Art Block
Art Block
All Under One Magnetosphere
An audio feature commissioned for BBC Radio 4's Illuminated series, sharing my ongoing research into radio and DIY technologies. For this work, I travelled to Svalbard and, together with collaborator Oliver Sanders, to Tromsø / Romsa in December 2024 to record radio waves emitted by atmospheric disturbances and other natural phenomena through DIY antennas and receivers. This narrative is interwoven with experiences of friends and natural radio enthusiasts Alyssa Moxley, Matt Parker, Anonea, Rob Stammes and Stephen P. McGreevy.
Listen to the feature on the BBC website: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m002fv5g
Electromagnetic waves fill the universe, radiating from solar storms and bursts of lightning, but also from our electronic devices and infrastructures. Using simple, DIY tools, a community of audio enthusiasts translates these waves into sound, uncovering hidden sonic worlds.Five dedicated ‘natural radio’ enthusiasts venture beyond the electromagnetic pollution of the city, tuning into the Earth’s natural static to reveal a rich, textured soundscape, rarely heard.
All Under One Magnetosphere was first broadcast on Sunday 13th July, 19:15 on BBC Radio 4. The work was co-produced with Oliver Sanders, and with exec. producer Lucia Scazzocchio of Social Broadcasts.
We recorded many interviews as part of our research process, which I also cut into a longer narrative feature titled Sunspots and Earth Static. We hear from Alyssa Moxley, Dan Tapper, Matt Parker, pantea, Rob Stammes, Sébastien Robert and Stephen McGreevy, who share stories of listening for very low frequency radio waves.
Tags:
radio
Year:
2025