ALTERED STATES

June 16, 2026—DCTV’s Firehouse Cinema for Documentary Film

Track list:
Odyssey—Ron Hays
Ron Hays was a visionary electronic video artist and TV director who died in 1991 from complications of AIDS.  Odyssey (1979) was the first computer animation to be released on LaserDisc. 

Infinities—Boen Wang
Boen Wang is a writer, audio producer, and adjunct instructor at the University of Pittsburgh. 

The Expression of Zaar aka The Wire Recorder Piece—Halim El-Dabh
Halim El-Dabh was an Egyptian-American composer, musician, ethnomusicologist, and educator, who had a career spanning six decades. He is particularly known as a pioneer of electronic music. In 1944 he composed one of the earliest known works of musique concrète. This is notable because El-Dabh’s composition was made 4 years before the first works of musique concrète came out of France.  Check out a full album of his work here. 

Down Below—Nanna Hauge Kristensen (Starts at 3:40, however, we suggest listening to the whole episode!) You can see the painting here.
Nanna Hauge Kristensen is a Copenhagen-based anthropologist and audio creator. Down Below was commissioned by BBC Short Cuts produced by Falling Tree Productions.

Symphonie Pour un Homme Seul: Erotica—Pierre Henry + Pierre Schaeffer
These two Pierres were French composers known for their contributions to musique concrète.

Grams—Aaron Edwards
Aaron Edwards is an interdisciplinary director, story editor and writer working across text, stage and narrative audio. This piece was made for the first Audio Flux circuit.  

When You’re Sleeping I’m Awake—Suvi Tuuli Kataja
The documentary is the winner of the 2019 Finnish Shortdox competition and Nordic Shortdox competition. Suvi Tuuli Kataja is a Finnish director. She is working with new and experimental audio storytelling. It was subtitled by Radio Atlas.

The Night Watchman—Stephen Schwartz
Stephen Schwartz was a legendary radio producer. He spent most of his career making features at Danish Radio. He pioneered an interviewing practice now known as The Schwartz Technique. Subtitles provided by Radio Atlas.

The Live Schwartz – you had to be there. Thanks to Ryan and Danya for sharing their odorous stories. 

Dripsody—Hugh Le Caine
This piece was made in one night, from recordings of a drop of water falling into a bucket. Hugh Le Caine was a Canadian physicist, composer, and instrument builder.

Trip to the Dentist—Larry Massett
Larry Massett was an incredible, pioneering radio producer who died in 2025. Learn more about Larry and his work here. It is worth noting that Trip to the Dentist aired on NPR in 1977 and was made before digital audio was a thing. All tape baby!

Variations pour une porte et un soupir: Comptine—Pierre Henry
This entire album is made using the sound of a door and a breath.