Sleep Dose

Mercoledì 11 novembre
“Noi insonni, siamo ascoltatori.
Svegli, preferiamo ascoltare piuttosto che dormire in nome della produttività.
Perché allentare la morsa dell’insonnia quando possiamo invece affinare il nostro ascolto? Quando la veglia viene accettata anziché subita, la radio notturna può unirci come se fossimo distesi fianco a fianco?”

Questo il proclama di Radio Insomnia (https://insomnia.radio.fm/bounce-back) che prendo a prestito per introdurre questo nuovo episodio: Sleep Dose #185 (Radio Insomnia 1), in diretta streaming sulle non-frequenze di radio bandito

Alcuni anni fa mi sono imbattuto nella discografia della Sublime Frequencies, etichetta di Seattle, espressione di un collettivo di esploratori impegnati a raccogliere e divulgare immagini e suoni poco conosciuti provenienti dalle frontiere urbane e rurali.
Il lavoro di Alan Bishop, Hisham Mayet e dei loro collaboratori ha portato alla circolazione di una serie di materiali sonori spesso di origine sconosciuta o difficilmente accreditabile. Questa notte ne seguiremo le orme, surfando, appunto, tra le onde radio di numerosi paesi, quali India, Etiopia, Niger, Siria, Palestina, Egitto e Sumatra. Ascolteremo, altresì, contributi ed esplorazioni a tema, che vanno dall’industrial dei CCC CNC NCN all’elettronica sperimentale di Ryoji Ikeda e poi Faust, Ensemble Economique, John Cage, Felix Kubin & Asmus Tietchens e le Inventions for Radio di Delia Derbyshire e jingle di radio pirata inglesi anni ’90.
Ma non è tutto.
L’anarchico Armand Robin (1912-1961) è stato non-poeta, traduttore, polemista che per lavoro passava notti insonni all’ascolto delle radio di Stato, soprattutto russe. Tale esperienza ha dato alla luce una serie di scritti e riflessioni potentissime a proposito del linguaggio della propaganda politica nei sistemi totalitari del XX secolo.
Era solito ingiuriare al telefono gli sbirri chiamando il commissariato.
Morì in circostanze mai chiarite mentre era sotto custodia della polizia.

Wednesday, November 11
“We insomniacs are listeners.
When we’re awake, we’d rather listen than sleep in the name of productivity.
Why loosen the grip of insomnia when we can instead sharpen our listening skills? When staying awake is embraced rather than endured, can nighttime radio bring us together as if we were lying side by side?”

This is the proclamation from Radio Insomnia (https://insomnia.radio.fm/bounce-back), which I’m borrowing to introduce this new episode: Sleep Dose #185 (Radio Insomnia 1), streaming live on the “non-frequencies” of radio bandito.

A few years ago, I stumbled upon the discography of Sublime Frequencies, a Seattle-based label that serves as the voice of a collective of explorers dedicated to collecting and sharing little-known images and sounds from urban and rural frontiers.

The work of Alan Bishop, Hisham Mayet, and their collaborators has led to the circulation of a series of sound recordings, often of unknown origin or difficult to attribute. Tonight we’ll follow in their footsteps, surfing, so to speak, through the radio waves of numerous countries, including India, Ethiopia, Niger, Syria, Palestine, Egypt and Sumatra. We’ll also listen to themed contributions and explorations, ranging from the industrial music of CCC CNC NCN to the experimental electronics of Ryoji Ikeda, as well as Faust, Ensemble Economique, John Cage, Felix Kubin & Asmus Tietchens, Delia Derbyshire’s *Inventions for Radio*, and jingles from British pirate radio stations of the 1990s.
But that’s not all.
The anarchist Armand Robin (1912–1961) was a non-poet, translator, and polemicist who, as part of his work, spent sleepless nights listening to state-run radio stations, especially Russian ones. This experience gave rise to a series of powerful writings and reflections on the language of political propaganda in 20th-century totalitarian systems.
He used to hurl insults at the cops over the phone when he called the police station.
He died under circumstances that were never clarified while in police custody.

Con/Featuring:

Moodymann – Radio/Mahogany Brown (PFG 074 CD, 1998)
Ryoji Ikeda – Channel X: Radiorange/1000 Fragments (Raster Noton R-N 089, 2008)
Faust – Resonance Radio Station Tag #3/Abzu – 1990 And Beyond
General Dub – Prophetie Shiwudao feat. Katsurezo/Battles 2042-2066 (Expressillon Records, 2001)
CCC CNC NCN – Radio Altoparlante/Rafting Sonoro Nelle Correnti Elettromagnetiche (R’Umore Nero Records, 2020)
John Cage – Radio Music/Music For Marcel Duchamp, Etc. (Cramps Records, 2007)
Felix Kubin – Antenne Belgrad/Senderkennungen (Auf Abwegen aatp109, 2026)
Ernest Berk – Nocturne (While I Was Asleep), Op. 163 (1972)/Electronic Music 1955-1984 (Sub Rosa SR578)
Various Artists – Until Further Notice/London Pirate Radio Adverts 1984-1993, Vol. 1 (Death Is Not the End | DEATH039, 2020)
Unknown Artist – Deep Disco Drama Diva/Radio India: The Eternal Dream Of Sound (Sublime Frequencies, SF014, 2004)
Felix Kubin – Radio Schneekoppe/Senderkennungen (Auf Abwegen aatp109, 2026)
Andres – Ska’s Revenge/Andres II (Mahogani Music 24, 2009)
Unknown Artist – Nuer Harp/Ethiopian Musics 1971 (Sub Rosa – SR584, 2026)
Various Artists – Death On The Back Of The Neck/Radio Niger (Sublime Frequencies, SF086, 2014)
Various Artists – Walls Of Babylon/London Pirate Radio Adverts 1984-1993, Vol. 1 (Death Is Not the End | DEATH039, 2020)
Unknown Artist – Radio Nepal II (Ram Saran Nepali)/Harmika Yab-Yum: Folk Sounds From Nepal (Sublime Frequencies, SF017, 2005)
Unknown Artist – Homo Aleppo/I Remember SYRIA – Greater Syria (Sublime Frequencies SF009, 2004)
Ensemble Economique – Interval Signals Part I/Interval Signals (Denovali Records – Den186, 2013)
Asmus Tietchens – Stimme Saarbrücken/Senderkennungen (Auf Abwegen aatp109, 2026)
Unknown Artist – The Way It Must Be/I Remember SYRIA – Greater Syria (Sublime Frequencies SF009, 2004)
Unknown Artist – How Are You, Mr. Criminal?/Radio Palestine: Sounds Of The Eastern Mediterranean (Sublime Frequencies SF008, 2004)
Broadcast And The Focus Group – A Seaneing Song/Investigates Witch Cults Of The Radio Age
Leo Non – Vietti Libero/Mina Mixtape (Maple Death Records MDR110, 2026)
Asmus Tietchens – Antenne Belgrad/Senderkennungen (Auf Abwegen aatp109, 2026)
Various Artists – City Of Joy/London Pirate Radio Adverts 1984-1993, Vol. 1 (Death Is Not the End | DEATH039, 2020)
Unknown Artist – Saharan Music/Radio Algeria (Sublime Frequencies SF029, 2005)
Philip Agowa – Anuak Toum (Sanza)/Ethiopian Musics 1971 (Sub Rosa – SR58, 2026)
Unknown Artist – Electricairo/Radio Palestine: Sounds Of The Eastern Mediterranean (Sublime Frequencies SF008, 2004)
Unknown Artist – The Islamic Experience In Frequency Modulation/Radio Sumatra: The Indonesian FM Experience (Sublime Frequencies, SF021, 2005)
Felix Kubin – Sonovox FM/Senderkennungen (Auf Abwegen aatp109, 2026)
Delia Derbyshire – Land/Inventions For Radio – Dreams (Psychic Sounds – PSR012, 1964)
Delia Derbyshire – Outro/Inventions For Radio – Dreams (Psychic Sounds – PSR012, 1964)

Brani tratti da (Armand Robin, L’indesiderabile – La falsa parola e altri scritti, Giometti e Antonello, Macerata, 2018)