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Lee de Forest Night Loops (Audio)

Dec 21, 2020
Created by Knut Aufermann (2008). Introduced by Jess Speer.

As part of the 2008 AV Festival in Newcastle, UK, Knut Aufermann and Mobile Radio helped set up two temporary radio stations for the nine-day run of the festival. Aufermann built a feedback installation inspired by Lee De Forest’s invention of the vacuum tube to create live sounds for overnight broadcasts. The installation used feedback between audio and radio equipment, and each of the nine nights were unique. Broadcast for the full run of the festival on Soundscape FM and Resonance FM at MIMA in Middlesbrough, the feedback loops were also broadcast for two nights on a local community radio station until fears of alienating listeners led them to discontinue broadcasts in favor of their usual Europop programming. Aufermann later produced a condensed version of the broadcasts on the Radia network. - Introduced by Wave Farm Radio Artist Fellow 2020/2021, Jess Speer.