Cut and Splice: Transmission at Wilton's Music Hall

Cut and Splice: Transmission at Wilton's Music Hall

08 November, 2010
by: Claire_loves_jam

Cut & Splice mourn the decline of analogue radio. Claire Shropshall joins them.

The digital age. Who needs dusty old books when there are thousands at our laptop-connected fingertips, CDs when an iPod can hold hours of music, or nebulous, scratchy analogue radio transmissions when you can have crystal clear DAB?

Sound and Music have got together with BBC Radio 3 to valiantly defend analogue and pay homage to this original broadcast medium, presenting a cauldron of musical performances and radio art at the Cut & Splice: Transmissions festival. With government threats of an impending switch-over to digital radio it seems analogue may be reaching its sell-by date, but if tonight’s classical instalment of the three-day event is anything to go by, perhaps the airwaves can endure a little longer.

I’m ready for an evening of the avant-garde and Wilton’s Music Hall provides the perfect setting. Hiding down an unassuming east London lane, the dilapidated building is a real hidden treasure. With its crumbling façade and exposed brick interior walls there’s a sense of warmth and romance – this shabby old theatre isn’t your average majestic Victorian music hall.

Before the music begins there are a couple of installations to explore. Esther Johnson’s documentary in a small, dimly lit side room paints a fascinating and endearing portrait of radio fanatic Gerald Wells. The piece gently draws us into one man’s obsession: he's the curator of the only working wireless museum in the UK and lives a life influenced by every radio gadget and trinket you could possibly imagine – each of which has its own charming, historical tale. We learn that Wells stole his first radio at the age of fourteen, and this seems to be the point of tonight’s performances – a means of capturing and channelling the romantic thrill of the early days of broadcasting, and unravelling its various mysteries and stories.

Upstairs across the creaking floorboards John Wynne and Denise Hawrysio have filled an entire room with radios from through the ages. I’m fairly certain I recognise one particular model as my first stereo back in 1994, and become absorbed in the assortment of technology which must span several decades. In the next room two flying radios, attached to the roof by some sort of wire, orbit a continuous path, and curiously emit a sound which seems to keep on rising in pitch. Surely this isn’t possible? I’m wrong – apparently by using a certain frequency the aural equivalent of an optical illusion can be created. These radios are playing with my mind.

The remainder of the evening consists of some extremely stirring on-stage performances. Experimental music ensemble Apartment House takes on pieces by German composer Karlheinz Stockhausen and John Cage – the American composer whose disdain for radios strangely led him to write music for them. It’s an odd fusion of brash, clunky piano notes, static, shortwave radio transmissions, cello and what looks like a large metal gong which produces intriguing scratchy, textured sounds echoed through a microphone. It’s difficult to focus on the piece, although at times the sound projection takes on a chilling, goosebump-inducing quality which really takes your breath away. The group’s second performance whittles the four musicians down to just two, creating a more intimate atmosphere. Canadian composer Robert Normandeau introduces us to his interpretation of what radio sounds are in 2010, for which the room is plunged into darkness and a medley of feedback and radio excerpts from over the years invades our ears.

You don’t need to be a technology geek to immerse yourself in the diverse history and potential of radio; in fact perhaps my lack of previous interest in the subject has helped me to appreciate how sound and art can channel these ambiguous electronic frequencies. Although perhaps not something I would choose to listen to at home, the performances go a long way towards providing a really engaging and thought-provoking interpretation of what broadcast culture means to society today.    

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