LOST IN TRANSMISSION (RIAFC159/LIT001)

A séance over the airwaves, truck driver signalwave, late night talk radio, oddball skiptalkers on Citizens Band Radio, Negativland, UVB76 – The Russian Buzzer, pirate radio, radio art and more.    

SEOUL - NAM JUNE'S SPIRIT WAS SPEAKING TO ME BY AKI ONDA

One night, in a hotel room in Seoul, Korea, Aki Onda was tuning a pocket-sized transistor radio when he stumbled upon a haunting, submerged voice cutting through the static. He began recording immediately, eventually becoming convinced it was the spirit of the late video artist Nam June Paik reaching out to him. Aware of Paik’s fascination with Korean shamanism, Onda’s experience was a séance of sorts, which he would repeat in other cities across the globe, tapping into the mystical allure of radio and departed souls.

EXCERPTS FROM MIDNIGHT RADIO & COAST TO COAST – ROAD TO NOWHERE BY CT57

A haunting, immersive signalwave project that captures the lonely, hypnotic essence of endless night trips on the highway. CT57 weaves a sonic tapestry of ambient, broken transmissions, evoking the blur of streetlights and the hum of a solitary radio on desolate highways. Deeply nostalgic and atmospheric late-night lo-fi soundscapes.

HEADS BENEATH THEIR SHOULDERS – HIGH ASIA/LO-PACIFIC – SUN CITY GIRLS

A wild segment from Art Bell’s Coast to Coast captured by Alan Bishop and included in a Sun City Girls release.

26715 OUTBANDER & LADY PIMP READING THE MAIL 

A skiptalker is a CB operator who uses illegally powered transmission antennas and atmospheric conditions, like ionospheric skip, to communicate over long distances, often hundreds or thousands of miles, beyond the typical CB range of 5-20 miles. This happens when radio waves bounce off the ionosphere, allowing signals to "skip" across regions or continents. Here, you’ll hear a Puerto Rican truck driver and a rare female skiptalker (most are men) called Lady Pimp captured on Citizens Band Radio by David Goren.

MOTORMOUTH MAUL

Motormouth Maul, whose real name is John Bartal (amateur radio callsign KC6MFX), is a legendary figure in the Citizens Band Radio community known as "The Voice of the Central Coast of California." He operates a high-power, high-fidelity amplitude modulation (AM) station on CB Channel 6 (often called the "Super Bowl" channel in DX circles), using advanced equipment like the custom "Mauldulator" modulator. He is known for his power and unique sound.  

SON OF CB (AKA ROT ROT) HAUNTS THE AIRWAVES IN TEXAS 1977

A YouTube video, uploaded in July 2024 by channel Z28 Videogates, features a humorous 1977 audio recording critiquing the "Son of CB" or "Rot Rot" group for polluting CB radio airwaves with offensive language, allegedly ignored by the FCC.

COUNTRY BOY ON THE COUNTRY BOY NETWORK

Another oddball skiptalker character singing “Brother Jukebox” by Mark Chesnut on Citizens Band Radio captured by David Goren.

TIMEFOG 3327 - PAUL JUNGWIRTH

TIME ZONES – NEGATIVLAND

"Time Zones" is a track by the experimental sound collage band Negativland, featured as the 15th song on their seminal 1987 album Escape from Noise, released on SST Records. The piece is a chaotic audio collage incorporating radio broadcasts, time announcements (such as leap second insertions from the National Bureau of Standards), CB radio chatter about power and time zones in the Soviet Union (highlighting its 11 zones versus the U.S.'s 4), Russian music, and spoken word elements, all layered with the band's signature cut-up style to create a disorienting commentary on global time differences and Cold War-era absurdities.

DEEPEST HOLE – RADIO MODERNA – ALAN BISHOP

Another wild segment from Art Bell’s Coast to Coast about the urban legend known as the "Well to Hell" or "Siberian Hell Sounds." According to the hoax, Soviet scientists drilling a borehole about 14.4 km (9 miles) deep in Siberia broke through into a massive, superheated cavity (around 1,000°C or 1,800°F) and lowered a heat-resistant microphone, only to record the tormented screams of millions of damned souls in Hell. The story gained traction in 1989 via the U.S. Christian TV network Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN), which presented it as proof of Hell's existence, and it spread through tabloids, newsletters, and radio shows like Art Bell's. This is taken from a Very rare cassette tape of radio cut-ups made by Alan Bishop, released 2013.

UVB76 - THE BUZZER (RUSSIA)

A radio jammer is a device or technique used to intentionally disrupt or block radio communications by transmitting interfering signals on the same frequency, overwhelming or garbling the intended transmission. Jammers are used in various contexts, such as military operations to prevent enemy communications, by law enforcement to block illegal broadcasts, or illegally by individuals to disrupt services like CB radio or Wi-Fi. They can cause static, noise, or complete signal loss, and their use is heavily regulated in most countries due to potential misuse and interference with critical communications. The one featured here is UVB76, also known as "The Buzzer," is a mysterious shortwave radio station broadcasting from Russia since at least the late 1970s on 4625 kHz. It emits a continuous buzzing sound, interrupted occasionally by voice messages in Russian, typically cryptic codes or phrases like names, numbers, or commands (e.g., "Anna, Nikolai, Ivan"). Believed to be a numbers station or military signal, possibly for Russian armed forces or a "dead hand" system to detect nuclear attacks, its exact purpose remains unconfirmed. The signal originates near Povarovo, Russia, and has a global reach, captivating hobbyists and sparking theories about espionage or doomsday triggers due to its eerie, persistent nature.

RADIOSTRANGEOUTPOST7-SHRUNKENHEAD RADIO - PIRATE RADIO BROADCAST (SHORTWAVE RADIO AUDIO ARCHIVE)

Radio Strange Outpost No. 7 (RSO7) is a quirky pirate radio station broadcasting on shortwave frequencies like 6925 kHz and 6955 MHz, known for semi-cryptic content featuring retro 8-bit sounds (reminiscent of NES games), spacey audio inspired by "Lost in Space," and occasional Beatles tracks. The SWLing Post blog tag page highlights rare recordings of its broadcasts, such as a 16-minute transmission captured on April 21, 2012, at around 00:15 UTC, and another via the WBNY relay service alongside the related Shrunken Head Radio. These captures were made during low-activity periods for other pirates, emphasizing RSO7's elusive and entertaining nature

BESKIDO 880 - ANTENNA NON GRATA - JEFF GBUREK

An experimental audio release by sound artist Jeff Gburek by the net-label Antenna Non Grata, featuring shortwave radio signal captures. Recorded during a summer stay in a cabin near Wisła Malinka in Poland's Beskidy Mountains, Gburek utilized high altitude, clear nights, and Perseid meteor showers to hook up shortwave radios to an abandoned TV aerial, capturing trippy signal drifts, confluences, and anomalies for immersive, abstract soundscapes.

EXCERPT FROM BUG RIVER RADIO – JEFF GBUREK

ORTHICON GHOST - JEFF ECONOMY (WGXC & SHORTWAVE SHINDIG)

A shortwave radio art piece produced by Jeff Economy for Shortwave Shindig.

TROLLING THE CROSSROADS OF BLISS IN INDIA - ALAN BISHOP (SUBLIME FREQUENCIES)

Taken from Alan Bishop’s international radio collage release Radio India: The Eternal Dream Of Sound (Sublime Frequencies – SF014).

COVER ART BY JENNIFER D.