Explore the Origins of Site-Specific Sound Art Broadcasts

Broadcasting the Unheard

We carry the equipment up the ridge before dawn. The air is damp. The silence feels heavy, almost expectant. This physical act of hauling gear into the wilderness forms the foundation of our practice. We operate on a simple premise: playing previously unheard audio to an audience of trees, wildlife, and whoever happens to tune in within a very limited radius.

The objective criteria for these events are strict. Audio must be entirely unreleased. The broadcast must be temporary. Once the 24-hour window closes, the transmission ceases completely. The audio is never played again.

Our Mission in the Landscape

The environment dictates the listening experience. A drone piece sounds fundamentally different when heard through a car radio in a dense pine forest compared to a sterile gallery space. Our work in Remote Landscapes focuses heavily on this friction between the synthetic and the natural.

During a recent transmission in the Galloway Forest, I watched a listener park their vehicle near the site boundary. They rolled down the windows, allowing the microtonal frequencies to bleed into the natural soundscape of wind and distant water. It shifts the focus from passive consumption to active participation in a specific geographic coordinate. You are not just hearing the music; you are hearing the location.

Technical Scope and Broadcast Limitations

We rely on restricted-service licenses to operate legally. This limits our output power, usually capping the broadcast radius to a few miles. We use standard FM transmitters, rigged to temporary masts secured with guy wires. We deploy hardware setups that can withstand sudden weather shifts.

The limitations are intentional—by restricting the signal, we force a physical pilgrimage. You cannot stream this online. You have to be there in the mud and the rain. Details on our frequency allocations are documented in our Radio Transmissions logs. While our transmission radius generally remains under three miles, atmospheric conditions occasionally cause unpredictable signal drift.

Partnerships and Sonic Collaborations

Securing these isolated sites requires extensive negotiation. Our ongoing partnership with regional forestry commissions, active since 2012, provides the legal framework necessary to erect temporary masts on protected land. Without this access, the project could not exist.

We also collaborate directly with the artists who submit their work. The archive of these interactions forms the backbone of our Sound Art programming. We receive hard drives, cassettes, and minidiscs containing unreleased material from across the globe. The trust placed in us by these creators is absolute. They hand over their art knowing it will exist in the airwaves for just one day.

The Curators Behind the Transmissions

The logistics of running a 24-hour off-grid radio station require a highly specific set of skills. We are audio engineers, curators, and riggers working in unpredictable conditions.