the Berlin radio project Datscha-Radio (wonderfully taglined "a garden in the air") was a temporary micro-broadcasting station set up on the grounds of the garden community “Einigkeit”(“Unity”) in Berlin-Pankow, which broadcast for 7 days, 24 hours from the 24th - 31st August 2012. In a programme on the 25th August called Language des Oiseaux, a show I had made for the radia network while artist in residence on bird sanctuary Kapiti Island, Radio d'Oiseaux (Kokako Variations) was re-broadcast as a double feature alongside what was one of my personal favourite radia shows of the previous (or indeed any) year, Wolfgang Müller's exquisite Starlings from Hjertøya sing Kurt Schwitters, originally played around the network in February 2011.
as the project's organisers write: "A garden is more than a metaphor: Bridging architecture to nature, it is a living space for visions and encounters, for work and leisure, and for (self) representation. The garden has been a companion to mankind in all cultures since the beginning of civilization. With the onslaught of technologies of daily life, the topic of gardening has continually gained attention in terms of aesthetics, history and ecology. The true potential of the garden, though, lies within its rich multitudes. A garden is not just one place, it is many places; not just one system, but many systems. To create a garden for listening and international cooperation which appeals to all of the senses – this is the aim of Datscha-Radio."
more on the project, its politics and aesthetics, here
