This is Radio Beijing
Jan 04, 2022, 01:00 PM
"I approached the piece with the idea of creating multiple songs to weave into the original recording of the events in Tiananmen Square in 1989. This would be a sort of sonic tryptic as if dialling through imaginary radio waves backwards and forwards in time.
The first part is a simple refrain with organ like tones interspersed with "turn of the dial" like static and half heard voices. Snatches of the developing story can be heard.
The second part a fleeting moment of footwork inspired sonic exploration possibly as the dial moves through the radio waves and we travel briefly to a moment of reflection in the future.
The third part is a more frenetic free form electronic drone cut through with the refrain "this is Radio Beijing". The jingle for Radio Beijing has been reversed at the end of the track and acts as a moment to reflection on an event we sadly cannot reverse."
The first part is a simple refrain with organ like tones interspersed with "turn of the dial" like static and half heard voices. Snatches of the developing story can be heard.
The second part a fleeting moment of footwork inspired sonic exploration possibly as the dial moves through the radio waves and we travel briefly to a moment of reflection in the future.
The third part is a more frenetic free form electronic drone cut through with the refrain "this is Radio Beijing". The jingle for Radio Beijing has been reversed at the end of the track and acts as a moment to reflection on an event we sadly cannot reverse."
Composition by Andy Billington.
Part of the Shortwave Transmissions project, documenting and reimagining the sounds of shortwave radio - find out more and see the whole project at https://citiesandmemory.com/shortwave