The Megapolis Audio Festival (aka MEGAPOLIS) is a weekend-long event dedicated to the art of sound and to do-it-yourself ( DIY) culture. The festival serves as a forum for artists, documentarians, musicians, and fans to come together to share secrets on producing and presenting challenging audio works online, on-air, and on the stage. Traveling to a new city each year to connect artists from around the world with local artists and arts organizations, MEGAPOLIS remains an affordable event where people of all ages can educate and inspire each other to hear the world differently. MEGAPOLIS was founded in 2008 by Justin Grotelueschen (managing director) and Nick van der Kolk (of

Love and Radio ''Love and Radio'' (stylized ''Love + Radio'') is an American audio podcast directed by Nick van der Kolk and produced by Phil Dmochowski and Steven Jackson. ''Love and Radio'' originally began in 2005 as a series of self-distributed episodes, a ...

) and is administered by a new team of organizers each year. The name ''Megapolis'' is a variation of '' megalopolis'', referring originally to the

Northeast megalopolis The Northeast megalopolis, also known as the Northeast Corridor, Acela Corridor, Boston–Washington corridor, or BosWash, is the world's largest megalopolis in terms of economic output and the second most populous megalopolis in the United St ...

of the United States and to the

cultural influence Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups.Tylor ...

of an urban environment on the soundscape.

Past festivals

2009

The inaugural MEGAPOLIS Audio Festival kicked off in Cambridge, Massachusetts, starting on April 24, 2009, at the Massasoit Elks Lodge and continuing April 25 and 26 at the Pierre Menard Gallery, with some events in Boston. Featured events included: * A performance by

Gregory Whitehead Gregory Whitehead (Nantucket, MA) is a writer, radio program maker and audio artist based in Lenox, Massachusetts. Allen S. Weiss considers him to be a major figure in the fields of audio art and radio art.Allen S. Weiss, ''"Lost Tongues and Disa ...

, radio theatre legend * An audio documentary listening room from the Third Coast International Audio Festival * An opening night of intense musics led by

The Lothars ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in E ...

, theremin-infused psych rock from Boston, along with a typewriter orchestra, a man manipulating the radio waves with a steering wheel, and a demonstration of culinary auditory delights Over 40 artists from across North America and from countries beyond combined with local artists to perform, install works, and conduct workshops and tours under the general theme of the megapolis, including: * workshops for building your own instruments and contact microphones * an audio-making slumber party * a bicycle-powered 8-track player * a clandestine audio tour of an insane asylum * a presentation on the cross-pollination of poetry and sound Co-sponsored Festival events included a media archaeology of Boston at the

Carpenter Center Carpentry is a skilled trade and a craft in which the primary work performed is the cutting, shaping and installation of building materials during the construction of buildings, ships, timber bridges, concrete formwork, etc. Carpenters tr ...

at Harvard University, a live cello score of a museum construction at the

Axiom Gallery Christine Abrahams Gallery, first named Axiom, was a Melbourne gallery showing contemporary Australian art between 1980 and 2008. Foundation Christine Abrahams (5 March 1939 – 15 September 1994) graduated with a Bachelor of Arts from Melbourne ...

in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts, and a live performance of the WNYC science program

Radio Lab ''Radiolab'' is a radio program produced by WNYC, a public radio station in New York City, and broadcast on public radio stations in the United States. The show is nationally syndicated and is available as a podcast. Live shows were first offe ...

at the

Museum of Science The Museum of Science (MoS) is a science museum and indoor zoo in Boston, Massachusetts, located in Science Park, a plot of land spanning the Charles River. Along with over 700 interactive exhibits, the museum features a number of live prese ...

in Boston.

2010

The second MEGAPOLIS occurred in

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 30th most populous city in the United States with a population of 585,708 in 2020. Baltimore was d ...

, Maryland starting on May 14 at the Windup Space and continued May 15 and 16 starting at the Hexagon Gallery. The 2010 event featured several high-profile artists including: * Felix Kubin, sci-fi music and radio visionary from Germany *

Lucky Dragons Lucky Dragons is an experimental music group consisting of Luke Fischbeck and Sarah Rara. Based in Los Angeles, California, the band are noted for their unusual sound, described as having the ability to make "'everyday sounds' become alluringly ...

, psychedelic electronic artists from Los Angeles * David Kestenbaum, science and economics correspondent for NPR Over 60 artists from around the world interpreted the festival theme of travel during: * audio scavenger hunts with iPhones and low-wattage transmitters * collaborative sound-making performances using contact mics attached to parachutes and knitting needles * 1-800-numbers that attendees could call that dealt out exercises and suggestions designed to elicit aural experiences * booths where participants could retell their nightmares and strain to hear to tiny sounds * existentialist theatrical tours led by gnomes who encounter deviant characters along a path to 'enlightenment' * audio transmissions between live-mic'd venues using FM and shortwave radio

2013

The third MEGAPOLIS Audio Festival took place in New York City, from April 19–21, 2013, with most events happening in and around the New School. More than 100 artists participated including: * Leif Elggren *

Mountains A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually higher th ...

(Thrill Jockey records) * Flutronix *

Kitchen Sisters The Kitchen Sisters are Davia Nelson and Nikki Silva, who are National Public Radio radio producers in the United States. About Nelson and Silva met in 1979, in Santa Cruz, California. Silva was curating museum exhibits about local history, ...

( NPR) Artists loosely interpreted the festival theme of tourism through more than 60 events such as: * “noise” karaoke, where participants sing hit songs as the DJ mangles their vocals through live processing * Foley effect workshop recording food items then sampled and mixed live in a dance music tent * helmet that used bone conduction to “hear” sounds * experimental one-man theatre backed by suffocating noise music and harrowing spoken word * global experiments in musical improvisation using telecommunications networks

2015

The fourth MEGAPOLIS was the first held outside the

, instead popping up within the

Northern California Northern California (colloquially known as NorCal) is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises the northern portion of the U.S. state of California. Spanning the state's northernmost 48 counties, its main population centers incl ...

megaregion. This event kicked off at The LAB in San Francisco CA on July 5, 2015, continuing the 6th at various venues in

Oakland Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third largest city overall in the Bay A ...

before landing at the

Omni Commons The Omni Commons is a group of nine collectives in San Francisco's San Francisco Bay Area, Bay Area devoted to Do it yourself, DIY and community education. It traces its inception to the Occupy movement, specifically Occupy Oakland, and was founded ...

on the 7th. Some of the artists featured that weekend: * Roman Mars, executive producer of highly acclaimed podcast 99% Invisible * Matmos, experimental electronic music duo; collaborated on albums with Icelandic musician

Björk Björk Guðmundsdóttir ( , ; born 21 November 1965), known mononymously as Björk, is an Icelandic singer, songwriter, composer, record producer, and actress. Noted for her distinct three-octave vocal range and eccentric persona, she has de ...

* Al Letson, Peabody-award-winning radio host, poet, playwright, and actor * Doseone, a poet, rapper, singer, painter, producer, and member of cLOUDDEAD, anticon, and more * Fantastic Negrito, winner of NPR's 2015 Tiny Desk Concert Contest * Kevin Blechdom (

Blectum From Blechdom Blectum from Blechdom is an electronic music duo, formed in 1998 by Kristin Erickson (Kevin Blechdom) and Bevin Kelley (Blevin Blectum). Erickson and Kelley met at Mills College in Oakland, California. They initially performed locally, in the San ...

), a Bay Area experimental electronic musician self-dubbed as an avenging angel of pop music * Song Exploder, a podcast where artists deconstruct their songs from the inside out * Gamelan X, ensemble that remixes the ritual of a

Bali Bali () is a province of Indonesia and the westernmost of the Lesser Sunda Islands. East of Java and west of Lombok, the province includes the island of Bali and a few smaller neighbouring islands, notably Nusa Penida, Nusa Lembongan, and Nu ...

nese procession with a decidedly west coast twist The theme of the 2015 MEGAPOLIS Festival was the

frontier A frontier is the political and geographical area near or beyond a boundary. A frontier can also be referred to as a "front". The term came from French in the 15th century, with the meaning "borderland"—the region of a country that fronts o ...

and featured 30 events including: * an immersive installation of sound-emitting light bulbs that react to your presence * interactive presentations on scientific innovations in music and storytelling through conscious thought control as well as infrasound imperceptible to the human ear * an exercise in rapid prototyping using the basics of design thinking to introduce the idea of iterative problem solving for artists * hacking and soldering workshops to create

Moldover Matthew Edwin Moldover (born April 24, 1980), known as Moldover, is a musician and instrument designer based in San Francisco, CA. The MIDI Manufacturers Association has referred to him as the "Godfather of Controllerism". He is known for his m ...

's Light-Theremin CD cases, low-wattage radio transmitters, homemade synthesizers, and manipulated game controllers * yoga together with drone music

References

External links

* {{cite web , title=MEGAPOLIS Festival website, url=http://megapolisfestival.org/ , website=Megapolis Festival , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150616123301/http://megapolisfestival.org/ , archive-date=2015-06-16 , language=en Arts festivals in the United States DIY culture