On today’s show we listen to two works that capture animals and environments in interesting and unique ways. Both works come from the 19th edition of the Deep Wireless Radio Art Compilation, which is now available on soundcloud.  

We are going to spend the majority of the show listening to and talking about the multi-species project Pigeon Band, which began with the question: “Do pigeons like music?” 

Two toy synth keyboards were installed on Emmie Tsumara's kitchen window sill, awaiting the daily pigeon visitors. Over several months of practice, the pigeons learned to play the keyboard as they snacked on sunflower seeds. Though each pigeon can be hard to tell apart visually, they each have their own personalities and movements. With those differences they each play a different song.

The Pigeon Band benefited from the collaboration of many artists, including Blunderspublik, D Badua, Julia Fenn, Charlie Glasspool, Sarah DeCarlo, Polly-Jean Vernon, Veronica Ing, The Burning Hell, Jas Nasty, Chris International, Babe Chorus, Anomalia and Charlie Petch.

The album was produced by artist, designer and pigeonfluencer Emmie Tsumura and it is mastered by Julia Fenn. I had a conversation with both of them to tell us about Pigeon Band and how it came to be.

At the end of the show we will go on an electromagnetic hike up Ensign Peak in Salt Lake City with sound artist Matthew Driggs McMurray in his piece Meta-Frequency Field Recording: Salt Lake City // Ensign Peak.