The Conet Project

Some interesting discussions in the classroom today. Matt has been listening to the sound of the cosmos to research the soundtrack to his (as yet) untitled space epic.

This led us to talking about the Numbers Stations and the Conet Project...

http://www.irdial.com/conet.htm

The Numbers Stations were / are a fascinating series of seemingly unintelligible broadcasts on shortwave frequencies, which were supposedly used by spies in the Cold War to communicate with each other.

The sound of these broadcasts, which are often just srtings of numbers and letters, are deliciously distorted and full of texture. And the names of the different stations are a wonderful collection of obscure and evokative titles.

The subject has intreagued me greatly and I'll be looking into the history in greater detail. Hopefully I'll be able to track down a Conet Project boxset for us to use as a resource.

Also in our discussion about science and sounds, the 1971 film 'The Andromeda Strain' cropped up. It's a masterclass in spare and dramtic sound design and I would recomend the film to anyone!