starscd copy_2

Click on the image to play.


Neil Webb

Radio Stars

When I was first contacted to produce a Podcast I
immediately considered that this would be quite a
different proposition from the majority of my previous
work. Most of my work whether video or audio
installations are in response to or specifically made
for a certain location. A Podcast would remove the
location from the work as it could be listened to in
the comfort of your own home or on the move. The piece
could also be listened to through external speakers or
in the internal space of a pair of headphones. So with
the sense of a specific location removed I started to
make a piece that was about nowhere. I reflected on
the title of my first CD which was Somewhere Nowhere,
referring to a place that could be unknown or an
unspecified environment. Being somewhere but nowhere
specifically. I also considered the purpose of a
Podcast and thought in its most basic terms that it is
used for communication. The content could be anything
but its purpose was to reach out to as many people as
possible.
I have made a piece that can be seen as three units
that fit together under the themes of communication,
drifting and the void. The units are divided by the
sound of the turning of a dial on a radio searching
for transmissions. The piece develops with willfully
retro communication sounds referring back to the
possibilities and imaginary worlds that radio provided
in its infancy. The Podcast now offers another
revolution in broadcasting that can be exploited by
the masses.
The piece then moves through its drift and void
sequences. These territories are unspecific moving
towards a blank space waiting to be filled.The void
can remain empty or can be occupied. The piece has no
specific location in mind but sets up parameters in
which the listener can either arrive and find their
own location or just go along for the ride.