radio

The sound of radio noise as it interacts with the sound of various buttons and switches (moveable parts) of the clock radio in a deliberately rhythmic way.

As I drive through the city of Rochester, NY, there are a few streets in which the radio signal from Jazz 90.1 encounters interference from a competing radio frequency. This recording captures the disruption in sound from one station to the other. In the resultant cacophony, the primary radio signal diminishes in quality and strength as the secondary signal interjects in irregular pulsations. The primary source does not disappear altogether; however, there is no clarity once the signal is disrupted. This recording also captures the sound of the turn signal and engine noise as a result of driving during the recording. Such found objects put the recording of the radio into a familiar context - driving and listening to the radio.

This is the sound of turning on and off a FM radio station that is not tuned in to a legitimate station on a multi-faceted Sony playback system. By using a remote, one can hear the static or lack of clarity in hearing a FM radio station when incorrectly tuned. The sound heard is the static when no station, specifically, is tuned in or set.

Jean Dominique and Michele Montas report from Miami on the growing presence of Haitian immigrants, here called 'boat people,' in creole for a RadioHaiti broadcast. Retrieved from the Duke RadioHaiti archives