When approaching the Folkways archive, I wanted to create a listening experience that threaded together the different ways in which we use music to communicate, express, and understand one another and the world around us.

What cannot be easily said, can often be sung, and what cannot be easily described, can often be felt, through the infinite and diverse arrangements of sound, texture, and air. I’ve put together a collection of stories, sacred music, and improvisations spanning different cultures and decades, which all seek a form of connection—to others, the natural world, or something cosmic and spiritual. From tales of political turmoil and the complexities of love to improvisations with wolf packs and whale sounds, I hope you enjoy listening to these beautiful documentations of our shared and mysterious humanity as much as I did.