Radio Cycle 101.4FM

2003, 19:58 min.
Kaffe Matthews

Commissioned by INTERFERENCE:PUBLIC SOUND, Matthews installed a radio transmitter on the roof of Annette Works Studio in London’s East End, where it broadcast continuously from July 13-20, 2003. Bikes outfitted with radios followed mapped routes as “scores” and performed the pieces by riding while broadcasting the radio station. Community members were invited to workshops to make their own radio programs and help create the map scores for their pieces. 

Among the first of her radio-related projects, Radio Cycle 101.4 FM explored the dynamic relationship between sound, place, audience, performer, and the members of a community. When asked about her interest in radio in a Bomb Magazine interview in 2004, Matthews said, “Radio is free. Radio is private. Radio as a whole is a means of communicating; its power is astonishing. Radio is about the vibrations of molecules. It happens in the air. And that is what my music is about in general, it’s about hearing the air. So radio has begun to play an increasingly important role in my work.” Indeed, the project informed later projects such as Three Crosses of Queensbridge, Sonic Bikes, and The Marvolo Project. “I think it’s simply because I’m interested in a listening awareness,” Matthews said. “It’s a whole different world when you’re really listening. At the core, that’s what it’s about, turning people on to doing that." - Described by Wave Farm Radio Artist Fellow 2020/2021, Jess Speer.

Wave Farm / WGXC Acra Contact Info
info@wavefarm.org
info@wgxc.org
Mailing: PO Box 13 Acra, NY 12405
Main Office / Acra Studio
(518) 622-2598
WGXC Office
(518) 697-7400
WGXC Hudson Studio
(518) 828-0290
WGXC Feedback
(518) 212-7509 feedback@wgxc.org
Wave Farm / WGXC Acra Studio: 5662 Route 23 Acra, NY 12405
WGXC Hudson Studio: 369 Warren St. Hudson, NY 12534