Noise #136: Wrestling over the Maldives

International tourists love the tiny, beautiful nation. So do China's and India's governments.

My first awareness of the Maldives came when I was much younger, via a musical colleague who flew there to perform. He was accompanying a pop star who had been hired, at ridiculous cost, for an intimate private gig.

My colleague’s story left me with a diamond-encrusted vision of the place, a two-dimensional caricature of a gorgeous playground for the opulently wealthy.

Since then, media coverage I’ve seen has reinforced that narrow impression—until today.

Numerous articles mention the island’s magnetic beauty and moneyed clientele, but focus more heavily on its status as a strategic gem for global superpowers. China and India are jousting for influence there, the articles say, and it seems like China is gaining.

I created Noise #136 while thinking about the limits of anecdotal first impressions, formed from halfway around the world. I also used the music to explore friction between a place’s natural beauty and its geopolitical value, and the jagged power dynamics that erupt when superpowers spar over a tiny nation between them.

Wishing you peace,

Michael

(Noise #136 by Michael Gallant. Copyright 2024 Gallant Music LLC. All Rights Reserved. )