martiensgohome - I really should have seen through the airwaves

The inspiration for this piece came from the idea of treating the radiowaves as a living environment, a complex landscape just waiting to be explored. Applying field-recording methods to the shortwave signals of the radio highlights its various sceneries, and its diverse inhabitants. From radio amateurs to state propaganda, and from entertainers to religious freaks, all types of discourses can be found here competing for attention. Surrounding these voices is an equally fascinating ocean of electronic sounds : magnetic storms, carrier waves, interferences, radio-jamming, hum and buzz. The aether is an infinite synthesizer. The natural tones and human-made noises of the airwaves represent an inexhaustible source of sound material and inspiration.

This piece has been composed with the help of the scordinator, a computer program devised by martiensgohome during a residency in the Q-O2 workspace in 2023. The program generates a graphic score for multiple musicians to follow, suggesting dynamics, entry points and pauses for each performer. Designed for live performance as well as for decision making in the studio, it is both a game and a tool. It reconciles conducting and improvisation insofar as it doesn’t tell the musician what to play, or how, but lets him make creative choices within a timeframe.

martiensgohome is a radio-art collective based in Brussels and has been active on the air since 1996. They operate every week on Radio Campus 92.1 FM where they produce a one hour-long improvised show, using field-recordings, electronics, objects and guitar. They also perform live whenever possible, preferably in special settings, composing site-specific interventions or playing unconventional venues.

You can find and use the scordinator here : https://sublymediagonal.net/scoredinator/

martiensgohome is here :
http://mgh.constantvzw.org/
https://www.mixcloud.com/radiocampusbruxelles/playlists/martiensgohome-2023/

martiensgohome photo by fabonthemoon : https://www.flickr.com/photos/fabonthemoon/

Curation by Carine Demange for Radio Campus Bruxelles