought or every sound I’ve heard so close, so dearly to me. Sound and Home….

Sound is Home… I wonder?

“I’m coming home… Coming home… Tell the world I’m coming home… Let the rain wash away… All the pain is of yesterday…” – The very first sound approached my recognition was this song. It’s amazing how you can classify the

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Imagine if ‘Sound’ is a quasi-dimensional good friend of yours. Wherever you go, whatever you do, whenever you think, it has always been crystally transparent and supportive of every step of your journey. In fact, it never leaves you. Ever. The world of sound that I experience on a typical day has always been beginning with the sizzling sound of the frying pan. I giggled with joy when I said: “I’m grateful for my daily alarm, Momma” - Mom always wakes up early to prepare breakfast. “I would rather spare time to prepare a meal rather than eating outside” - she grumbles. Mom is never fond of eating out, in fact, she is afraid and extremely cautious with food quality. “You never know what they may put in your dishes… Scary scary!” - Although that daily reminder used to sound noisome to me, the older I get, the wiser I contemplate, I incredibly value Momma’s repetitive complaints, after all, Momma knows best! Afterward, it is Momma’s natural boost to indulge in reciting on her new hunting on the online platform, or unhesitatingly laughing and arguing on her colleague’s jokes. It is also when Dadda is beaming with his smile and talks about his new business plans, his daily operation with staff. Although Dadda is overwhelmed with business, he still manages to spend quality time when he is home. “I don’t need to be disciplined and serious like I often am at work, anything your Mom said is correct, I just need to relax and be the true me at home”.

sweetheart” - Sometimes I wonder if Dadda is my… Dadda or a famous philanthropist, or even a sagacious humanitarian? As a daughter, I always related to sounds in terms of Dadda’s valuable quotes & life lessons. Well... actually, as a daughter with such bizarre associations, any knowledgeable sounds my parents make is remarkably embedding.

To me, at the end of the day, sounds are home.

Mom. Dad. Sizzling pan. Daily reminders.

Movie nights. Life lessons. Quiet. Jolly.

Peaceful. Safe and sound. How about you?

What kind of meanings do sounds carry to you? What associations come through your listening? Does listening affect your creativity, just like mine?

Words by Mai Le Illustrated by Huyen Linh

No matter how swamped my parents are at work, dinner gathering is a reflection of family spirit. For me, it’s not just a family meal but it’s also a nostalgic childhood recollection of love, a special feeling that lasts to this day.

“What movie shall I watch tonight, Muop?” That’s how Dadda’s leisure night usually starts.

Da is a vivid action-movie lover. He’s utterly captivated by the sounds of intergalactic battle, satisfying long and loud gunshots, or just spaceships traveling at warp speed in every space opera produced in the legendary series “Star Wars”. Watching Da fantasizing in his own virtual world, I’d come to a certain realization that ambient sound is most appealing because it is the most authentic and realistic. “Adult life is complicated. You will understand once you are fully mature, my dear

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Words by Quynh Huong Illustrated & Layout by Kewzi & Nem

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THE BANTHE BANTHE BANTHE BANISTERZ THE BANISTERZ

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Photographer:

Cao Tien Duy

Layout by:

Huyen Linh

M.U.A:

Mi Do

Assistants:

Lai Minh Cam Anh Vu Long Dang 37