CHANTS OF ENERGY by Jonathan Aldenberg
with a reading at 8.15pm
Thursday November 14, 8pm
‘Chants of Energy’ is the first novella by Jonathan Aldenberg. It tells the story of F, who suffers from tinnitus.
One day, while cleaning his room, F finds an old role-playing game about an aquatic species living in a world where private military companies are scouring the ocean for ‘mana’ – a previously worthless material that has become increasingly valuable since it was discovered to be a source of energy. These mercenary forces use airguns to conduct seismic surveys of the ocean floor, hoping to identify possible mana mining sites via echolocation. The sound from their airguns travels far and wide underwater, causing hearing damage to everything in the area.
As the novella progresses, the buzz of F’s social life syncs with the pitch of his tinnitus. He finds that the only way he can dampen the ringing in his ears is to listen to the gentle rustle of the waves overhead while playing ‘chants of energy’ in his room.
Jonathan Aldenberg graduated from the Gerrit Rietveld Academie in 2017. He studied audiovisual arts and fashion simultaneously and currently works as a freelance designer and writer. His work involves writing, dance, fashion and sculpture, often incorporating themes such as action vs. inaction, discipline, and the constraints of hedonism.
