Howlround – East Tower

Nick Ballon - East Tower
photo: Nick Ballon

At 4.30pm today we will air a special extended Radiophrenia mix of Howlround’s ‘East Tower’. Originally produced in association with Resonance FM as part of White Noise’s programme of artist residencies inside an abandoned London towerblock in the weeks leading up to its demolition. Part of the original BBC Television Centre complex in White City and currently being cleared for re-development, the piece was created entirely from the naturally-occurring sounds found within East Tower, particularly the resonant frequencies of the empty rooms, gutted offices, stairwells and various odds and ends left by its original occupants. These recordings were then manipulated on a trio of ex-BBC reel-to-reel tape machines with all additional effects or artificial reverb strictly forbidden.

Roughly half of the material featured here was originally broadcast live from the tower on 13th July 2016 as part of Resonance FM’s gala ‘Live to Air’ event. For the remainder this marks the first time it has been broadcast publicly or seen the light of day and almost certainly the very last set of recordings to be made inside this small corner of broadcasting history. Thanks to Resonance FM, White Noise and Something More Near.

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