Geisterstunde (ghost hour/ witching hour) is an experimental, informative programme dedicated to the ghosts of radio. It tells the story of the invention of radio and the tales of magic, the occult and the paranormal that accompanied it. Between music, experimental sounds and stories, we talk about historical facts as well as myths, literature, film and pop culture. In Geisterstunde we trace paths through the various circuits of media history and the adjacent speculations in the ether. We talk about who was involved in the development of radio and electromagnetic transmission, and which ghosts and theories intervened along the way, when and how. Geisterstunde is not a spiritual or religious show, nor is it a horror show or particularly scary. It might get a little spooky in between, but isn't radio always a little spooky?

Geisterstunde is broadcast both in Englisch and in German, sometimes only one of the two languages

Knisternde Kassettenband-Stimmen, melancholische Samples und spukende Schallplatten. Was sind „Sonic Spectres“?

Die erste Geisterstunde ist eine sanfte und lose Einführung in die Zusammenhänge zwischen Kommunikationstechnik und dem Okkulten. Mit einem steten Fokus auf Geschichten und Glauben rund um Geister nähere ich mich Begriffen wie Spiritismus, Hauntology und dem des „Sonic Spectre“ und spiele dabei viel thematische Musik zwischendurch. Spukende Beatles Platten spielen dabei ebenso eine Rolle wie Kassettenrekorder, modifizierte Radioempfänger, digitales Sampling und eine elektrische Zahnbürste.

Denn: Hinter geisterhaften Phänomenen, Gefühlen und Spuk finden sich oft Erklärungen, die bestimmte Entwicklungen in unserem Umgang mit Natürlichem und Technologischem und unsere Wünsche und Hoffnungen an Natur und Technologie offen legen können. Sei es das Internet, Funkwellen oder „Zombie“-Materialien wie Plastik, die sich nur widerwillig zersetzen und die Umwelt und unsere Körper auf bösartige Weise heimsuchen, geisterhafte Architekturen, architektonische Lücken oder Zombie-Medien- und Technologien: Durch eine kritische Beschäftigung mit den materiellen wie gesellschaftlichen Prozessen, die hinter dem Abwesenden oder Unsichtbaren liegen, lassen sich Geschichten über unsere Gegenwart neu erzählen.

Historian and Sound artist John Harvey talks about the acoustic dimension of occult technology, from obsidian discs to phonographs, from shortwave radio to EVP softwares and self-playing computers.

Every radio broadcast and the ghostly nature of radio begins with sound recording.
For this programme I spoke to John Harvey, musician and historian, and Emeritus Professor of Art and Sound Art at the School of Art in Aberystwyth, Wales. John Harvey conducts both academic and artistic research into the sonic and visual culture of religion. He has published widely on popular religious movements, the supernatural and working class traditions, often focussing on John’s native Wales. In 2013 his article was published: The Ghost in the Machine: Spirit and Technology‘, in the Ashgate Research Companion to Paranormal Culture and more recently last year his album ‚Spirit Communication‘ was released, also based on technological ghostly apparitions. The article and album prompted me to ask John Harvey to talk to me not only about the sonic and sound art dimension of ghosts, but also about the 19th century, why electricity triggered or fuelled a new wave of ghost beliefs and what the history of sound recording has to do with it. I’m also particularly looking forward to discussing his album „Spirit Communication“ with John in the second part of the programme and playing some excerpts from this album.

In this Geisterstunde, guest Carmel Raz discusses romantic ideas about the influence of vibratory forces on the human body and nervous system and how they evolved into and were accompanied by occult imaginations on magnetism and electromagnetism. We talk about the role of female patients in medical and occult experiments, explore aeolian harps and other ethereal instruments and touch upon hypnosis and manifesting wishes on instagram.
Carmel Raz is a musician, music theorist and currently leads the research group „Histories of Music, Mind and Body“ at the Max Planck Institute for Empirical Aesthetics in Frankfurt am Main.