Remote (2015)
An imaginary sonic narrative detailing the impossible experiences of radio operators living through the dark winter in remote listening stations in the Canadian arctic during the early years of the cold war. Remote developed out of a series of short minimal pieces I developed in my studio during the first really cold week in winter 2014/15 using layered and processed samples of my own whistling, combined with some glitchy clicks and static. These sounds all had a certain far away, frozen aesthetic that got me thinking about Arctic radio operators. What began as an investigation into the psychological impact of long months of cold, dark isolation took a turn for the strange as the project progressed. Searching for source material online, I found several 1970s television documentaries about UFO sightings in the far north. Combined with shortwave radio recordings and backed with the frozen vignettes, I ended up with a body of work that was as paranoid as it was desolate.
Listen to a set of the work here
image: http://jproc.ca/rrp/alert_ve8ml_1950b.jpg
from the website: 1951: Jim Tarver, K6FKF, operates VE8ML in the summer of 1951. He was with the US Weather Bureau and spent two years at Alert. (Photo via Jim Traver)
Listen to a set of the work here
image: http://jproc.ca/rrp/alert_ve8ml_1950b.jpg
from the website: 1951: Jim Tarver, K6FKF, operates VE8ML in the summer of 1951. He was with the US Weather Bureau and spent two years at Alert. (Photo via Jim Traver)