Sunday, August 8, 2010

radio aporee ::: app

some years ago, i've started to explore the so called augmented realities (is there another?) created by the superposition and intersection of physical space with media and information right at your current location. for companies and consumers, this translates to improved shopping. i'm skeptical about the new hype and the "mobile revolution", and since i prefer to create and manage my own spaces and realities as far as possible, i decided to dig into the ideas and techniques behind the touch screen. so here's my first "app" for android based phones:
it finds and plays sounds from the aporee maps near you, and it's a receiver for the aporee streaming radio. but the feature i like most is the walkman mode. while walking, it always pulls the nearest sounds around you from the aporee maps and crossfades them into a continuous sound play, which naturally mixes with the actual sounds reaching your ear along your promenade. this can be a very intense listening experience, depending on where you are and what's on the map in that particular area. in the near future, i'll try an experimental spatial radio, combining sounds and narratives. it slowly goes into the direction of a radio i'd really like to listen to. but how to break the 100% individualistic approach? what can others hear while you are browsing your personal psycho-geography? do you have an idea? --u

radioORTUNG

this strong looking guy comes out of the inexplorable depth of a basement at Deutschlandradio Kultur. reminds you on Metropolis by Fritz Lang? anyway. it's a microphone and used for true binaural recordings at Alexanderplatz Berlin, in a cooperation of Dradio and radio aporee. together with LIGNA, a group of performance artists from Hamburg, we start to explore the possibilities of geolocated sounds, location based listening and performative practices in public space. the project starts in september, and will be continued in 2011. stay tuned... --u