Radio Amateur Ensemble Opening & Podcast Panel

About

Radio Amateur Ensemble, explores Minneapolis’s ham radio enthusiast community, taking the sonic, social and technological aspects of ham radio communication as scores and notations for improvisation and the sharing of new sound compositions. Considering listening as a generative act, Radio Amateur Ensemble transforms the Goethe Pop Up space in Minneapolis’s skyways into a walkable audio-visual score featuring musical performances/open studios, recording sessions, set design, and an accompanying podcast. The ensemble, a collaboration with Cole Pulice, Noah Ophoven-Baldwin, and Patrick Marschke, invites the wider audience to take part in the ongoing dialogue exploring amateur radio as a tool manifesting new social constellations, networks and organisms.

Kats’s project is developed in respect to Bertolt Brecht’s critique of radio as an instrument that standardizes individuals into passive listeners. Translating research findings sonically and rhythmically during the duration of the project, the compositions developed by the Radio Amateur Ensemble are performed and recorded during several public events at the Goethe Pop Up Minneapolis and released on a limited edition 7-inch vinyl.