All posts by knut

#25

Show 305: In an Octopus’s Den by Octopus Collective

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The making of Octopus’s Den was initiated by Knut Aufermann and Sarah Washington (AKA Mobile Radio) during a short visit they made to our HQ in Barrow Park. They introduced us to the technique of pause-button recording which is a simple way of realtime editing of live recording using the pause button on the recorder (in this case the Zoom H4n) and suggested that we use it to make a piece of work based on the activity in our office and studios. What you hear is drawn from both significant and mundane events in our collective life over the last few months including:

our ancient plumbing system after flushing the loo
an office meeting to discuss the strategy for our application to Arts Council England for portfolio funding for 2012-15
pieces commissioned for our events on the Bandstand in the park from artists Paul Rooney (Spit Valve) and Mark Vernon (Christmas Rewind)
clearing up glass from a window broken by vandals
John learning the violin
moving equipment around
walking upstairs
and much more…..

we hope you find something to enjoy.

Octopus Collective is a not-for-profit Sound Arts company led by three professional artists with an associate membership drawn from a broad range of practitioners working from the old Park Keeper’s house in the middle of Barrow Park in Barrow in Furness. Alongside their own practice they curate the Full of Noises festival which is an annual programme of experimental music and sound art based in Cumbria UK. The first FON Festival took place in October 2009 with a programme that included 4 residencies/commissions, a weekend of live performances, radio broadcasts and a workshop programme.

www.octopuscollective.org
www.fonfestival.org

#25

Show 300: the exclamation of a Lilliputian discovering Gulliver

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Ekin Degull
Whatever the power of words, we already are on the other side, where the universe of Swift, Verne, London mingle happily to embark us on a ship, drifting from the surface to the underwaters depths …
A prism of preposterous stories with many fascinating animals coming from the dawn of time, just for traumatizing children.

A radio time in 2 times & 3 movements for a listening where you are the hero.

Ekina Degull

Peu importe le pouvoir des mots, nous venons de passer de l’autre coté, là où les univers de Swift, Verne, London se mélangent joyeusement pour nous embarquer dans une aventure improbable, sur un navire qui dérive de la surface aux profondeurs sous-marines…

Un prisme d’histoires abracadabrantesques avec des animaux extraordinaires venus de la nuit des temps, juste pour traumatiser les enfants.

Une création radiophonique en 2 temps & 3 mouvements pour une écoute dont vous êtes le héros.

Réalisation : Loise Bulot, Tony Regnauld, Floriane Pochon
#24

Show 299: The Tetrahedron – Snowhere

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The Tetrahedron is a fundamental sonic volume with 4 sides. A regular Tetrahedron is formed by 4 equilateral broadcasts, taking parts in an asymmetric radiophonic rotation system.
Even if Snowhere was done in a cold Brussels winter, the Tetrahedron still at a basement temperature by screaming like a 4 bits chaman, whispering some headwinds into the basement,
then finaly making peace after a white war by an acoustic orgy.

With: Jean-François Blanquet, Jean-Marcel Busson, Fabrice Cesario, Aymeric
De Tapol and Yann Leguay
Voices by: Maxime Blanpain and Suzy Bretchkov
Recorded in december 2010 at his Aunt’s basement , Brussels

www.le-tetraedre.org

#24

Show 298: The Worm Radio Song Poem Radia Show

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This show consists of a number of songs that were made by the Radio WORM Song Poem Crew at the STRP Festival in Eindhoven (november 2010). The theme was ’80ties cassette culture’ and the idea was that the audience could choose a genre from a menu, write a text, pay 3 euro’s, and then the  Radio WORM Song Poem Crew would make the song with ‘original’ 80ties gear (the most advanced device being a 4track cassette machine), hence the ‘vintage’ sound qualities of the pieces. The song was delivered within a short time (5 – 30 minutes) to the client on cassette tape. The available genres on the menu were; Depressing Lo Fi Noise, Boring Art Shit, Early Happy Commodore, Gay Budget Beats, Industrial SM Love Songs, Echoïstic Melancholia Dub, Fucked Up Cassette Hardcore and Incredible Cheap Casio-Pop. There were 19 songs made in a few hours, the best of them you’ll find here. Text subjects vary from ode’s to leaving colleague’s, the impossibilities of having a love affair where one lives in Eindhoven and the other in Amsterdam, Statements about Radio Art, a Monty Cantsin Neoist Song and lots of boring and horrible poetry. Enjoy!

People involved; Lukas Simonis, Henk Bakker, Robert Kroos, Merijn van Ham, Joost Bult, Alexander van Straten, Annemarie Nijhof, Rik Den Dood

#24

Show 297: data radio, pt.4 by Johannes Raggam

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johannes raggam for radio helsinki

data radio, pt.4 is an experiment to transmit encoded digital data over a civil FM radio network. the sounds received can be decoded using special, freely available software or – if available – hardware devices. with the process of encoding digital data, transmitting it over terrestrial radio networks and decoding at endpoints an simple alternative to the network called internet is created.

in fact, such guerrilla networks were successfully created by different parties in crisis/war situations. for example, the serbian radio b92 used CB radio transmission for exchanging information with isolated parts of former yugoslavia.

listeners of radia.fm are encouraged to decode or record (for later decoding) the  data or just listen to the stream of fax noise.

for decoding, follow these instructions:

* install the software to decode the encoded data and configure it according to the settings explained below.

* connect the line-out of your stereo with the line-in of your computer.
alternatively, but trickier, redirect an internet audio stream to the decoding software.

“data radio” – in german “datenradio” – started as a project for the “netart community convention 2009″ in graz by johannes raggam in collaboration with christian pointner. for more information (in german) see [1][2].

Settings for HamFax on linux
—————————-
carrier     800Hz
deviation   400Hz
modulation  FM
filter      middle
lpm         200
color mode

Software for decoding
———————
linux
””’
HamFax: http://hamfax.sourceforge.net/

windows (untested)
”””””””””
MultiPSK: http://f6cte.free.fr/index_anglais.htm
MultiFAX: http://www.qsl.net/n2zde/index.html

OSX (untested)
”””””””
MultiMode: http://www.blackcatsystems.com/software/multimode.html

References
[1] https://wiki.mur.at/ncc09/DatenRadio
[2] http://ncc09.mur.at/doku/media.html

Specials

Special: Curated by RADIA: und ein und aus by Barbara Kaiser

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The last part of Radia’s series for Kunstradio’s „Curated by“ is a work by Vienna based artist Barbara Kaiser. She puts the intimate and nearly silent physical act of breathing in contrast to the vast metal cylinder of the Gasometer in Oberhausen, where a 48-hours-workshop was held this summer.

Radia, a network of independent radio stations and radio artists in Europe and beyond, has invited eight people to spend time together in the industrial monument. From the material that was recorded and produced there, the artists have created five pieces. Each very different, they share the experience of the Radio Art Camp in Oberhausen as well as the reference to the Gasometer.

„the basis for my piece are recordings of the participating artists breathing when climbing up the exterior staircase of the gasometer – 592 steps. on the other hand i use the acoustic frequences animated by playing back these sound in the interior of the building.“
(Barbara Kaiser)

#24

Show 296: Life Expectations by Alessandro Bosetti

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Somewhere in between musical compositions, songs, literary essays, poems or unreligious mantras, close to Robert Ashley, Rene Lussier, Peter Ablinger, Ornette Coleman (or even the asymmetrical rhythms of Steve Coleman and Henry Threadgill), Life Expectation by Alessandro Bosetti is constructed around the intricate emotional, rhythmic and melodic counterpoints of a casual conversation.
Bosetti translates intonations of speech into complex and seemingly orchestral scores where meaning, tone and noise are melted into each other. Several variations of techniques known as shadowing or convolution were used in the making of it. Sometimes digital devices were used, some other times analogue – almost hand made – techniques. He has been pouring words into notes. Notes into noise and then again noise into meaning. He has been exploring spoken languages and the implication of repetition.
“Life Expectations” is taken from Royal, his latest album released last october 2010.

Life Expectations – CC Alessandro Bosetti 2010
Electronics, other Instruments and Field Recordings : Alessandro Bosetti
Text by Alessandro Bosetti after words of Chris Heenan and Fernanda Farah
Mastering : Martin Siewert

Alessandro Bosetti was born in Milan, Italy in 1973. He is a composer and multidisciplinary artist working on the musicality of spoken words and unusual aspects of spoken communication, producing text-sound compositions featured in live performances, radio broadcastings and published recordings. In his work he moves across the line between sound anthropology and composition, often including translation and misunderstanding in the creative process. Field research and interviews build the basis for abstract compositions, along with electro-acoustic and acoustic collages, relational strategies, trained and untrained instrumental practices, vocal explorations and digital manipulations. Recent text sound projects include African Feedback (Errant Bodies press), the interactive speaking machine “MaskMirror” (STEIM, Kunstradio.at a.o. ) and  his own ensemble Trophies with guitar player Kenta Nagai, vocalist Christian Kesten, and drummers Morten J.Olsen and Ches Smith. Alessandro Bosetti has been touring extensively in europe, USA and Asia and  lives in Berlin (Germany).
www.melgun.net

#24

Show 295: Hear in the dark

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On NOV 6th and NOV 7th of 2010 CFRC 101.9FM held a special multi-channel ‘screening’ of audio pieces in the dark. This event was called Hear in The Dark. This Radia episode provides for your listening enjoyment a selection from the pieces that were ‘screened’ on those nights. Featuring work by: Louise Bark, Kristiana Clemens, Neven Lochhead, Decomposing Pianos and Irina Skvortsova. Hear in the Dark was made possible with the generous support of the City of Kingston and the Kingston Arts Council.