Aug 4, 2025
Lonely. The Song of the Ō'Ō
Last year, I was deeply moved by the exhibition Nature Under Pressure – The Call of the Ō’Ō, a poignant presentation at the museum Allard Pierson in Amsterdam. The Ō’Ō, a bird once native to Hawaii, is now extinct. On display was a taxidermied specimen and, even more moving, a recording of the call of the very last living individual, captured in 1987. That solitary melody, mysterious and fragile, and was inspiration for my song. Though the bird is gone, its spirit lives on through music. In O’o, vulnerability and resonance merge into something new, something alive. Words and Music: Rae Milford Visuals: Yve du Bois