Radio Underground

sound commission for Art on the Undergound
London Waterloo Station, July - August 2024

Listen to the sound work on the Radio Undeground micro site.         

Radio Underground was a sound work developed over a period of collaboration with three organisations supported by the Mayor of London’s Culture and Community Spaces at Risk programme. 

This project continues Namy’s interest in the politics of listening, music and translation by inviting creatives connected to different cultural and community spaces in London to contribute to a new 10-minute sound work. 

Radio Underground was developed through dialogue and co-creation with Sister Midnight, a cooperative community radio station in south London; Colour Factory, a live music venue and nightclub in Hackney; and PalMusic UK, a music education charity supporting young Palestinian Musicians and celebrating Palestinian music. 

Spoken word and segments of speech from each organisation are layered with original music from flautist Wissam Boustany (PalMusic), oud player Saied Silbak (PalMusic), flautist Ruth Montgomery (Audiovisability), and theremin by Lenny Watson (Sister Midnight). 

The work could be heard at Waterloo Underground station from 15-28 July 2024, Mon-Fri 10am-5pm, through the station speakers along the moving walkway connecting the Northern and Jubilee lines. Echoing the style of a radio broadcast,Radio Underground brought a new sonic experience to the station, a public broadcast that called on people to listen to each other in new ways, to new rhythms and to shared interconnections. 

The work created a space to find solidarity, and for culture and community to express resilience and an understanding of the socio-political power music holds. Radio Underground could also be accessed through a QR code on a poster campaign across the London Underground, with a link to imagery that gave visual rhythm to the sound and constellation of the many parts, people, places and histories that made up the work. 

Credits 

Curated by Louise Shelley 
Produced by Elizabeth Ferguson
Visual design and microsite by Hato Press

Voices:
Ekow Oliver, presenter
Val Woods, relax
Isabella Cobb, weather presenter
Nai Barghouti, siren
Nathanael Williams, Colour Factory
Miss Alexis Bailey, style presenter & songstress
Wissam Boustany, PalMusic UK
Saied Silbek, PalMusic UK
George Mills, keffiyeh child
Clara Buffong, presenter
Lenny Watson, Sister Midnight
Sophie Farrel, Sister Midnight 

Music:
Lenny Watson, theramin
Ruth Montgomery, flute
Wissam Boustany, flute
Saied Silbek, oud
Joe Namy, drums
Star Power Drummer, drums 

with excerpts from Nai Barghouti, Granada Calling (accapella)

Recorded and mixed at Somerset House Studies and WYSING Arts Centre
Additional recordings by Other Cinemas
Special thanks to Audiovisability, Suhell Nafar