The Exploded Lunch — Report Seven
The Trickster
Just a 60-minute piece this month
This month’s piece began life as a contemplation on the idea of the ‘Trickster’ archetype. The Trickster is a character that changes things. They can be super smart, wiley, outfoxing types that run circles around others or they can be incredibly stupid. Either way they effect change in the lives of those who encounter them. They can be animals, switch gender at will, sons of gods (as is the case with Hermes and Mercury). But they cross boundaries and deliver a message.
The idea of the trickster has presented itself in previous Exploded Lunch episodes. It made sense to make it the focus of my attention. But in classic trickster fashion, there is a paucity of recorded audio material on the subject. I set about producing the report, adding vocal snippets from Jung, Manly P Hall, and various readings from texts from a range of cultures. It all sounded incredibly dry, preachy, and boring. I deleted it. What I was left with was a background soundscape that I have brought to the foreground as a form of meditation on the subject. It is rich with Audio metaphors if you wish to dig (See if you can spot the sound of the ‘Ford Mercury’ or the range of animals that have been part of trickster folklore over the years.)
So, put your headphones on, sit back and listen to the piece.
Tune in to Star and Shadow Radio here — https://starshadowradio.airtime.pro/ on Sunday 4th August at 9pm (UK time) to hear Report Seven. It will then be repeated at the same time every Sunday in April.
Thank you to the field recordists who made their work available for use through creative commons and the public domain:
dkaufman https://freesound.org/people/dkaufman/sounds/256533/
abricenop https://freesound.org/people/abricenop/sounds/334172/
micndom https://freesound.org/people/micndom/sounds/27705/
TRP https://freesound.org/people/TRP/sounds/616599/
TRP https://freesound.org/people/TRP/sounds/616622/
craig.cerinocraigsays https://freesound.org/people/craig.cerinocraigsays/sounds/537586/
inchadney https://freesound.org/people/inchadney/sounds/581641/
inchadney https://freesound.org/people/inchadney/sounds/166330/
amabok https://freesound.org/people/amabok/sounds/44534/
BeeProductive https://freesound.org/people/BeeProductive/sounds/430027/
