Submerge in the channel of waste
Arise to the wetlands
Dive with the frogs
Feel the elementary power of water and life
Enter the last shelter embraced by the rainforest
Hide from the armed men
In the tunnels of a termite mound
Step into the Mekong
Listen to the last of their kind.
Don Khone is located in Siphandone, an area consisting of thousands of islands on the Mekong River, home to local communities that have spent generations living off the resources of the river. In Siphandone’s unique landscape, the Mekong river splits into numerous channels, rapids and waterfalls. These wild rapids and the impassable Khone Phapheng falls east of the island are the reason why Mekong is not fully navigable into China and why this area has retained a big part of its rich biodiversity. No matter where you are in Don Khone the sound of the elementary power of water is omnipresent. The force of the water became an asset to capitalise and woke Laos ambition to become the largest energy exporter in the region. Backed up by heavy Chinese investment, dozens of hydroelectric dams have been built with often devastating impact on the lives of the local people and animals. One of these dams, the Don Sahong Dam was in construction while I was there. 500 meters downstream of the construction site, next to the explosions, live the last three Irrawaddy dolphins of Laos. They have been declared “functionally extinct”, this means there are not enough left to reproduce. While I was recording them, I knew that this would be probably the last sonic testimony of their existence.
Recordings
Underwater recording of the Hou Behanzin Channel, separating the two touristic parts of the islands Don Det and Don Khone, filled with glass waste
Stereo and underwater recording of the wetlands
Binaural recordings of the Mekong river, Somphamit Waterfalls, rapids and the rainforest
Recordings in termite mounds
Underwater recording of Irrawaddy dolphins
recorded in Don Khone, Laos, July 2017
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Stratis Skandalakis
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
credits
from Southeast Asia PhoNographic Mornings,
track released March 10, 2019
©redit photo : Stratis Skandalakis
curated by Stéphane Marin