Away at sea

"Two main considerations influenced my reimagining decisions. First, I wanted to respond to the grainy nature of the recording. I took a section of the radio air and looped it to create a melody. I felt that both the grain and the actual noise of radio fuzz acted as the heartbeat of the entire piece. Second, I responded to the relationship that exists between a speaker and listener, and how the transmission of an Emergency Action Message may influence someone sonically. This produced two results. The first result was a more dreamy, ambient sound that corresponds with the romanticized act of drifting, and where the EAM might appropriately take place. The second was a more tense, decelerated sound that may reflect an inner feeling of loneliness, or even panic if one’s message failed to be heard." 

Composition by Lucy Newton.

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