CENTENNIAL SOUND
Jan
6
to Dec 31

CENTENNIAL SOUND

Orchestrated exercise tapes from the 1920s. The first audio ad for a soda. A man in 1906 describing the weather in Omaha. Live opera captured by a librarian stumbling around the catwalks with a phonograph. These are just a few of the thousands of recordings made before 1923 that are entering the public domain on January 1st, 2022.

We’re working with the Library of Congress, the New York Public Library, and other archives to bring the newly available audio in their archives to life in a celebration of the beginnings of recorded sound. Live Q&A TBD. **All streaming shows start at 6PM Pacific Time.

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OUTSIDE IN
Jan
13
to Dec 31

OUTSIDE IN

The show that started our listening series idea: it’s a sonic representation of the pandemic's early days. We’ll go from the banality in our homes, to the bustle of life before the pandemic, and as far away from the earth as possible. Featuring walruses, pulsars, funnels, dentistry, a deconstructed organ, and Chris’s wayward belt buckle. **All streaming shows start at 6PM Pacific Time.

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TIME
Jan
20
to Dec 31

TIME

What is time these days anyway? György Ligeti and John Cage skip rope with Tony Schwartz’s niece, while a man in England details a year's worth of eating. This evening has a whole day in one spot in sub-Saharan Africa, a song that lasts hundreds of years, and more metronomes than you can shake a stick at. Live Q&A with Leah Reid. **All streaming shows start at 6PM Pacific Time.

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TRANSPOSITION
Jan
27
to Dec 31

TRANSPOSITION

Just a fancy way of saying that we’re going places. We’ll visit Cairo in the 30s, Berlin in the 40s, New York City in the 50s, an iceberg in Antarctica, the deepest place on earth, Alvin Lucier’s room, and a curious parade of forest elephants in the Dzanga Bai. Q&A with Winderen. **All streaming shows start at 6PM Pacific Time.

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KRONOS QUARTET
Feb
3
to Dec 31

KRONOS QUARTET

This is a night with the Kronos Quartet—the music, sonic experiments, and sounds that inspire its work, beginning with the chord from Beethoven that got the whole group started. Q&A with David Harrington. **All streaming shows start at 6PM Pacific Time.

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BIRDS
Feb
10
to Dec 31

BIRDS

Birds. Quiet birds. Loud birds. Birds that never existed. Birds heard by Tiresias, Greek bird-interpreter par excellence. Birds that mimic people. People that mimic birds. From the falcon-headed deity Horus to phoenixes rising from the ashes––humans are bound to the bird. We’re teaming up with BirdNote for an evening of all things ornithological. Live Q&A TBD. **All streaming shows start at 6PM Pacific Time.

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BODIES
Feb
17
to Dec 31

BODIES

There are a lot of ways to make a body produce noise. Jacob Kirkegaard knows all about that. The sound artist meticulously recorded an autopsy and a body decomposing. We’re celebrating the whole range of the live human body too: there’s a musical tooter, popping knees, throbbing brain arteries, and grunts aplenty. Q&A with Jacob Kirkegaard. **All streaming shows start at 6PM Pacific Time.

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BILL FONTANA
Feb
24
to Dec 31

BILL FONTANA

An evening with a pioneer in sound-sculptured sensoria. We’ll listen through the expanse of Bill Fontana’s career, from the sonic landscape of Australia during a solar eclipse to the Acqua Vergine aqueducts underneath Rome. Through Fontana’s work we get an experiential education in sound recording, projection, and listening. Q&A with Bill Fontana. **All streaming shows start at 6PM Pacific Time.

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RADICAL RADIO DOCUMENTARY
Mar
3
to Dec 31

RADICAL RADIO DOCUMENTARY

One of the most ambitious NPR documentaries ever made has a lot to say about cult leaders, but also about journalism and objectivity. The subject of this evening is a first-person account of Jonestown delivered by a person who wasn’t there at all. Afterwards, stalwart public radio journalists Chris and Sam will talk with an NPR producer from the network’s early days about the state of American journalism, and why public radio has forgotten that format––and not just content––matters if you want to make something meaningful. Q&A with Deb Amos. **All streaming shows start at 6PM Pacific Time.

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SOLITUDE
Mar
10
to Dec 31

SOLITUDE

Alienation, loneliness, solitude––different sides of a common coin. The mating call of the last remaining bird of its kind. Music made in a cave. There will be a contrapuntal train trip up into Canada’s frozen north, along with a journey deep inside the fjords and glaciers of the Scandinavian Arctic Circle. **All streaming shows start at 6PM Pacific Time.

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MATMOS
Mar
17
to Dec 31

MATMOS

The only pure music show in the series, brought to us by two electronic musicians who make melodies from hospital apparatus and washing machines and bovine uteri. An original work made for The World According to Sound. **All streaming shows start at 6PM Pacific Time.

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BIRDS Encore performance
Apr
24
5:00 PM17:00

BIRDS Encore performance

There was so much interest, we’re doing the show again!

Birds. Quiet birds. Loud birds. Birds that never existed. Birds heard by Tiresias, Greek bird-interpreter par excellence. Birds that mimic people. People that mimic birds. From the falcon-headed deity Horus to phoenixes rising from the ashes––humans are bound to the bird. We’re teaming up with BirdNote for an evening of all things ornithological.

>BUY TICKET: $25

>JOIN OUR PATREON FOR DISCOUNTED RATES

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The World According to Sound Live! Outside In at Gray Area, San Francisco
Aug
26
6:00 PM18:00

The World According to Sound Live! Outside In at Gray Area, San Francisco

Radio producers Chris Hoff and Sam Harnett are going to set up a ring of speakers, hand out eye masks, turn off the lights, and surround you with sound. We’ll travel from the banality inside our own homes, back to a time before the coronavirus, to as far away from the pandemic as possible. Featuring walruses, pulsars, funnels, chimes, rowboats, hair dryers, a deconstructed organ, and Chris’ wayward belt buckle. It will be an evening experienced entirely through your ears.

Feel free to bring a pillow, cushion, or blanket to the event––it's often more fun to listen intently while reposing on the floor. Chairs will be available too, of course. Space is limited as a result, so get your tickets in advance.

BUY TICKETS | $20 Early Bird | $25 Advance

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