KPFA-FM Music Dept. ➔ Radio Event: No. 23: Chrysanthemum Chameleon

Analog Audio

Event Type

Intermedia and Visual Arts

Origin

KPFA

Identifier

RE.1973.06.07

Program Series

Radio Event

Program Length

44 min

Dates

1973-06-07 | broadcast
| 1973-06-07 | created

Description

One in a series of groundbreaking, audience participatory, Radio Events, produced by KPFA in Berkeley California. In this, the 23rd program in the series, Alex Dea and a group of 25 singers, invited the listening audience of KPFA to come to the studio, or gather at their home with friends and with the radio on, and join them in an evening of meditative chanting. In “Piece I” everyone was instructed to sing at their lowest note and gradually move to their highest note using any vowel sounds starting with “Z” (Za, Zay, Zee, etc...). “Piece II” started with “OM”, then moved to rhythmic repetitions of syllables beginning with “CH” (Chak, Chawk, Cha, Chee, etc...), and then more rhythmic repetitions of syllables starting with the letter “D”. The end result was a calming, consciousness raising, event that united listeners across the San Francisco Bay Area and beyond.

Genres

Interactive Art

Musical Selections

Piece I (6:14) -- Piece II (27:28)

Subjects

Participatory art
Interactive art
Audience participation radio programs
Music for meditation
Choruses
Vocalises

Acknowledgment

Funding for the preservation of this program made possible through a grant by the GRAMMY Foundation.

Related places

Berkeley (Calif.) (was recorded at)
Berkeley (Calif.) (was broadcast at)

Related Entities

KPFA (Radio station : Berkeley, Calif.)
Amirkhanian, Charles
Dea, Alexander