icf-sw7600gr
When I was little my pops had a old shortwave that glowed a lovely green in the dark. I can still close my eyes and remember the arcane dial, populated with numbers that I could never have hoped to understand, and the unique smell of hot tubes burning off dust.
And of course I remember the distant, hollow, haunted voices that came though the tiny speaker. To this day this shortwave sound evokes one of the most emotionally rich memories that I have.
So, after much research, I finally purchased a Sony portable shortwave radio (from some truly classic sub-genre dwelling old guys at a Ham Radio store in Oakland). After some learning I dialed in the 31m band and bam..I heard that same, distant voice of my youth, still moaning away like it never stopped, somewhere out in the aether. Im pretty sure I was listening to some odd South American newscast, but the content doesnt really matter..it’s the quality of the voice that kills me. And the waves of static that breathe over it.
Instantly I ported the audio into Record and used it as a base for some Ambient/slow ballad tracks Im working on. I expect to stay up late tonight, as shortwave is a night owls occupation because the signal dissipates in the day. The best time (strongest signal) is usually dusk…
Watching the sun rise with headphones playing a Russian newscast…Now that’s heavenly
God this thing makes me happy.
