Category: Radio

fugitive frequency, season 2, episode 5: (sonic) postcards from Helsinki

A scene with a giant sculpture of a giraffe in a snowy landscape. Two figures in silhouette stand before a sign and leafless trees sway in the background.

A montage of field recordings, performances and other audio documents collected since August 2020, when fugitive radio began. Recordings include Vallilan vapputanssit Finnish Tango dance in the Vallila neighbourhood for the vappu May Day celebrations; Thomas Moose speaking at Pride Is A Protest in 2021; Pekka Pylkkänena from the musicians union interviewed in 2021; MC Ghepetto at Elements mini-Ball 2022 and Suva Das performing playground equipment at Pixelache Festival #BURN____2021.

fugitive frequency, season 2, episode 4: Alanis Obomsawin, “Our people can be themselves and feel good about it”

A young Alanis Obomsawin performs a large drum

This episode is an audio portrait of Alanis Obomsawin, an Indigenous Abenaki filmmaker, singer, activist and “national treasure” from Turtle Island/Canada. We spoke online late in February 2021 with reference to a major survey exhibition of Alanis’ life and work, ‘The Children Have to Hear Another Story’, 12 February – 18 April 2021, Haus der Kulturen der Welt Berlin.

Many thanks to Lilli Heinemann from HKW and Michael Shu from the National Film Board of Canada for making this episode possible.

Media

Bush Lady (2018)

Vignettes: June in Povungnituk – Quebec Arctic (1980)

Canada Vignettes: June in Povungnituk – Quebec Arctic , Alanis Obomsawin, provided by the National Film Board of Canada

Waban-Aki: People from Where the Sun Rises (2006)

Waban-Aki: People from Where the Sun Rises, Alanis Obomsawin, provided by the National Film Board of Canada

Alanis Obomsawin the activist, Telescope CBC (1966)


Amisk (1977)

Amisk, Alanis Obomsawin, provided by the National Film Board of Canada

Alanis Obomsawin – Bush Lady, live at Le Guess Who? 2017

Xusum (1975)

Xusum, Alanis Obomsawin, provided by the National Film Board of Canada

Christmas at Moose Factory (1971)

Christmas at Moose Factory, Alanis Obomsawin, provided by the National Film Board of Canada

Puberty – Part 2 (1975)

Puberty – Part 2, Alanis Obomsawin, provided by the National Film Board of Canada

Moose Call (1972)

Moose Call, Alanis Obomsawin, provided by the National Film Board of Canada

Basket (1975)

Basket, Alanis Obomsawin, provided by the National Film Board of Canada

Snowshoes (1978)

Snowshoes, Alanis Obomsawin, provided by the National Film Board of Canada

Sigwan (2005)

Sigwan, Alanis Obomsawin, provided by the National Film Board of Canada

fugitive frequency, season 2, episode 3: Double Troubles

A protest scene in Helsinki, 26 Feb 2022 in support of Ukraine against the Russian Invasion. Peering through a crowd with flags, banners and placards denouncing Russian president, Vladimir Putin. On the far left of the frame a man in a beanie speaks into a microphone addressing the crowd. On the far right of the frame another man in a beanie with his back towards us balances a large ‘Boombox’ speaker on his head.

March is a mix ∞ or rather a sound clash. A recording from RUB’s 2202022 special with unknown participants on SonoBus meets the rally in support of Ukraine in Helsinki a few days later (26 February). It’s not quite in time, nevertheless it’s of the time.

An incomplete playlist includes:
‘LINELEH I’  – Eleh + Richard Chartier
‘Fifth Worship II’ – Kali Malone
‘Move Down Low’ (Dubplate Mix) – Grievous Angel
‘Culebra’ – Arca
‘Barnacles’ (Kode9 Mix) – Hyph11E
‘Travel Light 2010’ (Tekz Keyz 3-5-7) – DJ Phil
‘Ratnam’s Riddim’ (Nonfuture Remix) – Iyer
‘Feels Like Free For All’ (Fisky Bootleg) – Kevin JZ Prodigy x Errorsmith
‘Hold Pattern’ – Osheyack & Nahash
‘Dancing‘ (Instrumental) – Omar and Zed Bias
‘gum on ur shu remix‘ –
‘Click Clack’ –  Leonce feat. Divoli S‘vere
‘Blaze ‘n‘ Cook’ (Radioslave Remix) – Stereotyp Vs Al Haca
‘Tourist‘ (Nídia Rework) – Lafawndah
‘Circulate False Notes’ (Suckerfish P Jones Remix) – Filastine
‘Rakkama, Clap Your Hands’ (Wellbelove Remix) – Iyer
‘Tar’ – Myxomy

fugitive frequency, season 2, episode 2: Missy & Thomas Moose #FinlandBallroomScene

Missy on the left wears a covid mask and faces the camera, her back pressed against Thomas Moose’s chest. Thomas wears a black muscle shirt and also faces the camera, their left shoulder to the front. The Image rendered in low resolution greyscale.

Episode 2 is a conversation with Thomas Moose (Instagram) and Missy (Instagram), two young spokespersons from the Finland Ballroom Scene (Instagram) founded by choreographers Virpi Kurkihovi (Instagram) and Venla Vuorio (Instagram) circa 2010. The recording was made in November 2021, as Thomas and Missy were preparing to ‘walk abroad’ as part of the Finnish delegation led by Angel Ninja (Instagram) in the Scandinavian Ball in Oslo, December. We discuss their entry into the scene and the history of Ballroom in Helsinki, how the scene is structured workshops with Kiki House of Angels (Instagram), and their experiences as ‘guests’ in a culture found by queer Black and Latinx people in 1970s New York. I am most grateful to Eveliina Tuulonen for introducing us.

The episode features music made by Lucian for the Oslo Ball. Other music and media used in the podcast is below:

House Of Ninja Ball in Paris! Serving Runway!, Paris Ballroom TV 2017 (feat: Venla Vuorio) (Facebook)

 

‘Wuhan’s vogue dance finds life after lockdown’, Reuters 22 December 2020

fugitive frequency, season 2, episode 1: REWIND

A sign with text that reads ‘Helsinki’ backwards. In the background is Oodi central library.

A selective review of some of the events, interviews and broadcasts that occurred over the last year or so. It features, in order of appearance, the voices of: Sepideh Ardalani, Alice MacKenzie, Yes Escobar, Irina Mutt, Elina Nissinen, musicians in the online jam spaces: ‘Jazz so what’, ‘probando‘ and ‘1234_Portugal‘, Ana Fradique, Suva Das, Tania Nathan, Susheela Mahendran, Léo Custodio, Yeboyah, Caroline Suinnerin and Meriam Trabelsin of the Pehmee podcast, Vishnu Vardhani Rajan and Lintulintu (Lintu Lunar & Dramatika).

It touches on ideas that fugitive radio will develop in the coming year such as: trocar/exchange, poethical descriptings/the politics of accessibility and representation, karaoke theory, postporn spaghetti.

fugitive radio’s live broadcasts are supported by Sophea Lerner and Kaustubh Srikanth of openradio.in

fugitive frequency episode 12: a vernacular power play with Aderemi Adegbite

A certificate of incorporation from the Federal Republic of Nigeria registering the Tutuola Institute.

Aderemi Adegbite is an artist and curator from Lagos, Nigeria, who founded the Tutùolà Institute, a legal non-profit arts platform pursuing Yoruba cultural diplomacy launched at ‘White Money’, produced by Flinn Works at Sophiensaele Berlin, 17–20 November 2021. He is also the founder of the Vernacular Art-Space Laboratory [Instagram] in Lagos, who will host the Iwaya Community Art Biennial 10–18 December 2021. We discussed the power dynamics of European cultural funding in Nigeria, and more broadly speaking in the so-called ‘Global South’, that prompted him to found the Tutùolà Institute. Its inaugural exhibition as part of ‘White Money’ featured Candice Breitz, Mario Pfeifer, Aline Motta and Rehema Chachage.

There’s a joke that curators secretly desire to curate their record collections, and in Berlin Aderemi did just that! Tutùolà Institute presented a selection of the hundreds of LPs it has in its collection from Nigerian labels such as Jofabro, featuring styles such as Apala, High Life, Waka and more. The music selected for this episode takes cues from what I handled and heard at the exhibition, featuring: Adeleke Aremu & His Group, Alhaja Queen Salawa Abeni & Her Waka Funky Modernisers, Ayisatu Alabi & Her Group, E.C. Arinze & His Music, Jolly Orchestra, Fela Ransome Kuti & Africa 70, Godwin Ezike & The Ambassadors, Hadji Amusa & Hadji Mustafa, The Sahara All Stars, Zeal Onyia & His Music.

Music and media used in this episode

Channel 4 News, ‘Young queer Nigerians taking a stand’ 13 October 2021
https://fb.watch/9L7w_JtoVa/

fugitive frequency episode 11: Finance for Future

Finance for Future features an interview with the Berlin-based degrowth and climate justice activist and campaigner Tonny Nowshin, calling in from Bangladesh in the build up to the Global Day of Finance Action, 29 October 2021. It also presents conversations with some folks I met at on that day on the steps of Helsinki Parliament: Steven Vanholme and Iciar Montes from EKOenergy, an independent non-profit energy label who help finance renewable energy projects around the world and Olavi Fellman a spokesperson for Fridays for Future Helsinki. It also features voices from those involved in actions around the world on that day and in the opening days of the UN climate conference, COP26, Glasgow, 31 October–12 November 2021 — notably Samoan activist Brianna Fruean and the Koala Kollektiv.

Media used in the episode: