Useful Radio is a new radio mix focused on radio voices, citizen listening, and the intimacy of signals. Featuring collaborations with Joe Jeffers, Anna Friz, and Zeena Parkins. Track listing in order or appearance: Untitled by Jeff Kolar; Creepy Tipi by Joe Jeffers and Jeff Kolar; Far Gone by Jeff Kolar; Useful Radio by Anna Friz and Jeff Kolar; Hooking by Zeena Parkins and Jeff Kolar; and Prologue by Zeena Parkins and Jeff Kolar.
This work was commissioned by Wave Farm for the durational broadcast event Christof Migone’s You- taking place on December 12, 2020.
Writes Karen Werner, “To make this radiophonic quilt, programmers at Wave Farm’s radio station WGXC came together for a day to make short radio art pieces about RADIO. We approached this theme in an imaginative, associative and at times literal way: radio as invisible waves, as a metaphor for communication and longing for community, as nostalgic soundscape, as a relationship between senders and receivers, as an amazing little box.”
Quilt sections in order of presentation: An SOS from Planet Earth by Liz LoGiudice The Mountain Blocks the Signal by Alanna Medlock Continue by Paulus Van Horne Tableaux Drawing by Max Goldfarb WGXC Piece by Thatcher Keats Radia Segment by Tom Roe
Threads and borders throughout the quilt: Gardens of Discordantia by Heather Martin Voicemails 1 and 2 by Sam Sebren Edited interview with Garrett Roche Edited interview with Carline Murphy Edited interview with Azouke Legba plus samples from the quilt sections above
A Radiophonic Quilt will broadcast on the 30 international stations that comprise the Radia network, June 22 – 28, 2020, Season 44, Episode 18.
A Radiophonic Quilt was collectively produced as part of a Wave Farm Radio Art Workshop led by Karen Werner, the 2019/2020 Wave Farm Radio Artist Fellow, who sewed the quilt together. Many thanks to the whole Wave Farm crew for organizing this event and to everyone who participated. And to Radia for creating an international broadcast platform for radio art.
Written in 1924 by Hans Flesch, “Magic on the Radio” depicts chaos surrounding a radio broadcast under siege by conflicting interests and mysterious technical problems. This was reportedly the first radio play ever broadcast in Germany. This is the debut of a new translation of the text by Carl Skoggard and Franziska Lamprecht. Recorded Feb. 24, 2018 at HiLo in Catskill, New York before a live audience. Featuring: Tom DePietro, Brian Dewan, Jeff Economy, Philip Grant, Maria Manhattan, Debby Mayer, Tom Roe, and Phyllis Segura. Directed and produced by Alanna Medlock and Jess Puglisi. wgxc.org wavefarm.org Click here to download or play audio.
Excerpt from “The Lost Hour” a series of short experimental radio autoethnography pieces made by students in Hörvergessen, a course taught by Ricarda Denzer at the Universität für Angewandte Kunst Wien, in which Karen Werner visited as guest artist and introduced students to radio autoethnography. Students participating in the class: Ahreum Kwag, Aral Cimcim, Ayse-Gül Yüceil, Binta Diallo, Elnaz Haghghi, Hanna Kucera, Hannah Sakai, Hector Schofield, Huda Takriti, Karl Kühn, Katharina Spanlang, Laura Irmer, Laurids Oder, Lea Föger, Liim Jang, Martina Pouchlá, Nazanin Mehraein, Oscar Cueto, Ramiro Wong und Simeon Jaax. Produced in March 2018.
Also included is “What is collaboration?” a radio autoethnography assemblage by Karen Werner and Deanna Shoemaker. Produced in May 2018.
Rory Solomon presents his CB radio project, live at Wave Farm’s “Lodge” show at Riedlbauer’s Resort in Round Top, New York Aug. 26, 2017. Solomon reviews citizens band radio history in the United States, and relates CB radio today to mesh networks. Solomon also plays a CB radio game with participants during the show. Photo by Bryan Zimmerman.
