stopGOstop: field recordings, sound collage, and sound art

Over the past month and a half, I’ve been working on an archive project—digging up and remastering radio work I was involved in from 2004–2006. I’ll be re-releasing select episodes as a part of this podcast. If you are interested, you can follow the progress of the archive here. The first release is Episode 10, one of the more straightforward early shows, where Richard, Philip, and I showed up at the station with bags of records and a computer, mixing around a theme for an hour. Blurb: Field recordings, weathered songs, and distant whale calls drift and collide, forming a sonic choir of ocean life, with sounds real, recorded, fabricated and imaginary. Performed by Richard Holland, Philip von Zweck and John Wanzel. Nautical Night  originally aired on August 8, 2004 live to air on WLUW 88.7 Chicago. Blind Spot (2004-2006): a weekly live experimental radio program exploring sound collage, performance, music, improvisation, and field recordings as a broadcast form.

Vim, Vigor and Vitality (or Arrangements Are in Hand or is it Self-Hypnosis) drifts between assertion and reassurance. A slow pulse moves underneath the piece, joined by the low, sustained presence of a cello. Voices surface in fragments, pause, and return, circling the British takeover of the Falkland Islands—not as a lesson in history, but as an echo that refuses to settle.

As the air cools, the water does not freeze all at once—it slows. Heat rises from the surface and meets the cold air above, creating a thin fog that drifts like breath. Small crystals begin to form in the moving water, collecting gradually. The sound thickens and settles, turning motion into stillness, one note at a time. Notes feel heavy and deliberate, low and steady, as they stretch and pull against themselves. Tension, then ease back, never rushing. Softly widening the space and letting the tones linger. And in the end, a drumline, to bring in the New Year. Thank you for listening.

Episode 205 of the stopGOstop podcast. Voices from day five of Apollo 11, moments of contemplation, and manipulated sounds. I attempted to upload this on the bus this morning, and the episode was corrupted. The data has been cleaned, and is now yours for the listening.

Last week we watched the 1983 made for tv movie The Day After. This weeks, a new piece consisting of sound collage, field recording and sonic composition.

Part four of a new composition.

A new composition of field recordings and a few notes. (part 3)

A new composition of field recordings and a few notes. (part 2)

A new composition of field recordings and a few notes.

A summertime groove for this holiday weekend, or as close to one as I can make.

A reflective flute, the slow moving, the low bass rattles, the echoes, repeating, the slow draw of a bow over a cello. A time of great potential.

Thinking back, talking a walk, and moving stones between pockets, stopGOstop is proud to present episode 197, Left to Right – Right to Left. One rock shifts to the left, one rock shifts to the right. Still I walk, still I move them, there’s been times… A multivoice monologue.

I woke up some years ago… and I ain’t sure I ever went back to sleep. Time got slippery. Lost its shape. Like water in your hands—no matter how tight you squeeze, it runs down the cracks, leaves you cold and wondering what you were trying to hold in the first place. Episode 196: Tending to. A monologue, a soundscape, a continuation of a story, and a story unrelated to anything. A dream, a conversation, a wind in the night.

Episode 195, To remember summer. Not the first summer on a calendar, but the first summer in feeling. The one that seemed to stretch on forever. The one that felt full of joy, play, and discovery. Maybe it was real. Maybe it’s just a mix of memories, TV shows, and time. The clatter and rush of a roller coaster, the soft conversation of the crowd, the sounds and thrill of being a kid again. The guitar drifts in and out, soft and slow, sometimes bright, sometimes hazy. The comfort of sunglasses. Glowing. No ending, no big moment. Just the warmth of the sun. The episode features a binaural field recording of Santa Monica Pier, recorded in 2018, and processed guitar.

It starts with just a few notes, a hum of a choir—soft, hesitant—and moves gently, the wind blowing in the distance, low, dark waves of sound roll through, like deep ocean currents under the surface. The calm is broken, light tapping, distant and unclear. Ocean waves roll in and out, soft and steady in the background, mixing with the low hum of a worn-out machine. Voices! The crowd erupts with joy! Neon buzzes faintly in the dark, footsteps, around the corner. stopGOstop is proud to present episode 194 of the podcast, From.

Lunar Orbiter 4 Image of the Moon, NASA We return to the story of Jonas and Kellen, now millions of miles apart, sending messages to each other. A team in the endless emptiness, patching together their space stations, and finding more than they expect. Changes, rewritten, modified. THE START OF EVERYTHING.

It starts with a spark. A small thing, barely there. Just a flicker of heat, of energy, but it’s enough. Enough to ignite the mix of air and fuel waiting in the chamber. Enough to turn that tiny explosion into movement. Moving, moving, always moving, progress has a price. stopGOstop presents The Ones That Pay, a monologue series delving into labor, industry, and history. A mechanic contemplates machines (Ep. 192), a bank teller follows the journey of money (Ep. 191), a bartender observes the night unfold (Ep. 190), a waitress moves through her routine (Ep. 189), and a driver drifts along endless highways (Ep. 188)—each navigating the rhythms of work, motion, and time.

The work moves through my hands, at the end of the day they are empty. Who leaves here feeling insecure, the push and pull of deposits and debts, paycheck by paycheck, the machine hums, a life behind glass, counting, always counting. stopGOstop present The Ones That Pay, a series of monologues exploring labor, industry, and history. A mechanic reflects on machines (ep. 192), a bank teller traces the life of money(ep. 191), a bartender watches the night unfold (ep 190), a waitress moves through routine(ep 189), and a driver drifts through highways (ep. 188)—each navigating the rhythms of work, motion, and time.

When your past is too painful, you do what you can to carry it without letting it drown you. A life behind the counter, a life full of listening to others. stopGOstop present The Ones That Pay, a series of monologues exploring labor, industry, and history. A mechanic reflects on machines (ep. 192), a bank teller traces the life of money(ep. 191), a bartender watches the night unfold (ep 190), a waitress moves through routine(ep 189), and a driver drifts through highways (ep. 188)—each navigating the rhythms of work, motion, and time.

You pour a cup of coffee, you hand it to them and then its there’s. The neon hums, the coffee drips, a women turns a sugar packet in her hands. On a piece of paper in a court house somewhere the world shifts. You can’t just ignore things forever, but isn’t that what we do. stopGOstop present The Ones That Pay, a series of monologues exploring labor, industry, and history. A mechanic reflects on machines (ep. 192), a bank teller traces the life of money(ep. 191), a bartender watches the night unfold (ep 190), a waitress moves through routine(ep 189), and a driver drifts through highways (ep. 188)—each navigating the rhythms of work, motion, and time.