On October 17th at 8.30pm [C.E.T.], USMARADIO will broadcast the world premiere of ATLAS, a new musical work of electromagnetic geographies created by L'Impero della Luce with the sounds of some special places.
Our musical atlas presents the electromagnetic voices of 7 different spaces – a factory, a WWI bunker, a tavern, an exhibition, two major European cities and a radio research centre.
Between 2018 and 2024 we recorded and re-organized via software the secret sounds of electrical circuits, radio waves and dispersions of industrial frames, refrigerators, projectors, traffic lights, ventilation systems etc., generating 7 autonomous songs, 7 fantastic sound spaces constructed starting from concrete geographies.
So is ATLAS a record?
NO! At least, not for now.
The Atlas collection was conceived to be disseminated and enjoyed through radio streaming or collective listening and does not wish to be in any way a recording project or a product for sale.
Those of Atlas are fantastic sound spaces built starting from concrete geographies, they are auditory cartographies of imaginary continents that can only exist in the time of collective listening.
ATLAS is a sound work that can ONLY be used VIA RADIO/WEB RADIO.
ATLAS is a soundwork that can be ONLY enjoyed VIA RADIO/WEB RADIO. [No bandcamp, soundcloud o other streaming platforms].
The reasons for this choice are many and we hope to be able to talk about them together sooner or later, during one of the next collective listening sessions. Below is some food for thought that led us to this choice.
25% of tracks were not listened to once on music streaming platforms in 2023.
In 2023, 120 thousand songs were uploaded to music platforms per day. 40% had less than 10 listens and 25% even 0 listens. Many argue that behind these uploads without listening there could be the hand of artificial intelligence, responsible for the creation of an endless workbook of songs... [for further information, here is the article by Carolin Drzewinski]. Another fact: 82% of Spotify's entire catalog has less than 1000 listens per month. We could go on and reel off other numbers, statistics... But what really matters is the question underlying it all: WHO LISTENS TO [OUR] MUSIC? And how [or when] do you listen to it?
And if no one listens to our music, how much does the on-line "parking" of our tracks pollute?
Nobody knows [read a nice article by Cate Lawrence here].
Most of us cannot say how much energy we use on a daily basis, nor what level of emissions our activities cause. “As with all technologies, however, Internet use has an energy cost, and this cost is proportional to the amount of data transferred.” The precise count per gram of carbon dioxide produced is of little importance, however. What matters is to be aware that streaming also has an impact on the environment, despite having no physical perception of it.
Most of the contemporary musical productions that lie silent in some dark corner of Bandcamp or SoundCloud are reminiscent of those reinforced concrete warehouses that, abandoned half-finished, uselessly dot our – once beautiful – countryside.
How much do we want to continue polluting? But then again, this post will also do its part... As you will have understood, the important thing is to at least ask yourself the problem.
But if you don't store your music on Bandcamp or Spotify, how do you share it with others?
Have you ever heard of radio broadcasts? :)
The radio is our home: or rather, it is the birthplace of electroacoustic music, and it is the raison d'être of a certain way of creating and organizing sounds, what we call "our musical language". Radio waves are also the heart, soul and essence of our sonic vocabulary...
Radio studios as a hotbed of experimentation and radio broadcasts as vehicles for changing audiences: we like to remember RADIO like this, as it was when we were not yet born, and as it still is today in some remote and happy place.
But the beauty of the radio is also the encounter with the unexpected, the clash with the unknown that happens during the flow of time, when you leave it on and melodies, sounds, unexpected stories and brilliant discoveries come out of its speakers... Let's imagine ATLAS randomly colliding with people's ears, in Belgium, France, Austria or San Marino... a flash of electricity on a gray day.
How much, when, where and with whom do we listen to music?
Any person involved in the world of music and sound should think carefully about these questions. We, with ATLAS, are trying.
>>>> To discover and listen to ATLAS, all you have to do is follow us and take note of the opportunities that come your way. We advise you to:
>>>> To discover and listen to ATLAS, all you have to do is follow us and take note of the opportunities that will come your way. We advise you to:
Activate notifications on our Instagram profile @Imperodellaluce to make sure you always view new posts and stories: click on the bell on our profile to escape the evil fate of algorithms.
Next ATLAS stream on-air:
17 OCTOBER at 8:30 p.m. CET
on USMARADIO
[click here]
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