‘Teki,’ a Sound-Illustrated Sci-Fi Book, Places Ukulele at the Center of the Story

BY NICOLAS GRIZZLE | FROM THE SUMMER 2024 ISSUE OF UKULELE

It’s a well-established fact that the ukulele is one of the best musical storytelling tools in this world, but that title extends to other worlds as well in Teki, a sound-illustrated book by Lorenzo Vignando and co-written by Russell Gong. The unique project combines a sci-fi story set in the future with a set of 18 songs and musical interludes that both set the tone and advance the story, like a musical theater production in book form.

Vignando, who is known in the uke scene as Ukulollo (and the Italo disco scene as Loren V), released the illustrated young adult book last year. The Italian artist got the idea during the pandemic, he says, starting with a song about a “the greatest spaceship ever built, taking off from a remote wasteland.” That was the launching pad for a larger project.

“When I was a child, I had an orange record player, and my mom gave me the story of Puss in Boots. It was an illustrated book with a 45-rpm record attached,” he says. “There were actors who performed the story, songs, and soundtrack. The reading, the illustrations, and the audio ignited the spark, allowing the listener’s mind to imagine their own movie—a wonderful sensation. The idea of Teki is to recreate that feeling for an hour and a half.”

The story begins with humans trying to find a suitable alternative to Earth after depleting the planet’s natural resources. An AI is developed to help, and the artificial intelligence creates a robot that surfs through space (literally, on a space-worthy surfboard) in search of another planet. A malfunction creates chaos, however, and we follow the progress of a nine-year-old Maori girl who befriends “Teki Boy” and grows up to become a robo-psychologist—and the Earth’s best hope for survival.

The story is intriguing, if not a little dystopian, and has an appeal beyond the sci-fi angle. It’s got heart, an interesting cast of characters, and a multicultural feel to it—there are a variety of accents in the English version, including New Zealand, American, Irish, English, and Canadian, and the music includes lots of worldly percussion and other touches, even throat singing. (There’s also an Italian version of the audiobook, with songs in English.)

The book is a fun read on its own, with full-page illustrations and text in both English and Italian. But the best way to experience it is in its audiobook format. Reading along while listening on headphones makes for an immersive journey. The audio is accessible via a QR code in the book that takes you to a YouTube playlist and a link to download high-quality versions of each chapter and song.

The music includes several songs by Vignando, most of which center on ukulele and voice, and instrumental soundtrack pieces by Vignando and Italian composer Girolamo Deraco. They’re fun to listen to on their own, though they don’t quite tell the full story without the rest of the book.

The project includes many contributions from the uke world. Kim Bjerga of the Birdwatchers (see feature on p. 38) does a wonderful job as the book’s narrator. He also sings, as does his bandmate Clark Holmes (who also raps!). Lisa Webb, Manitoba Hal, Paul Moore, Charlotte Pelgen, and others have roles in the songs and as voice actors in the audiobook. 

This is not Vignando’s first foray into writing—he has written two novels that are as of now unpublished, and he has won competitions in Europe for his stories, including the Biennale of Young Artists from Europe and the Mediterranean.

And it’s not his first time writing and recording music—he has several albums of original music, as well as a spectacular four-ukulele arrangement of Ravel’s “Bolero” on his YouTube page. But this is his first expedition into the audiobook world. It’s self-produced, and in spots sounds a bit unpolished if listening on headphones, as is recommended in the book. But it’s not enough to distract from the overall experience, which is a delightful alternative to, say, watching a movie on a long flight or car ride.

“I had the joy of premiering it during a month-long tour across the U.S. last October at the L.A. Ukulele Festival, Reno Uke Fest, and at the Adventure Science Center in Nashville, among other places,” says Vignando. “The reception has been nothing short of amazing!”

Teki is available to order through a link on Ukulollo’s Facebook page. It’s also available directly from Vignando if you’re lucky enough to catch him in person. “I will continue to tour all theaters and book clubs around the world, bringing my live Teki performance, like a medieval minstrel,” he says. “The book is very modern, but the distribution is very ancient!”