Radio Papesse

I started making this piece in the summer of 2017. That year marked 15 years since the US invasion of Iraq. My plan was to create a sonic eulogy commemorating this anniversary; to construct an audioverse where I could reflect on the hubris of the United States and its acolytes. Their decision to act preemptively against the non-threat that was Saddam’s Regime, thrust the region into years of destabilization and bloodshed the shock waves of which continue to reverberate to this day. The grievous damage the war caused to the sovereign nation of Iraq, the lasting impact it would have on the rest of the region and the world, and my deeply complicated feelings toward my own Iraqi family members who, in 2003, welcomed the invasion with open arms, are all factors that informed the creation of this work. 

I wanted to explore the idea of broken sounds. I certainly feel as if many of the clips I used sustained a good amount of abuse throughout the process of creating the piece. Time, specifically, the past, also plays a central role in this piece. My goal was to achieve a state where the space time continuum had effectively ruptured and all the ghosts of history, uninhibited by the walls protecting the flow of progress, would come to haunt the present we occupy. (Myra Al-Rahim)

Myra Al-Rahim is an audio producer currently working at BRIC Arts and Media in Brooklyn, NY where she edits their tri-weekly local news and culture show, 112BK. Her forays into the world of transmission arts are just beginning and she is very excited. 

And the Sea Gave Up the Dead Which Were in it is presented by Constellations Audio in the context of Lucia La Radio al Cinema, an international festival devoted to the craft of audio storytelling in radio and podcasting, organized by Radio Papesse in Florence, December 12-14, 2019. 

Constellations Audio is a sound art and experimental narrative collective that highlights international artists making sound works that convey meaning through evocation and abstraction. They curate and produce a podcast, live events, and publish sound materials. Constellation’s pieces unravel distinctions between documentary, sound art, soundscape, fiction, and music. They demand a deep listening experience, encouraging listeners to expand their conception of narrative, musicality, and attention.