Transmissions
Beautiful Writing
Stella Sims (UK 2024)
Stella Sims (UK 2024)
7 min
Calligraphy is a ancient craft where art, language and words intersect. But in a world of screens, phones and computer-generated fonts, what does calligraphy do for us? Take a journey into the magical world of A to Z as calligraphers explore this question and reveal the joy of letter art and handwriting.
Produced by Stella Sims
I’d Rather Be Swimming
Clair Urbahn (UK 2024)
Produced by Clair Urbahn (UK 2022)
7 min
Produced especially for the XMTR Audio Arts Festival. This is an ode to living by the sea. It's why we are all here so please stop dumping sewage in it Southern Water. Cheers to the fellow swimmers that helped, young and old.
Clair Urbahn, an audio enthusiast since broadcasting at an independent FM station in Wellington NZ (radioactive.fm) moved from NZ to London in 2008, had a hand in setting up NTS Radio (nts.live) and set up pop-up stations when that was a thing. Currently overseeing podcast production and network infrastructure for Brazen (brazen.fm) as Head of Audio.
Producer: Clair Urbahn
Walking through the submerged forest
Mary Cooper (UK 2023)
Produced by Mary Hooper (UK 2023)
9 min
This piece is composed from my field recordings and readings of letters from Bexhill Museum archives, layered to bring to life a part of our eroding coastline and an archive which lies quietly unearthed.
The field recordings were made whilst walking at low tide through pre-historic submerged forest remains, at Bulverhythe in EastSussex. This is layered with field recordings made in nearby woods.
Julian Porter, Rother Museums' curator found photographs and letters in the Bexhill Museum archives relating to the forest, which Actor and Theatre Producer Leigh Shine, read for me in a recording session.
”I hope the piece creates a spirit of place, a sense of timelessness and ever evolving change. The magical experience of walking through thousands of years of human and environmental ebb and flow.”
Producer: Mary Hooper
The Human Jukebox
Stella Sims (UK 2024)
Stella Sims (UK 2024)
7 min
A portrait of Trev ‘The Pianoman’ Woodison, one of the last remaining traditional pub piano players in the UK. He's on a mission to keep the art of pub piano alive. Playing piano in pubs is no ordinary gig: Trev never knows what he's going to play until he turns up on the night, it's up to the audience to choose and for Trev to improvise on the spot. This audio piece invites listeners to join Trev down the pub as he explains what it takes to be a pub piano entertainer.
Produced by Stella Sims and Kiff Frankham
In The Dark What’s New: Saltwater Soul
James Trice (UK 2024)
James Trice (UK 2024)
8 min
"Saltwater Soul" is an experimental audio documentary that’s really close to my heart. It dives into the world of sea swimming in Brighton, seen through the eyes of a passionate swimmer. The documentary mixes the peaceful sounds of the ocean with the lively atmosphere of protests against pollution by British water companies.
Creating this piece was a personal journey for me. I even started writing poetry for the first time, which you’ll hear throughout the documentary. It’s a mix of the calm and joy of sea swimming with the serious issue of environmental threats. My hope is that it not only shares the unique experience of sea swimming but also highlights the importance of protecting our waters.
Producer - James Trice
In The Dark What’s New: Nuisibles
Ka-Young Park and Dimitris Roidis (FR 2023)
Ka-Young Park and Dimitris Roidis (FR 2023)
13 min
This work combines two worlds: a vermin exterminator in Paris and stories of the oppressed youth. After a police union’s public statement on 30th July, these two worlds suddenly intersect.
Producers - Ka Young Park and Dimitris Roidis during the Louis Lumiere Sound Documentary programme, taught by Frédérique Pressman
In The Dark What’s New: The Lost Son
Julianne Chandler (US 2024)
Julianne Chandler (US 2024)
11 min
A father's 27-year search for his son, who was taken from him at birth.
Produced by Julianne Chandler.
In The Dark What’s New: Friends of the Wall
Evan Green (UK 2024)
Evan Green (UK 2024)
13 min
Every Friday, a small group of volunteers paint red hearts on the National Covid Memorial Wall, in the heart of Westminster. As the world moves on, why do they keep coming back?
Producer - Evan Green
Where is my Mind?
Molly-Rose Crossley (UK 2024)
Molly-Rose Crossley (UK, 2024)
11 min
What is it like to living with a condition which turns your mind against you? Having thoughts that go against your morals, ethics and heart? This condition is called POCD, which stands for Pure-OCD. It’s the sibling of the more popularly known OCD and comes with its own unique set of struggles and traits which can be incredibly distressing for those who have it. We have spoken to someone who has lived with this condition all their life. Most recently the obsessions made her believe she had killed her best friend, who passed away from cancer. How has she overcome this and what does the future hold when your mind can be your worst enemy?
Produced by Molly-Rose Crossley
All-American Ruins: Sunset Town
Blake Pfeil (US 2024)
Blake Pfeil (US 2024)
6 min
A multimedia travelogue where Blake Pfeil recounts experiences exploring abandoned spaces across the United States and reimagines them through multimodal storytelling.
The cornerstone piece of the project is abandoned: The All-American Ruins Podcast, an award-winning audio series which guides listeners through immersive sonic fantasies, recreating experiences exploring abandoned spaces across the United States and around the world. Along the way, the show asks critical questions about American history and culture, community, capitalism and economics, the environment, and mental health while encouraging folks to activate their imaginations as a tool for healing.
The show was recently featured as an Official Select at On Air Fest in Los Angeles, California. The finale for season two is the most personal journal yet. In the episode, which takes place at an abandoned brewery in Allentown, Pennsylvania, Blake reflects on his journey to sobriety, and how his spiritual connection to abandoned places pulled him through the darkest time in his life
Produced by Blake Pfeil
Music by Jakob Ahlbom, Anna Dager, Hanna Ekström, Sarah, the Illstrumentalist