- D E S T I N A T I O N S -
- L A N G U A G E S -
more on the way!
G È P Ó E P
T H E C R O S S R O A D S O F 2 8 L
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Downtown Feathertown, Gèpóep
Nestled between rainforests to the north and south, the temperate hills of Gèpóep (ɠɘ̂ʘɔ̌ɘ́p̚) hold a small but incredibly powerful nation within the political landscape of 28L, serving as the crossroads for trade going both south-north and west-east, along with its fruitful (haha) agriculture production spread across its highly arable soil.
Nowadays it's one of the leading nations in tech research, with its capital Feathertown being one of the most technologically advanced cities in the dimension. But even though city life is the norm for most, Gèpóep holds a whole other side of life out in the countryside that tourists are highly recommended to explore!
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F E A T H E R T O W N
Feathertown is easily the most populated city in the nation, and indeed one of the leading cities in the entirety of 28L! Its bustling streets, tall buildings, and intricate subway system certainly rivals the megacities of 11A.
As such, Feathertown attracts tourists from all over 28L. We've recently acquired a deal with the top tourist agency in the city, so rest assured you'll be well accommodated in any aspect of city life you'd like to see! Here's a couple things we recommend you check out ;;
Interested in scientific research? Within the subway system is the time travel machine, capable of sending users back in time up to a couple years in the past! It's currently not open for tourists to use, but its neighboring research center is the perfect place to explore for those STEM-oriented travelers.
More into the arts? Feathertown is well-known for its historic art museums, featuring the largest collection of paintings from the famous prophet Pë̌-ē̬.
G È B Ì̬ P Ó D D Ä̀
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Most of the land in southern Gèpóep is comprised of the Jǟ̬ppä̬́dä̀ ; a vast array of rolling hills, arable land, and vineyards galore. The eastern part of this region is known as the most picturesque of all the fields, and is especially known for its olive production! It's suspected that the name Gèbì̬póddä̀ even comes from the native words for "Olive Lands".
After visiting Feathertown, most tourists head southeast to see the immediate change in scenery. Definitely a breath of fresh air out in the majestic countryside!
D E T Ä̀ I P
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Detä̀ip is the second largest city in Gèpóep, and has much more of an older feel to it. It's effectively the industrial hub of the Jǟ̬ppä̬́dä̀, and compared to Feathertown, Detä̀ip is much more akin in culture to the local farmers that surround them.
With that in mind, keep an eye out for the plentiful farmer's markets, along with yearly festivals like the harvest festival, or the many different flower festivals peppering the year.
If you're interested in learning more about the native Vò'ákhp culture, this is the place! Detä̀ip and the region directly south of it holds the highest Vò'ákhp population in all of Gèpóep. Though the numbers are low, the local cultural museums are helping keep their endangered heritage alive, along with their language, Rujkdàkh.
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S U G A R V A L L E Y
Crossing the mighty Rū̬koup river brings us to Sugar Valley, also known as the gateway to the north. As such, the city sits on the crossroads from the temperate fields of the south and the tropical, lush mountains of the north.
Sugar Valley is largely industrial, like its sister city Detä̀ip, but its sandy beaches also boast a booming tourism sector for those looking to relax on its shores. Be sure to check out Sugar Island off the coast, full of all kinds of novelty shops and restaurants you could ask for!
S P L I N T E R
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Scenic Splinter Hill is a site to behold ; rustic homes, local shops, and a view stretching out for miles. On clear days you can even see the eastern shore from this inland village!
For those visiting the north half of the country, Splinter is a must-see, preserving a picturesque time capsule of what life used to be like for the early settlers.
R Ū̬ P P Ä P
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Interested in hiking? Head up to the very north of the country for the tallest, grandest mountains, and follow the Rū̬ppäp corridor into the northern rainforest!
This area is rather sparsely populated outside small towns on the coast. Be sure to take precautions and talk with a local guide!
P O R T H O O K
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Port Hook stands out in just about every way ; just from a look at the map, to its landscape and culture.
Disconnected from the mainland, this small territory is administered by the Gèpóep government and is truly a melting pot of cultures from all around the world thanks to its strategic location. Records show this is the first area that Bābbé̬p speakers touched down on when exploring the continent ; For those interested in history, this is a gold mine of a city to check out!
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M U S I C
The music of Gèpóep (and the Bàbá̬yǟ̬ people as a whole) is often characterized by a mixture of both 12TET and 19TET instruments playing in harmony. It's most common to hear bass and vocals tuned in 12, with the rest of the instrumentation tuned in 19. This might make everything feel slightly off for those who aren't used to it!
And because the majority of Bàbá̬yǟ̬ languages are tonal, most lyrics try to match the contour of the tone with the contour of the melody. It's definitely not a distinct requirement for every syllable to match, especially in very quick lines, but many distinguished scholars in the music field view it as proper, eloquent, and very skilled to write lyrics that do so. ...this doesn't stop today's artists from intentionally breaking that trend, though, of course.
While western music in 11A is most often heard in 4/4, there isn't really any one time signature that dominates in the music of 28L. It can be just as common to hear 7/4 as it is to hear 6/4, 5/4, and 4/4! That being said, though, songs defined in particular genres are sometimes beholden to cultural expectations of what its time signature should be. There are a ton of genres in present-day Gèpóep music, but here's a couple!
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' Ä̀ D U
'ä̀du, a word that roughly translates to "field", "garden", or "meadow", is a genre of music characterized by a feeling of serenity, particularly with the world around you. It's a feel-good vibe, but importantly, it is NOT just "happy"!
'ä̀du music makes frequent use of plucked, guitar-like sounds, and choir-like pads. It's nearly always in an odd time signature, usually 7/4 or 5/4, which (according to 'ä̀du artists) adds a floating, sublime effect to the song.
You can hear an example of 'ä̀du in the song Ǖddè̬!
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T I̬ ' Ū̬ P
Cited as the most popular genre of Gèpóep music, Ti̬'ū̬p (regularly shortened to Tǘ̬u) can be considered the equivalent of what we would define as "pop music". It's usually heard in even time signatures like 6/4 or 4/4, but as long as it's catchy and high energy, any time signature is welcome!
An important aspect of Ti̬'ū̬p is that most songs are made to be favorable for loops. Sometimes the end of a song completely seamlessly transitions into the beginning! That level of seamlessness isn't particularly required, but it's definitely commonplace for some kind of strategy to at least make looping smoother, even if it's something small (as heard in our example here).
You can hear an example of Ti̬'ū̬p in the song Tàddē̬p!
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J Y Ě̬ P
Jyě̬p music is easily the most abrasive of the three highlighted here. It generally puts more emphasis on complex sounds over melodies and harmonies ; some extreme Jyě̬p songs barely even have any tonal qualities at all! The name literally translates to something like "twisting", referring to how the sounds feel when they're manipulated. Sometimes these sounds are so mangled that they take on strange pixel-like artifacts, something the Jyě̬p community loves. In our example, you can hear some of these artifacts pop up prominently at 01:14, and other places scattered around as well.
While the previous two genres have existed in some form for a thousand years, Jyě̬p is relatively new and came about purely from the advancement of technology in the past few hundred years.
You can hear an example of Jyě̬p in the song Gè̬yä̬́!
;; Hey! Zewei here. I don't normally break the facade but for this I feel it'd be disingenuous to not disclaim!
Some parts of the instrumentation / sounds in Gè̬yä̬́ were made by heavily editing samples from a plugin named Combobulator. This does use a neural network and is therefore classified under AI, and though I normally don't mess with AI much, there were a couple reasons why I decided it would fit for this song ;;
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The documentation for Combobulator makes it clear that the artists involved have consented, and are properly compensated and credited for their work being used. It also claims their training is done via solar power.
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This is obviously not something I can prove or disprove! I've simply seen enough evidence to feel comfortable trusting that they aren't lying there. If for some reason information leaks out that these are false claims, then I'll have to consider dropping the plugin moving forward. As I would with any company/product tbh!
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This definitely doesn't materialize a song for you from some text prompt! It effectively applies a "style transfer" to a sound you put in, as one of the artists put it. It sounds pretty weird and alien at times, which is exactly the vibe I wanted for the song!
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The Bàbá̬yǟ̬ are rather technologically advanced, and I felt it's likely that their society would make use of an ethical AI to at least some extent.
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I should note that those "pixel-like artifacts" mentioned in the Jyě̬p description are distinctly not made with the plugin at all, actually.
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I'd like to be clear that this is the only song of mine to prominently feature sounds made using this plugin! I don't plan to use it outside of very specific circumstances like this one. The only other time you can really hear it in my work is the creepy voice at the end of the 28L video, which was made in part by interpolating my voice through the plugin, and layering a bunch of other effects on top.
I know the use of AI to any extent can be very divisive, so I felt it's important to mention next to this song. You are absolutely free to dislike it simply because there's an AI plugin used in it!