[spectre] DRIFT update: Resonant Cities

[Chris Byrne]

DRIFT Radio: Resonant Cities
9 - 15 May
Sonic Ghosts programme 1
http://www.mediascot.org/drift

DRIFT: Resonant Cities

How we listen and how aware we are of the seemingly 'noise' around us 
is at the heart of the wealth of works submitted and selected for 
Resonant Cities, a series of themed radio programmes curated by Robert 
H. King.

The programmes are presented in three distinct themes. First is ‘Sonic 
Ghosts’: the works presented for this strand of programmes are 
reconstructed and processed moments in time and space (John Levack 
Drever’s ‘Sound-Marked Frankfurt’), events now gone (Pippa Murphy’s 
‘Postcard From Paris’), found sound atmospheres (Aaron Ximm’s hypnotic 
‘Buriganga Canon’) and visceral rumblings (Alfredo Ramirez Castruita’s 
‘Body Territory). Enjoy the journey from calm to unease. Sonic Ghosts 
programme 1 streams 9 - 15 May.

To listen to the stream, visit the DRIFT web site at 
http://www.mediascot.org/drift

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DRIFT: Resonant Cities introduction

In 'The Art of Noises' 1913, the Futurist Luigi Russolo argued that the 
limited range of the current musical instruments could no longer 
satisfy modern man's acoustic thirst and he envisioned "entire 
symphonies composed of the sounds of everyday life," including "...the 
muttering of motors that breathe and pulse with an undeniable 
animality, the throbbing of valves, the bustle of pistons, the starting 
of a streetcar on the tracks, the flapping of awnings and flags." In 
the 1950's the American artist and philosopher John Cage was listening 
for what he described as " the subtle harmonies that were generated by 
chance in the natural and built environment".

 From Glasgow to the Dominican Republic and from Berlin to Mexico City, 
sonic explorers have engaged with the fragmented city soundscape: the 
streets, people, snatches of conversation, traffic, obtrusive music, 
communication intrusions: mobile phones radio traffic, city wildlife 
and the general clutter of everyday life.

When the open call for submissions for Resonant Cities was issued I had 
no expectations as to what would be sent in, rather, just a hope that 
the idea for such a programme would strike a chord and that enough 
material would be submitted to compile a few broadcasts. When the 
closing date fell and the entries were sent through to me I was 
overwhelmed by the sheer scope of the works and their geographical 
origins. Selecting what would be broadcast was a difficult but 
enjoyable task. I feel that the works to be presented over the coming 
weeks show a real sense of originality and experimentation for what was 
after all a very 'loose' brief.

Those that have been selected come from a wide range of disciplines and 
backgrounds: home-taping enthusiasts, musicians, phonographers, artists 
and radio art producers alike all move between recordings from 
hand-held cassette recorders to those utilising state of the art in ear 
binaural microphones. The programmes shift effortlessly from pure 
documentation, meanderring narratives to processed and structured field 
recordings that will take you on a sonic journey without leaving the 
comfort of your own headphones.

The programmes are presented in three distinct themes. 'Sonic Ghosts': 
reconstructing and processing moments in time and space (John Levack 
Drever's 'Sound-Marked Frankfurt') and events now gone (Pippa Murphy's 
'Postcard From Paris') and found sound atmospheres (Aaron Ximm's 
hypnotic 'Buriganga Canon'). 'The Narrative Journey': road movies 
without visuals that retrace paths taken and interact as the journey 
unfolds. From operatics in the street (Viv Corringham's 'Vocal 
Strolls'), conversations in the car (Sean Burn's sprawling 'North') to 
radiophonic fiction of tradition and belonging (Michael Rataj's ' 
African Beauty in Berlin'), 'The Remembered Journey': sonic postcards 
of urban architecture (Nicholas Economos's 'Under Brooklyn Bridge, 
Brooklyn NYC') to audio picture books (Adrian Newton's 'Resonant 
Cambridge') and (Lorenza Lucchi Basili's) street musician recordings in 
Buenos Aires.

Resonant Cities features work by Lorenza Lucchi Basili, Asa Maria 
Bengtsson, Sean Burn, Lidia Camacho, Claudio Yituey Chea, Heman Chong, 
Thanos Chrysakis, Joshua G. Churchill, Viv Corringham, John Levack 
Drever, Nicholas Economos, Simon Fildes, Camilla Hannan, Sebastiane 
Hegarty, Erdem Helvacioglu, Thomas Joyce, Fergus Kelly, Lara Kohl, 
Alistair MacDonald, Mhairi Macfarlane & Andrew McKee, Paul Matosic, 
Roger Mills, Michael McLoughlin, Julianne Monroe, Mario Mota Martinez, 
Pippa Murphy, Jay Needham, Adrian Newton, Ed Osborn, Herve Perez, 
Claire Petersen, Andrea Polli, Charlie Pulford, Alfredo Ramirez 
Castruita, Giuseppe Rapisarda, Michal Rataj, Michael Rodgers, Stanza, 
Anabella Solano Torres, Pete Stollery, Mark Vernon, Nicholas Virgo, 
Aaron Ximm.

Further information from the DRIFT website at 
http://www.mediascot.org/drift

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