Magnetic Signals and Radiophonic Soundscapes

The explorations and research of artist Dan Tapper into Very Low Frequency (VLF) natural radio and other electromagnetic signals. 

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Turbulent Forms -

Photo documentation from Dan Tapper solo exhibition Turbulent Forms - shown at Factory media Centre, Hamilton, Ontario - April 2016.

The show combined work old and new, bringing together a number of aspects of my work from sound to code. I had the opportunity to create a new work which was displayed as a full wall projection.

The work I created is called Heliosphere - part of an ongoing research project into space through sound, data, text, image and imagination.  You can view the work alongside a more detailed description here: https://vimeo.com/168419851

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Force Fields - Processing

Turbulent Forms exhibition documentation

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Reactive Systems - Processing

Turbulent Forms exhibition documentation

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Magnetic Forces - Processing

Turbulent Forms exhibition documentation

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Space Gardens - Processing

Turbulent Forms exhibition documentation

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Some Call it Noise - Turbulent Forms exhibition documentation

Some Call it Noise is a documentary looking at the sounds, artist's and experts working with Very Low Frequency (VLF) sound. It presents these works and interviews layered together as a stream of consciousness sound work which can be experienced on multiple levels.

The artists, experts and works featured are:

Patrick Sykes, Sunsong: Featuring: Dr Simon Foster, Stephen McGreevy, Dan Tapper

Nasa Sound Archive: Various sounds of space radio and radio transmission taken from the NASA archive including audio from Kepler, Saturn, HASP and test transmissions

Dan Tapper, various electromagnetic recordings of objects: Various sounds recorded electromagnetically of household objects including routers, mobile telephones and televisions

Semiconductor - 20Hz

Joyce Hinterding - Spectral, Antiopic

Alvin Lucier - Sferics, Lovely Music

Dan Tapper - Changing Signals

Dan Tapper - Recording The Spirit Level

Dan Tapper - Close Lightning Spherics

Honor Harger - A History of the Universe in Sound, TED

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VLF: A Sound Artist’s Guide, Second Edition - Turbulent Forms exhibition documentation

 A manual for the budding VLF sound artist explaining how to listen, record and process Very Low Frequency electromagnetic sound.                                                            

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Changing Signals - Turbulent Forms Exhibition Documentation

Changing Signals explores the hidden sounds of the London Tube and train network. These unheard sounds are produced electromagnetically by trains and equipment and are recorded through custom-built inductor devices. These devices are formed of large coils of wire and convert Very Low Frequency (VLF) electromagnetic radio, a frequency band of the electromagnetic spectrum, into sound and other data. VLF has scientific applications in the fields of radio astronomy and seismography. The recordings expose a sound world that is experienced everyday but never heard by the many passengers of the London train network.

The audio is accompanied by footage of the objects, which generate these sounds set alongside images and film of the scientific apparatus used to record and analyze electromagnetic and VLF data such as oscilloscopes, spectrograms and seismographs.

Changing Signals is comprised of three sections each focusing on a different aspect of the sounds recorded.

The first section looks at the sounds experienced outside the train standing on platforms: hums and drones increasing in intensity as trains approach. The footage is inter-spliced with that of an oscilloscope, a device used to visualize oscillations in electrical voltage. Like standing on a platform, this provides a surface level view to the sonic landscapes of the underground network.

The second section takes place inside the train carriage. The sounds become more intense as the receiver is exposed to greater electromagnetic fields. A number of spectrograms – visual representations of an audio spectrum – are incorporated into the footage, looking further into the interior of the sounds.

The final section takes place outside of the tube network on an over-ground train. Surprisingly this proves to be the noisiest section of the work. To represent this, distortions are introduced into the video. The apparatus footage in this section comes from a cardiogram, an instrument that works with similar principles to a seismograph but measures the human pulse instead of earthquake activity. This is used to represent the London transport network as the lifeblood of London.

Accreditations and thanks:

Oscilloscope Footage – Volker Klocke, oscilloscopemuseum.com Cardiogram Footage – Wellcome Library, London

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Heliosphere (2016) - mixed media 

Heliosphere is a creative exploration of the solar system through sound and image. The piece involves a variety of techniques to creatively reinterpret information gathered from space – sonifications and visualizations of planetary orbits, controlling synthesizer LFOs and cutoffs using the electromagnetic emissions of a pulsar, creating impulse responses from the earth’s ionosphere and building a makeshift model heliosphere from a balloon and string of lights – used to resonate sound and perform audio reactive light painting.  

By combining audio synthesis, image creation and composition with data sonification techniques, Heliosphere explores the creative elements that are present in the choices made in the representation of sound and visual data from space - much of which has been edited, sonified, visualized or approximated by researchers and organizations.

Heliosphere is part of an ongoing research project exploring space through sound, data, text, image and imagination in a form of bedroom cosmology.

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Recent piece created as an exploration into space through data sonification and visualization. I've taken some elements of my VLF work as inspiration! Recreating the all pervasive sound of sferics through digital means, using whistlers as impulse response tools to create a digital ionosphere and re-synthesizing whistlers. Lots of other space data from different sources used as material here too!

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I’ve been doing loads of Magnetic Signals related things recently. Talking about VLF on the radio at the Kingston Environment Center, teaching a workshop on extra sensory perception, picking up unheard sounds with VLF receivers, inductors, contact mics, hydrophones etc… as well as developing a film version of my VLF and space radio documentary Some Call it Noise.

I plan on being more active at updating the blog in the near future. For the time being I’m going to be posting about some upcoming projects and events. My audio visual work Changing Signals, exploring the London undergrounds unheard electromagnetic emissions will be presented at the 2016 Seeing Sound conference at Bath Spa university.

I’m currently spending a lot of time working on another upcoming project called Heliosphere (image above is a mocked up poster/logo) Heliosphere is an imaginary journey from the Heliosphere to the Ionosphere - everything is synthesised using a number of different methods and sonification techniques from analog modular synths to sound re-synthesis and much more. The piece touches on a lot of my interests and research in VLF, radio astronomy and data sonification. It also explores the creative elements that are present in the choices made in the representation of sound and visual data from space - much of which has been edited, sonified, visualised or approximated by researchers and organisations. I foresee this project having many facets and am excited to see how it develops, from sound through to visual, installation and much more - I think the scope is vast! I look forward to posting more about my activities in the coming months.

All the best,

Dan

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I visited the birthplace of the telephone commemoration in Boston today. It was covered in snow so I had to excavate the message. Exciting to think that Watson and Bell were among the first to hear VLF over their long length of wire. I naturally took some VLF recordings of the area, picking up the hums and whistles of Boston city

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Beginning 2016 with some VLF recording in Richmond Park, UK, also started planning new installation series - An Observatory for Inaudible Space.

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My VLF documentary Some Call it Noise is being broadcast on @resonancefmera tonight (5-5.30pm GMT) and again this coming Thursday at 3pm GMT. Make sure to tune in and hear artists, scientists and enthusiasts listening to the sky. 

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I’ve been working on a second more in depth and expanded edition of VLF: A Sound Artist’s Guide and am happy to say that it is finished and I am releasing it today! The new edition accompanies a 30 minute experimental radio documentary on VLF called Some Call it Noise.

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TransX Symposium

Last weekend I taught my Magnetic Signals and Radiophonic Soundscapes VLF workshop at NAISA (New Adventures in Sound Art) as part of the TransX symposium. The symposium also included a number of other fantastic workshops engaging the electromagnetic and radio spectrum. 

Workshops included:

Building a radio transmitter with Michael Postma.

Creating a coil to resonate objects making them into makeshift loudspeakers with Peter Flemming.

A radio hacking workshop with Sarah Washington and Knut Aufermann.

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Radiophrenia

Recording the Spirit Level is being broadcast as part of Radiophrenia - a week long art radio station broadcasting from Glasgow. Tune in between 2-2.30 am GMT (9-9.30 pm EDT) to hear and be sure to check out some of the other great content too! 

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Radius presents a special re-broadcast program for radioCONA's FM exhibition ZimaFM (WinterFM). radioCONA:ZimaFM brings together works that combine the medium of radio with a winter landscape, with a special focus on night time. The broadcasts will occur for five consecutive days beginning at nightfall on radioCONA 88.8-FM in Ljubljana, Slovenia.

The program highlights Episode 11: Jeff Gburek, Episode 12: HMBKR, Episode 17: Timo Kahlen, Episode 19: Emilie Mouchous & Andrea-Jane Cornell, Episode 31: Joseph Kramer, Episode 32: IO.SOUND, Episode 35: Hugo Paquete, Episode 36: prOphecy sun, Episode 37: Dan Tapper, Episode 46: Luke Munn, Episode 51: Ethan Rose, Episode 53: Maria Papadomanolki, Episode 58: Carver Audain, and Episode 60: James Chinneck.

radioCONA:ZimaFM broadcasts February 15 - 19, 2015 at 7pm CET on radioCONA 88.8-FM in Ljubljana, Slovenia. Listen to the radioCONA online stream here. View the broadcast schedule here.

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Recording the Spirit Level was broadcast as part of this event