Stone Circle Transmission is an interactive audio experience; a soundscape of human-stone communication via a crystal radio, augmented by a sonic interpretation of listening to stone stretched through its eons. At its heart is a field recording at sunset from the Nine Ladies Stone Circle using the crystal radio to gather frequencies from the ‘King’s Stone’. Armed with this listening device the querent liquifies ancient technology to transduce earth’s energies.
The sound experience immerses listeners in a complex soundscape that explores human-stone communication through the medium of a crystal radio.
It uses field recordings and their manipulation as a way to create and articulate experiential spaces. This is to engage listeners through both affect and immersion.
The artwork draws on Oliveros’ work in creating links with deep listening as a way to connect with ancient technology, and then recontextualises and renders this to transduce sounds from the earth. The methodology shaping this piece draws upon Kahn’s ideas of natural radio.
The spatialisation mirrors the position of each stone in the circle inviting the audience into ritual space. Positioned at the entrance of the stone circle is a field recording from the Nine Ladies Stone Circle. Rather than using a crystal the stone generates the frequencies. The soundscape construction is inspired by what Thompson describes as the transgressive poetics of noise, through which we can celebrate the static produced from unwanted radio frequency, and use other collected frequencies to speculate on the voice of stone.