RADIO WONDERLAND is a one-man band with many famous unintentional collaborators. [Joshua Fried]’s shows start off with him walking in carrying a boombox playing FM radio. He plugs it into his sound rig, tunes around a while, and collects some samples. Magic happens, he turns an ancient Buick steering wheel, and music emerges from the resampled radio cacophony.
It’s experimental music, which is secret art-scene-insider code for “you might not like it”, but we love the hacking. In addition to the above-mentioned steering wheel, he also plays a rack of shoes with drumsticks. If we had to guess, we’d say rotary encoders and piezos. All of this is just input for his computer programs which take care of the sampling, chopping, and slicing of live radio into dance music. It’s good enough that he’s opened for [They Might Be Giants].
Check out the videos (embedded below) for a taste of what a live show was like. There are definitely parts where the show is a little slow, but they make it seem cooler when a beat comes together out of found Huey Lewis. We especially like the “re-esser” routine that hones in on the hissier parts of speech to turn them into cymbals. And if you scan the crowd in the beginning, you can find a ten-years-younger [Limor Fried] and [Phil Torrone].
Guessing the “FM” section was pre sampled. Simply because I’ve never swapped between that many stations at once when it wasn’t 3:1 commercials versus music.
Nope, all RADIO WONDERLAND shows really are sourced from live radio.
Nope–nothing is ever pre-sampled for RADIO WONDERLAND shows. The whole idea is using live radio.
seems like a lot of effort
just take a cd and drop a handful of gravel on it.
same effect.
Seems like you got hard-coded concrete eardrums. Maybe the only 80´s could vibrate it ?
Maybe, if you let someone else pick the CD, and if the gravel effect creates a groove.
More like pulling noise out of the airwaves. No thanks.
Although Huey Lewis may have made it “Hip to be Square”, crediting him with Bruce Springsteen’s work is decidedly unhip.
The Huey Lewis was in another video clip. Sorry about the confusion, Boss.
80’s aranger rock sounded all the same.
Back then I could get up to 3 noncommerical stations that played the latest house music in the evening. With 2 tuners and deft dialing I hot mixed the multiple tuners by switching only to come up with something up to date in sound. I wish I had taped these sessions, also meteor bursts of some preacher talking about sin inserted into the sensual dance driven house.
When techno meets soul :)
Thanks for the post!
RADIO WONDERLAND is about to drop an album on clang recordings. And yes, this album, SEiZE THE MEANS, is entirely sourced from radio. Each track is 100% live radio grabbed during a RADIO WONDERLAND show. http://clang.cl/clang035_radio-wonderland_seize-the-means/
Taking music from talented musicians and regurgitating it at random is not “creating” music.
Actually, the regurgitation is far from random, and includes ads, news, station announcements, etc. However there’s a celebrated tradition of collage from Negativland to Public Enemy to the Avalanches, not to mention Cage, etc. which I suppose you could also describe the same way.
Made props for mentioning Negativland. :)
Of course. They blazed a trail for many.
So salty! With vinegar you’d make nice chips.
Reminds of Art of Noise, but with no melody.
You’ll find the album far more melodic…and just as outrageously sampled.
“KIss” remake by Art of Noise and Tom Jones is simply delicious! https://youtu.be/5uZQFOfMSfY