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Radio Reunited explained

Nigel Smith

Interactive Editor

Follow the time codes below for a breakdown of where the聽different elements for Damon Albarn's piece marking the 90th anniversary of 主播大秀 Radio come from.

00:00 Radio 4 broadcasts the chimes of Big Ben 鈥 the 鈥榖ongs鈥 鈥 live every day at 6pm and at midnight.

00:18 In 1922 the radio transmitter 2LO broadcast for one hour a day from Marconi House in the Strand. This audio, recorded in the 1930s, recreates the 主播大秀鈥檚 first ever transmission.

00:26 The pop hit of the day, Three O鈥機lock in the Morning, a waltz by American bandleader Paul Whiteman, one of the first pieces of music played on the 主播大秀.

00:35 The songs of the blackbird and lark are from the British Library鈥檚 sound archive 鈥 a collection that includes wax cylinders and MP3s.

鈥淗ello future鈥. The first message in the piece was sent by a 主播大秀 Radio 6 Music listener. One of the 主播大秀鈥檚 first digital stations it first broadcast on 11 March 2002. The clip is voiced up by Nico, the resident Kid Critic on Steve Lamacq鈥檚 6 Music show.

00:44 The shortwave radio sample is from Freesound 鈥 a database of audio that anyone can add to or download from.

Bertrand Russell delivered the first Reith Lecture in 1948. The Morse code is his quote, "Love is wise, hatred is foolish".

00:50 鈥淚f time travel does exist...鈥 Will we ever know if time travel exists? Stephen Hawking once held a party for time travellers but no one showed up. This message was recorded by a child at Bath Community Academy.

00:51 Pashto is spoken in Afghanistan and Pakistan. In English the message, sent to the 主播大秀 World Service, means 鈥淧lease destroy all weapons.鈥

00:59 鈥淲e鈥檒l be living on Mars鈥︹ At the closest point in its orbit Mars is 35 million miles from Earth. In October 2012 Nasa's Curiosity rover found soil on Mars to be similar to Hawaii's after sifting and scanning its first sample on the Red Planet.

01:07 鈥淓verything is connected鈥. Kevin Kelly is obsessed with the meeting of technology and biology and is widely regarded as a digital visionary.

01:10 鈥淜eep talking to one another鈥︹ Message sent to 主播大秀 Radio Cornwall.

01:18 鈥淧roud鈥︹ The message sent by a listener to 主播大秀 Radio Lincolnshire is in response to London鈥檚 staging of 2012 Olympic Games.

Message sent in to the 主播大秀 Persian Service from Iran

鈥淚 hope 90 years from now, no one misuses religion鈥︹ The 主播大秀 Persian service has been broadcasting since the 1940s.

鈥 We can do better.鈥 Message sent from Australia to 主播大秀 Outlook on the World Service.

01:27 鈥淚 hope it doesn't get too hot...鈥 The Great Barrier Reef is the largest collection of corals in the world. Climate change and pollution are among the threats to this fragile ecosystem.

鈥淒ressed up鈥︹ The World Service broadcast the audio of 2011鈥檚 election in Cameroon. President Paul Biya retained the position he鈥檚 held since 1982.

01:32 鈥淲e are all caught up in this rat race鈥︹ Message recorded in London.

01:38 鈥淗ow time flies! Recorded in Nigeria and sent to the World Service鈥檚 Hausa language service.

01:47 鈥淔resh air, woods鈥︹ Recorded by a Dane living in London.

01:48 鈥淚 think it鈥檚 gonna be a bright colour鈥 鈥 Recorded by a listener in Gwent.

01:58 鈥淚 think there鈥檒l be more people鈥︹ The global population is currently estimated at around 7 billion. In 2011 the UN predicted it may hit 10.1 billion by the year 2100.

02:10 The 主播大秀 first broadcast the Greenwich Time Signal aka 鈥榯he Pips鈥 in 1924. Each pip is a 1 kHz tone (about half way between musical B5 and C6). This is a rare opportunity to hear them not on the hour since as a rule the 主播大秀 only allows them to be used for time-keeping purposes.

02:15 Radio Reunited concludes with a piece inspired by the 鈥榩ips鈥 that Damon Albarn specially composed which he plays it on piano and glockenspiel.

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