Horizontal radio is a seminal project prior the structuring of Internet that has deeply integrated the radio, the telematic networks and physical places of performances. The project developed in 1995 a 24hour non stop event which involved hundreds of people around Europe, North America, Australia and Middle East.

Horizontal Radio is a telematic simultaneous event, taking place live in a network of actively interconnected radio stations delineating the territory of European Broadcasting Union, over 20 radio stations world-wide plus active participation from network nodes. Active means: – not to be distributed from a centre; – replacing the vertical hierarchical demarcation of transmitter and receiver by a communal platform of alternating communication flows; – a collective body of equal transmitters. HR extends the institution radio beyond its function of transmitting programming, in fact it has been seen as the actual means of production and as an instrument and tool of artistic processes.

Mediterranean network

The starting point is the analogue cable and broadcasting network of the EBU which serves as a primary telematic sphere of action and was connected in several cases to independent radiostations or interfered with pirate radio. The stations interlinked at the highest level possible form the backbone of the overall network, as a consequence there is the formation of regional subnetworks, which share high-quality lines to the next subnetworks. The following variant was discussed at the Wroclav Meeting in 1994 as a configuration for such subnetworks:
North European network: Benelux, Scandinavia (possibly two subnetworks)
Central European network: Austria (Linz), Slovenia, Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary
West European network: Switzerland, Germany, Austria (Innsbruck), Italy (Bolzano)
Mediterranean network: Italy (Rome, Naples), Spain, Israel
Atlantic network: Canada, London-Moscow axis
Effectively, in 1995 the Mediterranean network became active with the artistic direction of Roberto Paci Dalò by connecting Italy, Greece, Israel, Palestine, San Marino, Spain. In Italy, the network extends from Bolzano to Naples, in Bologna Rai collaborates with three independent radio – Radio Città del Capo, Radio Kappa Centrale, Radio Popolare Network which acts also in Milan, Florence, Rome, and Radio 103.

In fact

The framework of the stations interconnected with one another on a technically advanced level – stereo broadcasting channels – serves as base or docking stations for additional participating stations, which can be connected with a minimum of technical effort. These docking stations also carry out the task of routing. This means that each station does not have to establish direct contact to every station in oder to be connected to all of them. Linked to the network was the rising Internet, which served as a medium of access and distribution beyond the broadcasting range of the participating radio stations but also in some aspects as a possibility to influence the broadcasts.

In Linz

Inside the ORF studio in Linz, determined by the characteristic of the activities (ftp, telnet, http, ecc.) through their origin (user’s IP address), TCP (transmission control protocol)/IP data packets are converted into MIDI codes, and control a sparkling soundscape that is forming into ever new constellations.

Double CD

Every location in the network received and recorded a different version of the project – the material was sampled, remixed and retransmitted so that it was no longer possible to identify the source or the author. After long discussion between ORF Kunstradio, Ars Electronica Center and Transit it was decided to ask Rupert Huber to make a selection from the more than 100 hours of sound material recorded in Vienna. The result is less a documentation of Horizontal Radio than a fascinating listening experience – to be heard in sequence or at random. But most of all the intent was to make available the samples on these 2 CDs to be used/recycled for new compositions, radio works, performances or future world-wide events.