An exercise in sustained tenderness by an urban ecologist
Sounding corny is a major risk attached to spoken word. Like improv, spoken word catches a certain amount of flak due to its stream-of-consciousness format and is often the subject of ridicule among many, artists and audiences alike. However, this reception of either criminally undermines the amount of quick thinking and polish involved in pulling off the type of spontaneity either warrants. Also, corniness is by no means their exclusive domain either. And also, who are we to dismiss corniness as a sentiment subjacent to any other.At any rate, while Ditty's phenomenal debut 'Poetry Ceylon' appears to convey saccharine sentimentality on the surface, it is imbued with a deep despondence in both the sparse instrumentation and the plaintive insistence of its lyricism. On every single song, polite melodies take the background, leaving Ditty to sing about the emotional fallout of the ongoing climate catastrophe among the (soon disappearing) meadows of considered instrumentation. If you didn't know this was her debut from the outset, you would be hard pressed figuring that out on your own.
There is no point in denying that at its heart 'Ceylon Poetry' is about bereavement, eulogizing a dying world. However, outside of the album Ditty proffers hope, to herself and us. Ditty pledged to plant a tree in the name of every person that purchased the album in the first month of its release. Although, it has been over a month, something tells me she would be happy to oblige even now, for that's what some of us are doing. In face of the death of our future we hold out hope, as the alternative is unbearable. You can buy it here. For what it's worth, you can join the Extinction Rebellion here.
Written by Uvika Wahi
