Alvin Lucier
Alvin Lucier
Whistlers
The topic of natural radio returns with Alvin Lucier’s Whistlers (1966), sourced from the LP Out of This World (1953) issued by Emory Cook. The popular scientific fascination with whistler sounds and earth-scale aesthetics is noted in relation to experimental music. The use of recorded material relative to performing live is examined in its genesis, its inclusion at the First Festival of Live Electronic Music, and an attempt at a performance with Pauline Oliveros using real-time reception. Lucier’s other natural radio compositions are examined: Sferics (1981) and Navigations for Strings (1991), the latter related to the Omega Navigation System, which broadcasted in the frequency range of natural radio and which Lucier considered pollution in an electromagnetic wilderness.
Keywords: Alvin Lucier, Whistlers, Sferics, Navigations for Strings, Omega Navigation System, Emory Cook, Pauline Oliveros, live electronic music, First Festival of Live Electronic Music
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