LIFE BEFORE (No. 1)

03/25/20

by Jeremiah Chiu

Challenging times call for creative solutions. 

You’re listening to LIFE BEFORE on 105.5FM WLPN-LP Lumpen Radio Chicago & Worldwide on lumpenradio.com. Additional broadcasts of this stream can be found on dublab.com and twitch.tv/someallnone. Generous support for this program comes from Quarantine Times, a publishing sector of Public Media Institute, Chicago, IL.

LIFE BEFORE (No. 1) is an hour-long soundbath—an audio-collage compiling voice memos, field recordings, reflections, and expressions of life before social distance and self-isolation. 

Beyond an archival series, LIFE BEFORE is a space for reflection, experimentation, and exploration in audio, in visual art, and in language, inviting guest contributors, hosts, and collaborators to each volume. The volatile and asynchronous nature of our time warrants an equal response. Think of LIFE BEFORE as a series of hybrid-works created by artists, designers, writers, musicians, and all who straddle these lines and classifications, less tethered as a response to the current global crisis, but certainly catalyzed in the cloud of this pandemic. 

A short reflection on No.1: 

It was much more emotional than I thought it would be—putting this collage together. Like uncovering a box of pictures in your closet when preparing to move—you see it, open it, and hours pass drifting back to each moment. This was a different situation, though, as some of these recordings—these moments—were captured a mere two weeks ago. Two weeks ago with a mountain in between. As I compiled each clip—some of friends’ performances, others of random moments in nature—I found myself listening not to what I had recorded, but to what had been recorded around the subject.  

A walk down the street—people gathering in the park to listen to music—rain falling from the sky—rolled oats spread onto a tray—musicians singing in a garden at a museum—percussion clanking in an amphitheater—synthesizers ringing out in a bedroom—the sound of a wet street—clapping insects on a trail—a voice near a river—ice cream shared amongst friends—the sound of laughter—music in a cabin in the mountains—a cricket singing at night—a beetle circling a meadow—pedaling bicycles—a chorus of voices against a glass atrium—an aura reading—a piano playing near a window—a group of people juggling beach balls—a jazz quartet in a bar – raindrops on a windowsill—people dining in a restaurant while live music plays—water against the side of a boat—a piano in a church—crickets in a field  three friends play music—a dance class claps in rhythmic unison—crickets crickets crickets the hazy sound—of birds in a tree—a woman at a counter chatting—a conversation in a bar—guitars on—a couch—people together.

Beyond a response to the present moment, this exploration manifests as an opportunity to listen/look with new ears/eyes, to enjoy—bask in this newfound glow—and to respond with new, thoughtful approaches. 

Oscillate between feelings of isolation, distance, tranquility, frustration, quiet, loneliness; we attempt to replicate what our days and lives were like prior to this time of social distance. See this as an opportunity to explore both extremes. What is noise without silence? 

Now that we’ve been tossed into the deep end to figure it out, remember that floating comes through stillness. 

Next in the series:

Sonnenzimmer (aka Nick Butcher and Nadine Nakanish)


Submit your audio for future shows:

You are encouraged to participate. Send in your voice memos. 

Please send any submissions to info@someallnone.com with the subject line: LIFE BEFORE. Audio can be sent directly from voice memos app, any resolution. For hi-res and longer pieces, please use WeTransfer (wetransfer.com). 


Jeremiah Chiu is the Quarantine Times Wednesday editor. Each week, Jeremiah selects a Chicagoan to share a commissioned creative response to the pandemic.

Jeremiah Chiu is a Los Angeles-based creative director, conceptual artist, synthesist, and educator. From 2008-16 he served as co-founder and principal of Plural, an award-winning and internationally recognized design studio. His current practice, Some All None, is an extension of Plural—focused on merging art, music, and technology into new hybrid forms. He is a resident DJ at Dublab, a lecturer at Otis College of Art & Design and Art Center College of Design, and has exhibited/performed at The Getty Center, LACMA, and the MCA Chicago, amongst others. His music emphasizes his hybrid-interests—intersecting ambient, electronic, classical, pop, and experimental music into polyrhythmic melody, voice, and texture.

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