Numbers Stations

Numbers stations are shortwave radio stations of uncertain origin. They generally broadcast voices reading streams of numbers, words, letters (sometimes using a radio alphabet), tunes or morse code. - Wikipedia

This is a collaborative piece with Ben Walker as part of the Contextual Villains Collaborative.

http://www.thecontextualvillains.org

The audio track is compiled from two samples of number station broadcasts. One layer is of a woman sounding out numbers at random in Polish, another of a man speaking Russian. I used a segment of Steve Reich's 'Sextet (Part III) with Members of Nexus' and finally an abstract sound scape I made using Reason v4.

Category:

Film & Animation

Tags:

• number
• stations
• art
• experimental
• shortwave
• radio
• spy
• secret
• signals
• documentary
• informatic

[Griffo619]

THE NUMBERS, MASON!

Sorry, I had just had to.

[splicegraph]

@Griffo619 :)

[HcmJames]

is it at all possible to track the signal?

[splicegraph]

@HcmJames I imagine it is, the only thing that may be prohibitive would be the cost of equipment and time involved to do so. In the case of Mexican drug cartels, law enforcement has been able to track signals of a similar sort to the source.

[magpuss]

A very beautiful little film. Thank-you.

[splicegraph]

@magpuss Cheers.

[Harryman86]

OK, now I'm sure that a man is speaking Polish, and a women is speaking Czech .

[davidasleep01]

digital radio put all this beauty to death

[BadazzJupiter]

@Griffo619 Nothing like a good Ol' Black Ops reference. Lol.

[unknownNODE]

@pricture just get a "world band receiver". it may cost a lot less. ive picked up a spanish numbers station using one.

[junkheadrev]

my balls itch,i think i have 10011101

[BouncePounce]

I get this 1990's nostalgia feeling by watching this video.

[Biodeamon]

Now i'm going to have nightmares about numbers....1010101010101010101­201010101010101010101010101010­101010101010101010101....

[migell]

@splicegraph actually since it is shortwave it bounces in the atmosphere making it impossible to track

[pricture]

I need to get me a Ham radio.....anyone know where to get a Ham radio? xP

[UK31337]

The repeating notes in the background at the beginning sound like the old Volkswagen door chimes from back in the day :)

[RomanticsInc]

That was a great movie!