VINYL DISC - 2017
Picture disc 12", booklet.
AKA 14
RADIO RECORDINGS FROM 3 GHZ TO 30 KHZ
SIDE A. Malakoff - 48°49'13"N 02°18'37"E
SIDE B. Besseuil - 46°33'32"N 04°39'19"E
A Recorded in Uchronies, Malakoff, France in August 2015
Electromagnetic context:
. Dense urban area
. 300 m from the Paris ring
. 4 km from the Eiffel tower emitter
B Recorded in Le Lieu Dit, Besseuil, France in April 2015.
Electromagnetic context:
. Isolated farm in rural area
. 500 m from a high speed train track
. 10 km from an aeronautical reporting point
Radioscapes is a record that invites the listener to discover the electromagnetic landscapes that surround us.
The two sides of the vinyl propose to listen and to observe two very different radio contexts: the Paris ring road (Side A) and an isolated farm in the French countryside (Side B). In each location, the whole radio spectrum was methodically recorded during a period of two weeks and then transcribed into a single audio track. On each side, an image representing the levels of the received frequencies is printed under the groove in synchronization with the sound.
Radioscapes is an exploration of existing artificial and natural signals. As the record rotates, the frequencies follow one another, as on a radio where the button would be slowly turned: one successively travels across Wi-Fi waves, mobile phones, hydrogen lines observed in astronomy, satellites exchanges, military and aeronautical communications, FM and AM radios, and thunderstorm interferences ...
The record is accompanied by a silk-screened booklet that brings together a text by astrophysicist Eric Chassefière detailing the physical properties of radio waves and their implementation in radio astronomy and the protocol used to carry out the recording of waves.
PROCESS
. Set up a wideband antenna with a radio receiver.
. Couple it with a decimetric antenna.
. Browse slowly frequencies from 3 GHz to 30 kHz.
. Do 76000 recordings of 3.6 seconds each.
. Divide the recordings in 450 frequency bands.
. In each band, select the recording with the loudest volume.
. Assemble theses recordings with a fade in/out of 0.9s.
. Convert the volume of each recording in grayscale.
. Shape each grey value as a circle.
. Assemble these circles in a picture.
. Cut a vinyl lacquer with constant groove distance.
. Print the picture on the disc.
. Press the sound.
CREDITS
Concept : Cécile Beau & Nicolas Montgermont
Recordings & Data processing : Nicolas Montgermont
Text : Éric Chassefière
English translation : Harold Schellinx
Mastering : Yann Leguay
Vinyl master : Flo Kaufmann
Pressing : R.A.N.D Muzik
Graphic design : Jean Baptiste Parré
Production : ART KILL ART - 2017
with the support of RURART / CNAP / SCAN - DRAC & RÉGION RHÔNE-ALPES / UCHRONIES / LIEU DIT / DESERT NUMÉRIQUE
VIDEO ADAPTATION
GALLERY
