“Songs (not) About Climate Change” first existed as an audio album, but has since branched out into a visual album and text-based video game. It’s a sort of “greatest hits” of all the nature-inspired music I’ve created over the years, probably the most concise version of my artistic work so far. It grapples with the way our planetary crisis gives things new baggage, how any snapshot we have of our current environment will effectively become a memory piece, bottling something about the natural world we could very well loose.
Version 1: The Video Game (recommended)
I highly recommend playing the text-based video game if you have an hour to kill (seriously- it won’t take you much longer than that). This game contains the project in its entirety (all the audio, video, and liner note text) and surrounds it with a new story and new context. You don’t have to be a gamer to play (it’s simple point-and-click/interactive fiction). The game was created in Twine using HTML, CSS, and a touch of Javascript.
Click here to play the text-based video game on Itch.io
(note: if the page gives the “too many requests” error, refresh it and it should go)
Version 2: The Visual Album
The visual album over on YouTube is my next favorite, great for those who don’t want the interactivity and/or want something to throw on in the background. It combines my old audio projects with newly edited videos, mostly sourced from janky iPhone timelapses I’ve taken over the years. There’s also a fun “bonus” visual album called “Creature Feature” if you head over there and look in the video description.
Click here to watch the visual album on YouTube
Version 3: The Audio Album
Since this project began life as a “greatest hits” album of my work, I’m still releasing it as an audio album on Bandcamp for those who choose to experience it that way.
Click here to listen to the audio album on Bandcamp
Liner Notes
You can also view the liner notes to the album here. Again, all of this is already built into the text-based game. But these liner notes help supplement the audio album and visual album with the creative process behind each song and new musings on climate change. Note: The text looks a little fuzzy in my browser, so zoom in a bit on the .pdf and it should clear it up. Or feel free to download it.
Click here to explore the liner notes
A Call To Artists
Are you a nature-minded artist interested in virtually collaborating with me on another little climate-related text game? I want to bring some other folks in. All artistic disciplines welcome. All you have to do is send me an email (andyjarema@gmail.com) saying you want to be a part.