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Un elemento en común alfa (A common element alpha) is a radio piece created as a commission for Museo Reina Sofía Radio in 2014. The work presents a fiction that tells a story of a journey from Arica (Chile) to Tengri Noor, a salt lake in Tibet; from there to the ionosphere along the lines of magneto-ionic flow. The journey is narrated with Spanish voices; both computer generated and human. In addition, listeners will hear the static and drones of VLF (Very Low Frequency) waves that fill the electromagnetic space, and sounds of seals under frozen lake in Antartica; made audible with specific recording techniques such as a VLF receiver and a hydrophone. Using this mixture of materials, which at times is affected with computer programing, the artist “analyzes this electromagnetic space, which is inaudible to the naked ear but occupies a layer of our geography in which our culture, economy, science and art develop."

The recordings were made between Arica and Antarctica, passing through Robinson Crusoe Island of the Juan Fernández Archipelago and the Drake Passage. There are recordings of the ionosphere and also of Weddell seals under a frozen lake in Antarctica. Un elemento en común alfa (A common element alpha) “critically analyzes these artistic and scientific discourses and the capacity of both to turn all technological and creative research into commercial profitability.” - Introduced by Wave Farm Radio Art Fellow 2022, José Alejandro Rivera