Signal to Noise: Imagined Frequencies of Radiophonic Space

Check out this installation by Amber Cortes happening at Jack Straw! WE APPROVE!!!

"Radio is a forward moving medium that collects, controls, and radiates information. On the FM dial, radio is a highly regulated and monetized space. But on other dials, the all but forgotten AM and shortwave, illegal pirate radio stations, and citizen band frequencies, it is a different animal entirely. Imagine a space where all broadcasts are possible along a "radiophonic continuum," where voices and sounds mingle with spontaneous white noise, existing away from time and place, separate and uncontrolled and triumphant in their ephemeral power. This is the magic of radio. 4 imagined radio stations - incorporating audio from KRAB Radio's archives, pirate radio broadcasts, and other sources - will be transmitted from four different radios, each station a testament to how freeform radio space can be reimagined, re-purposed, and revitalized. Jack Straw resident artist Amber Cortes is a media producer and sound artist living in Seattle. She is currently attending the Master of Communication in Digital Media (MCDM) program at the University of Washington. Some of her radio pieces and work can be found at www.youneverknowradio.com.

January 25 - March 8, 2013 with an artist talk tonight, Friday, February 15, 7pm Jack Straw New Media Gallery 4261 Roosevelt Way NE, Seattle

What is Low Power FM? A User's Guide.

According to Wikipedia, "Low Power FM, or LPFM is a form of FM Broadcasting that uses a low amount of energy to broadcast a signal that does not travel very far. FM, or frequency modulation radio is often transmitted on a higher frequency than AM radio. Because of the low power usage and short range, LPFM is often seen as a niche radio station that plays things that relate more to the small surrounding community."

Low Power FM radio stations are generally community radio stations, and dispense information relevant to the surrounding geographical area that you wouldn't hear on High Power FM Stations. LPFM stations do the following, according to Freepress.net:

1. It strengthens community identity.
   
2. It creates an outlet for amateur musicians to get their music heard.
   
3. It creates diversity on the air because women and racial minorities are represented.
   
4. It creates an opportunity for young people, especially college students, who are interested in radio to learn about the business.
   
5. It provides farmers with up to date agricultural information.

Want to learn more about the potential for a LPFM community station in Seattle or your community?

There will be an information session on how to apply for a LPFM license in Seattle on Thursday, January 24th at the Langston Hughes Cultural Center at 1 p.m. To RSVP: http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/302076

Hello, this is Agnes Fidget, host of The Inland Buoy and I am searching out for a particularly odd sort of audio for a special episode of The Inland Buoy on Radio Dial Scans. A Radio Dial Scan is an (often) historical recording of snippets from terrestrial radio. I became interested in collecting these primarily because of a cassette recording I made in 1995 of brief excerpts from various radio stations in South Florida. The tape jumps wildly between stations, be it news radio to the hip-hop jamz station to soft rock. It is part collage, part documentary, which was mostly my intent at the time, besides wanting to record my favorite ‘alternative rock’ hits. Also, I love radio and its foundation on the notion of the fleeting. All delightful things are, after all. The aim of my project is to capture the essence of radio and its fleeting nature.

Radio, especially in its pre-internet days, was an ephemeral medium. It remains only somewhat ephemeral, now that most radio stations archive their broadcasts or have digitized their collections. Even if radio today is mostly less-than-ephemeral, it still maintains a certain melancholy romanticism because of the nature of the medium. I am interested in collecting Radio Dial Scans to present moments of the past that have been lost, moments that were really never meant to be captured in the first place.

A good example of a dial scan would be found in the following post from WFMU’s Beware of the Blog, which contains a Dial Scan from the night John Lennon died from various New York radio stations:

WFMU's Beware of the Blog - The Night John Lennon Died

Please send audio submissions of radio broadcasts fifteen years or older in mp3 format to pulleyandsnowtoe (atatat) gmail.com. The more obscure and the more mysterious the better.