Surplace Radio

Surplace Radio is a performance that takes the form of a radio programme: from a temporary studio, Michele Di Stefano takes on the role of presenter and presents a programme of new releases and ethnomusical imagery, based on his album L’altro Hotel. The work draws on a vast collection of voice memos recorded by the artist whilst travelling around the world. Localised sounds, environmental fragments and moments of personal experience are reworked into pieces of ‘situated’ music. In keeping with the conventions of music journalism, Di Stefano introduces unlikely artists and tracks; he recounts their origins, recording techniques and anecdotes through reconstructions that are as plausible as they are fictional. Imaginary theories such as ‘placed music’ and the ‘accanto theory’ evoke forms of non-selective listening, in which sound occurs alongside the listener, without necessarily capturing their attention. What emerges is a soundscape in which distant places, landscapes and everyday situations overlap, whilst reality and fiction become indistinguishable.