Shipwreck Radio - July 28

It’s that time of year when a (no longer) young man’s thoughts turn naturally to the Sonic Structures and Enigmatic Episodes of Shipwreck Radio. Read the introduction to this series here.

 

JULY 28 - SHIPWRECK RADIO VOLUME TWO

Here we are, the final chronological track of Shipwreck Radio—it starts with the opening chimes and welcomings stretched and compressed like taffy. After the opening, we get the low rumble, slowly building in the background, and then a shrieking whistling, that will dominate the track, comes piercing in. Around a minute, a ghostly wavering tone, like a moaning wind joins as well. Sometimes the whistling takes on a more ringing quality, but sometimes it's just piercing and biting as it floats above the ghostly moans and low background rumble.
These sonic structures swirl and dance slowly as the track glides along, both soothing and sharp. At six and a half minutes the moaning wind is turned into a soft, stuttering beat, before it fades away, replaced by a new wind that floats quietly behind the now grinding high pitch. At ten minutes the high tones double, into a buzzing and a ringing as the wind sweeps behind them. The whistling begins to peak at higher and higher tones, piercing into your skull as it dares you to turn off the track, the gentle wind blowing in to provide a comforting layer to retreat to when the shrill tone fades for a second, right up until the 15th minute when the whistle fades quickly ushering in the end of the track.