U238：Threnody for the Victims of Fukushima
Artist：Traffic Jam
Four layers of meanings:
Firstly, this is a tribute to the victims of earthquakes, tsunamis, and the Fukushima nuclear plant disaster in March last year.
Secondly, the secondary title is a parody of Krysztof Penderecki’s composition of “Threnody for the Victims of Hiroshima.” The concerns in the work and the music piece are the same toward to the nuclear disaster, and the artwork also reflects on the spirit of contemporary experimental music.
Thirdly, “A Threnody for the Victims of Fukushima” was a piece of absolute music originally. Penderecki did not have any associated vision with it. The explanations and title was added later. While writing it, the music was composed according to the different textures and sounds of each instrument. Later, the images of nuclear plant appeared, and the music became a piece of program music with a title. This broke the stereotype of the traditional program music with “the expression of senses”. The music itself possesses its own artistic predominance, and the emotions and images however could be added later.
Lastly, the main title is an attribute to LTK Commune, a Taiwanese band with a strong style of local flavors.
