A lot has changed in the world since the invention of wireless communication in 1901, when Guglielmo Marconi received the first transatlantic wireless signal and ushered in the age of radio.

This collaboration between the internationally renowned quintet Topology and the talented local trio Loops sends us hurtling backwards from 2001 to 1901 in a musical celebration of a century of radio. Originally commissioned for the Queensland Biennial Festival of Music in 2001, this 75-minute work takes the form of 99 brief tracks of radio clips accompanied by a unique musical score, projected images and film footage. This encore presentation was timed to celebrate the centenary of regular radio broadcast in Australia, which began in 1924.

Airwaves – 100 Years of Radio. Photo © Gemma Regan

The evening began with DJ JD (Loops’ Jonathan Dimond) tapping a warning in Morse code to turn off our phones (the large screen behind the eight musicians deciphering the code for all to oblige). Instantly, we were whirled back through time in a musical Tardis to experience the jubilations, achievements and horrors of the 20th Century.

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