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Hear Damon Albarn’s BBC ‘Radio Reunited’ Broadcast for the Future

Hear Damon Albarn BBC Radio Time Capsule

Damon Albarn’s audio time capsule was played across the BBC Radio empire yesterday, giving the man unprecedented simultaneous access to a global splay of as many as 120 million listeners. Of course, considering how much work he currently has in circulation — Bobby Womack, Blur, Gorillaz, Dr. Dee — he may rack up as many ears on a normal day as well.

As reported on Tuesday, Albarn was offered the distinct honor of creating an exclusive three-minute sound clip, using listener messages and scoring of his own design, in order to celebrate the 90th anniversary of the BBC’s first broadcast. Now, you can stream and download the sound collage, which is intended to be broadcast again in another 90 years.

The first new message comes from a child: “Hello future, I hope music still matters because music is everything. Without it, there’s nothing. Just silence.” What follows is an intricately overlaid compilation of hopes, dreams, and advice sourced from common people (easy — that was an unintentional Pulp reference), along with other significant bits and pieces woven in by Albarn.

Among those: the bells of Big Ben, a radio snippet from 1930, a Bertrand Russell quote in morse code, the Greenwich Time Signal (now available at any hour!), and an Albarn piano and glockenspiel piece inspired by those same so-called “pips.” For a full breakdown of each element, visit the BBC Radio Blog. Stream “Radio Reunited” below and download via BBC Radio at 90.