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It is essential for me to begin this text by acknowledging the Mapuche people as the legitimate custodians of the sound records presented here. I pay my respects to them, both in the past and in the present. Considering them one of the project's most important audiences, the audiotext has been narrated in Spanish.

"Journey into the Blue Dimension" is a speculative fiction narrative that delves into the ethnomusicological exploration of an Indigenous community by a protagonist grappling with her own cultural identity and colonial legacy. Set on the fictional planet of Croma, the story uses the protagonist's journey to unpack complex themes of cultural appropriation, sonic colonialism, and critical listening. As she records the music and rituals of the Azul Indigenous people, her experiences challenge her academic and personal assumptions, revealing the deep-seated impacts of colonial methodologies and the power dynamics embedded in ethnographic archives. Through her interactions, the protagonist confronts the ethical implications of her work, ultimately questioning her role in either perpetuating or challenging historical narratives of domination. This narrative not only critiques the extraction and commodification of Indigenous cultures but also explores the transformative potential of genuinely engaging with the more-than-human perspectives and the vibrant yet threatened tapestries of Indigenous life.

The initial inspiration for this project stemmed from the ethnomusicologist Isabel Artez’s sound archive on the Mapuche people of Chile and Argentina, recorded in the years 1940 and 1941. Many of the songs present in the archive were recorded anonymously, and until this day, we have no way of finding out who the voices belong to since her journal is also very vague and gives almost no details of her travels on Indigenous territory (in contrast to the encounters with folklore musicians). This fact raises critical questions about the erasure of identity and the implications for historical narrative and cultural memory. Anonymity in the archival process can obscure the origins and significance of cultural artefacts, potentially leading to a homogenized interpretation of diverse cultures and contributing to the objectivization of Indigeneity as a product that transcends the individuality of its members. The project critiques this aspect of cultural documentation and explores how it shapes our understanding of the past and our projections for the future.