Broken

When I first heard "Mekana discussing a case of adultery", I really wanted to know more about the background to the recording. My research led me a to 1983 Granada Television Programme from the Disappearing Worlds Series which introduced the idea of "Benge", the poison oracle used by the Azande People of Central Africa to answer questions relating to, amongst others, infidelity. It was also vividly described by Evans-Pritchard as the process of administering poison to a baby chicken and waiting to see if it died or survived to determine guilt or innocence. Everything I watched or read focussed on the process of reaching this verdict, but there was never an exploration of the actual people involved. There must be a story behind these cases of forbidden love, in a culture where such feelings were prohibited and sometimes punishable by death.
 
I wanted "Broken" to tell the story of this forbidden love, the feelings of loss the accused must have felt as they discovered they could never share a life together, but at the same time being indelibly connected throughout the rest of their lives. I try to paint that picture within the lyric whilst also acknowledging the cultural relevance of Benge with references of poison, feathers and confessions.

The qualities of the wax recording are a perfect backdrop and can be consistently heard throughout. This helps to contextualise the themes of the song, particularly in terms of history, culture and tradition.

Mekana discussing a case of adultery reimagined by Simon Holmes.

———
Part of the project A Century of Sounds, reimagining 100 sounds covering 100 years from the collections of the Pitt Rivers Museum at the University of Oxford. Explore the full project at citiesandmemory.com/century-sounds