Folk artist Kate Macleod releases The Secret Forest Lament out now. you can listen to it here, or watch the video.
Kate comments on the song and album:
“I find that a song, and creations in other art forms, can share the same subject matter, yet are unique in their possibilities of expression. Because of this, I often compose music inspired by books, nature, landscape, and stories told to me, sometimes working from impressions originally noted by another creator. In this practice, I attempt to contribute to our cultural collective. This song, The Secret Forest Lament, was inspired by my reading the book The Secret Forest, by Charles Bowden (with photographs by Jack Dykinga, and introduction by Paul S. Martin). The book was published in 1993 by the University of Arizona Press. The Secret Forest describes the cultural destruction, and the destruction of the landscape itself, of the rare Dry Tropical Forest that grows in the southern area of Sonora, Mexico. The forest has been decimated for economic reasons, leading to native communities losing their grasp on traditional lifestyles that had been for generations tied to the life of the forest. The song is a lament for the ongoing destruction of the forest that echoes the book itself, with a mournful yet resolved strength of critical urgency, speaking also to the egregious loss of its relatives, our rainforests.
“Charles Bowden was a courageous journalist, defender of environment and justice. He often wrote about the American Southwest. Late in life he was known for his writings on the situation at the US-Mexico border concerning the war on drugs and its effects on the lives of the people in that region. Jack Dykinga, the photographer for the book, has shared his photographs with me for this project.
“I have a long history of composing songs based on books, in fact, I have a full-length recording that features some of them…At Ken Sanders Rare Books, recorded live in concert at a book store. That CD, along with more of my work, is available through my website store.
“The creation, recording, and release of The Secret Forest Lament was made possible through the financial support of Utah Humanities, Utah Arts and Museums, and the people who support my projects through patreon.com.”
