Within the 100 or so cassettes I have from this show, there are only 6 tapes from 1987, and mixes from three of those tapes are here with a special bonus prize included. Hold onto your ears for the first mix from Feb 16th! Mixes two through six in this podcast are all from one night, March 28th, giving a nice example of different places I could go in one evening. Mix seven, the last in this episode is an unknown date and was featured on my first home made CD of this material, called “Music to Vacuum By”. Named for all those old, schmoozy orchestrated records, like “Music for Dining” or “Music to Sleep To”, well, mine was Music to Vacuum By.

 

Find the other episodes here.

Proceed with Caution! Episode 7 contains volatile and unstable recordings from a significant part of KFAI’s history, covering the time that we first went Station 2 Station. The first recording is from May 26th of 1986, and was my last broadcast from KFAI’s first physical home, which was in the tower of the Walker Church. The next two recordings are from June 1st, and are from my first show in our then new home on Lake Street, which was known at the time as the Butler Drug Building. The last two recordings are from November 30th.  I have no tapes from June through November except for this one.  I’m surprised to still have as many of these tapes as I do, but don’t worry kids – there’s still 1987 - 8 and 9 to listen through.

Find the other episodes here.

Welcome to another Technological Retreat podcast, available now in convenient travel size packages. This is the sixth trip into what the world sounded like to me, a melodic noise. This episode features mixes from two nights in May of 1986, the 5th and the 12th. What many people don’t realize is that May 5th is Shoe Day, and we are fortunate enough, perhaps, to have this aural documentation of what a typical, late 20th century shoe day celebration sounded like.

Find the other episodes here.

Welcome to the fifth episode of the Technological Retreat podcasts. I’m presenting these radio mixes in chronological order with exceptions, like the first mix in this program. This tape was undated but begins with an early Reel to Reel tape loop experiment from 1985.  Using Ravi Shankar’s voice then repeating it into itself over and over, while manipulating speed. The other three mixes are from March 17th, March 23rd, and April 21st, 1986, and contain strangely meditative sounds, some nice classical salad, and live uncensored sax in the studio.

Find the other episodes here.

Welcome to the fourth episode of the Technological Retreat podcasts. Is it a cacophony or a symphony? Is it noise or nuance? Sure it is. In one of the featured mixes I talk a little about sensory overload and having to pay attention to too many things at once, which is precisely what I was trying to create or recreate with the sound collages. An interpretation or response to the week I had just had and current events of the time.

The first mix from February 17th 1986 features a long example of Sound Mobile recordings in the background. The Sound Mobile was in my basement at the time and was like a giant wind chime that you could walk through. Bicycle frames, tanks and resonant metal things hanging from the ceiling by guitar and piano strings. You could bang and clang & plunk and plink. It was a lot of fun and no one ever got hurt. I would often have TV’s and radio’s playing in the background while I knocked around in there. The second mix is from March 10th 1986 and starts with an excerpt from the Technological Retreat theme, which I will be including by itself in an eventual podcast.

Find the other episodes here.

Welcome to the third episode of the Technological Retreat podcasts. One of the things I enjoyed most about late-night radio was the creative freedom. More often than not, the radio stations were just thankful to have people up there let alone caring what they did, as long as it followed FCC guidelines and decorum of course. This was before the age of robot DJ’s and audio software.

The three mixes in this episode are from the same night, February 3, 1986. The first mix is from 2:00 AM, and begins with a live recording of Charles Bukowski reading his own work, mixed with South Indian vocal music. The second mix started around 2:45 AM and the third around 3:15 AM.

Find the other episodes here.

Welcome to the second episode of the Technological Retreat webcasts, where I will be presenting the live radio mixes that I referred to as Sound Collages. That’s what I called them but I don’t think I necessarily invented the phrase. I had done late night radio in college before moving to Minneapolis in 1985, and enjoyed having a lot of time to play a lot of different music. Having an overnight show on KFAI allowed me to stumble through and experiment with this style of sound and to be able to really stretch the mixes out. What was essential, was the feeling of being artistically free to create. These first two mixes were originally broadcast on January 21st, 1986. The first one started around 2:20 AM and is about ten minutes long. The second began before 3 AM and is under 20 minutes. The third mix was originally broadcast in February of 1986, started around 2:30 AM and is about half an hour long.

Find the other episodes here.

Welcome to episode one of the Technological Retreat webcasts, with three of the Sound Collages that I  spun into the night with. This begins with a station ID and two mixes from January Thirteenth, 1986. The station ID and intro are done by Larry Englund, recently departed and much-loved person within the KFAI world.

This recording was made when KFAI used a boombox to record air checks with. It sounds like it wasn’t tuned in very well that night. This first mix began around 2:20 AM, the second mix featured began around 4:40 AM.

Find the other episodes here.