Art is not something that comes up often in discussions about radio unless one is speaking of music. At least that used to be the case. A movement among certain performance artists towards creating audio art -- many times in the form of mashups created on the fly -- has been steadily rising.

Right now, for instance, there is quite an intriguing installation in Seoul, Korea, that is broadcasting through a temporary FM station built just for that purpose. I realize that performance art is something that eludes many people. They just do not quite get it. Heck, sometimes I do not get it. In this case, even if you have no interest in the artistic angle, you really should pay attention to the valuable insights about radio as a medium that are coming out of the effort.

Via The Korea Times:

According to the organizers of Sound Effects Seoul Radio 2008 (SFX Seoul), radio is definitely still alive and relevant.

"Radio is a presence in our lives. It's kind of like a soundtrack to our lives. Something that you don't know quite what to expect from, something always in the background and usually it is something that you don't pay attention to directly. …That's something similar to the way sound art is. Sound art is not an artwork that you can focus on. It is always affected by other sounds. There are a lot of parallels to that with radio. Radio is a medium for presenting sound art,'' Baruch Gottlieb, director and co-founder of SFX Seoul, told The Korea Times.

What I love about this is that it support assertions I find myself making frequently: things are changing, radio is still relevant, and that there is still an important and vibrant difference between radio and the web despite the convergent evolution of the two.

SFX Seoul includes a temporary radio station, which is intended to be an extension of Japanese artist Tetsuo Kogawa's Mini-FM concept, wherein hundreds of people set up their own mini-radio stations in Tokyo.

The event also explores whether radio is still relevant in the age of the Internet. "Why is it so important to broadcast? There are a few sides that are relevant. (Academic) Jonathan Stern says that one of the aspects of radio that makes it different from the Internet is that it is autonomous. While the Internet is tied up with servers and computers, Kogawa showed that with just $20 and a 9-volt battery you can broadcast to anybody within a kilometer. It has a very different presence from the Internet. Kogawa said radio is centripetal, not centrifugal, since it brings people together to the center,'' Gottlieb said.

You see? While the 21st Century trend towards audio art may not be your cup of tea, it can still offer insight and perspective on our own medium. This is the cutting edge of art, and they love radio. Keep in mind the "centripetal, not centrifugal" aspect Mr. Gottlieb mentioned. It is quite an insight and one that we will be returning to here on Radio2020.

Until later, Stay Tuned!

Photo courtesy of laszlo-photo used uder its Creative Commons license

By Anna Mudeva and Thomas Grove

Uncertain central Asian gas supplies have emerged as the largest threat to an EU scheme to provide an alternative to Russian gas following a month-long stand-off between Turkmenistan and Iran, analysts say.

The Nabucco gas pipeline project is designed to diversify the European Union's supplies but ironically places the bloc's energy security in the hands of producers who have no misgivings about turning off the tap, they said.

Turkmenistan, which Brussels has been trying to lure into becoming a major Nabucco supplier, cut off supplies to Iran at the end of December, creating a domino effect that stretched to Greece and raising doubts about its reliability as a supplier.

"Last week's developments haven't exactly helped Nabucco's arguments in favour of energy security," said Jonathan Stern of the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies.

"We have a situation where Turkmenistan has not supplied Iran, Iran has not supplied Turkey, Turkey has not supplied Greece. And this is the corridor that people want in Europe because they are worried about unreliable Russian gas," he said.

The Nabucco was born out of anxiety over Russian supplies when a political dispute between Moscow and Kiev cut exports in 2006. Russia supplies a quarter of the EU's gas and four-fifths of the exports travels via Ukraine.

Russia has also been pushing for another gas pipeline -- its own South Stream, which Brussels views as a rival to the Nabucco. Last Friday, Moscow secured the participation of new EU member Bulgaria in the ambitious 10 billion euro project.

Some commentators say joining South Stream, which aims to meet all central and southern Europe gas demand from 2013 via a pipeline under the Black Sea, could weaken Bulgaria's political support for Nabucco and deal a blow to the EU plans.

No guaranteed supplies

But energy analysts argue that Nabucco -- due to bring gas from untapped fields in the Caspian and Middle East via Turkey and the Balkans to Austria -- faced much bigger challenges than South Stream, primarily lack of guaranteed supplies.

"There are a lot things that are making Nabucco difficult. It's not impossible but it's relying on a lot of ifs, which right now are not settled," said Charles Esser, energy analyst at Brussels-based International Crisis Group.

Turkmenistan, along with Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Iran, Egypt and even Iraq have all been mentioned as possible suppliers to the long-delayed 31 billion cubic metre (bcm) pipeline.

So far the shareholders of the 5 billion euro ($7.21 billion) Nabucco have signed an import agreement with Azerbaijan, but volumes will not be enough to make the scheme viable.

Esser and other experts say the EU had to bring investment to develop new fields and infrastructure in Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan, where reserves are rich but infrastructure is lacking beyond pipelines leading to Moscow and China.

Gazprom buys the bulk of Turkmen gas production, or around 50 bcm, as well as volumes from Kazakhstan, for re-export to Ukraine and western Europe. And that agreement was revised last year to expand the existing pipeline infrastructure by as much as 20 bcm, pushing imports to Russia higher.

But analysts say the problems only begin with Moscow's influence.

"Gas coming from central Asia, apart from being largely reserved by Russia, has the problems of infrastructure and regional politics to establish that infrastructure," said Turkey-based independent energy analyst Necdet Pamuk.

Even if European investment were to break Russia's stranglehold on the country, it is unclear whether Turkmenistan would open up to foreign investment and play by the rules.

"If they have investment, they shouldn't change the conditions or allow for double standards," said Fatih Birol, chief economist at Paris-based International Energy Agency.

Analysts, who say price disputes are the real issue behind the recent Turkmen gas cut, predict that the Caspian country would continue to flex its resource-owner muscle and pitch customers against each other.

The construction of a Trans-Caspian pipeline linking Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan that could provide an independent route to the West has been frozen by conflicting claims between the two over reserves in the Caspian.

Meanwhile Iranian gas, which Turkey has offered to supply for Nabucco, has been turned down by Brussels, as the Islamic Republic is subject to United Nations sanctions over its nuclear programme. Iran has a poor track record as a supplier due to underdeveloped infrastructure.