free103point9 Interview

Nick Stillman:
AN INTERVIEW WITH FREE103POINT9 By Nick Stillman

free103point9 has an array of goals toward which it is perpetually working, each ultimately focused on expanding the scope of radio's possibilities and advancing the genre of Transmission Arts. The nonprofit organization's online radio transmissions introduce audiences to aggressive and challenging contemporary music and also include diverse sets like Field Recordings (found sounds, weird abstract noise) and live performances from artists visiting free103point9's new Greene County, NY Wave Farm site. A pioneering Transmission Arts presenter, free103point9 originated in Brooklyn, in 1997, as a quasi-collective of artists, musicians, and community members dedicated to providing an airwave alternative to corporate radio. The organization's center has recently migrated north, to Wave Farm, offering them a vastly greater amount of physical space. They have implemented an artist residency program, and by 2007 (their tenth anniversary) will have completed the construction of a study center, studio, and archive dedicated to Transmission Arts. Over the course of several days, NYFA Current Editor and Artforum.com contributor Nick Stillman exchanged emails with Galen Joseph-Hunter and Tom Roe, Executive Director and Program Director, respectively, of this dedicated, vital organization. [More...]