#5152, Radio Chords: Songs With Sounds of Radio
Hear works that incorporate sounds captured from the radio from Chicago-based cellist Lia Kohl, sound artist Heather Stebbins and pianist Ning Yu, and Haitian-American musician Leyla McCalla.
Chicago-based cellist, composer and sound artist Lia Kohl uses the highly processed sounds of live radio samples recorded primarily on Vashon Island in Washington State on her album The Ceiling Reposes. Then, hear “gritty, sparkly, and pressing music” using samples of radio static from Washington D.C.-based sound artist Heather Stebbins in collaboration with pianist Ning Yu, (Bandcamp).
There’s music by Haitian-American musician Leyla McCalla and her multidisciplinary music theater work Breaking The Thermometer, commissioned by Duke University created using archival material from Radio Haiti, the country’s first independent creole-speaking radio station. Listen to global protest music from Kefaya, whose name in Arabic means “enough.” Hear their song ‘Indignados’, titled in tribute to the ongoing Spanish 15-M Movement, and inspired by the “Ethiopiques” music.
Also, listen to some of Winnipeg-based composer Matthew Patton’s score for Speaking in Tongues (for the Paul Taylor Dance Company). Plus, hear music by the late Holger Czukay of CAN who incorporated voices of Iranian singers Marzieh and Golpa, captured via short-wave radio into his song "Persian Love." – Caryn Havlik
Program #5152, Radio Chords: Songs With Sounds of Radio (First aired 6/16/2026)
ARTIST: The Beatles
WORK: I Am the Walrus [:51]
RECORDING: Magical Mystery Tour
SOURCE: Capitol Records
INFO: Available at AppleMusic, Spotify, Amazon, YouTube
ARTIST: Leyla McCalla
WORK: Le Bal est Fini [4:06]
RECORDING: Breaking The Thermometer
SOURCE/INFO: leylamccalla.bandcamp.com
ARTIST: Holger Czukay
WORK: Persian Love [6:22]
RECORDING: Movies
SOURCE: Mute 69070 / Claremont 56
INFO: Try Discogs or claremont56.bandcamp.com/track/my-persian-love
ARTIST: David Byrne & Brian Eno
WORK: Mea Culpa [4:57]
RECORDING: My Life in the Bush of Ghosts
SOURCE: Nonesuch #79894
INFO: nonesuch.com
ARTIST: Kefaya
WORK: Indignados [6:29]
RECORDING: Radio International
SOURCE: Radio International Records
INFO: https://www.instagram.com/kefayamusic/?hl=en
ARTIST: Damon Locks & Rob Mazurek
WORK: The Concord Hour [4:53]
RECORDING: New Future City Radio
SOURCE: International Anthem
INFO: https://intlanthem.bandcamp.com/album/new-future-city-radio
ARTIST: Matthew Patton
WORK: Speaking in Tongues [8:46]
RECORDING: Speaking in Tongues
SOURCE: Marquis Classics #139
INFO: Available at AppleMusic, Spotify, Amazon, YouTube
ARTIST: Lia Kohl
WORK: In a Specific Room [4:28]
RECORDING: The Ceiling Reposes
SOURCE: American Dreams Records
INFO: liakohl.bandcamp.com
ARTIST: Heather Stebbins and Ning Yu
WORK: Radio Chords [5:31]
RECORDING: Spirals
SOURCE: Carrier Records
INFO: https://heatherstebbins.bandcamp.com/album/spirals
