Noise #176: Economics, evolution, and emigration in the Northern Triangle

My newest music reacts to far-echoing changes in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras.

With the American presidential election lumbering towards a climax, issues of immigration are being discussed—and distorted—with manic intensity.

That’s why a Bloomberg editorial published yesterday caught my eye. The piece argues that the economies of El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras are evolving in ways that could reduce the flow of migrants into the United States. More economic opportunity at home, the author says, could make residents less desperate to seek it elsewhere.

Even though I can’t parse every nuance of the author’s considerable economic wonkery, I love the article all the same. It injects depth, thoughtful analysis, and humanity into an issue that has been bludgeoned into toxic jelly by the worst forces in American political discourse.

As I recorded Noise #176, I experimented with a variety of evolving three-note figures to represent the three countries mentioned. I played the music while thinking about complex, multi-dimensional structures becoming violently transfigured—pictures and shapes and portraits redrawing themselves in ignominious self-caricature—and shifts in bedrock that, hopefully, transform everything above for the better.

I hope you enjoy listening:

Wishing you peace,

Michael

(Noise #176 by Michael Gallant. Copyright 2024 Gallant Music LLC. All Rights Reserved.)