Frequencies in Transit
Frequencies in Transit is a participatory performance and sound piece for FM transmitters, portable radios and subway systems. It was created for High Jinx, a part of the High Zero Festival. Its premiere was on September 17, 2025 at the State Center Metro Station in Baltimore, MD.
Utilizing a series of low-power FM transmitters, the piece creates a mobile, shifting quadrophonic soundscape that interacts with the urban environment and the movement of people through public transit spaces. Participants are encouraged to bring portable radios to tune into the various frequencies being broadcast, creating a dynamic and immersive auditory experience.
The audio content is composed of field recordings, archival sound collections, and layered musical elements which evolve throughout the performance, controlled by random generation. This generative nature of piece ensures that each performance is unique, responding to the specific context of its location and the presence of its audience.
Artist Instructions
The performer wears a device that broadcasts four local radio stations. The performer and attendees bring as many battery powered radios as they can carry, each tuned to their choice of one of the four local radio stations. The radio stations broadcast four independent, yet, synchronized channels consisting of pre-composed and generative music, audio samples, forming a quadrophonic sound piece for multiple speakers with no set speaker placement.
The performance begins outside the Metro Station, as the performer enters the station with attendees in tow. The performer walks through the station, through the fare gate (paying their fare!), and onto a subway car, all with attendees following along, carrying their radios. The group rides the subway back and forth along its route, with posted arrival times, allowing new attendees to join the group at other stations.
The performance completes when the performer exits again at original Metro Station.
