Journey to the phantom place

Jan 18, 2022, 02:00 PM

"For me, the noise of the tube shortwave radio was the first "music" I heard in my life.

Ever since then, radio and its broadcasts have been a part of my life. When I was a teenager, I often listened to Radio Moscow because I was geographically close to it and could receive it well. This was right around the same time as this source. It was a time when the Soviet Union still existed as a "dream state" as they called it.

I mixed various "sceneries" that we "heard" from Moscow, the capital of that state, with "poor - as it was" improvised music played on acoustic guitar. Also, I made some edits to the source, remembering the receiving situation at the time. About the guitar, I tried to keep the sound and performance "raw". So that the shades of time, place, and era would emerge more clearly.

The mix was done carefully, but not too delicately.

I wanted to contrast as dynamically as possible the dreams and realities of the people and society of that era with those of today. I think I succeeded in this to some extent."

Composition by Kawol Samarqandi.

Part of the Shortwave Transmissions project, documenting and reimagining the sounds of shortwave radio - find out more and see the whole project at https://citiesandmemory.com/shortwave