News/September 2020

Listen to secrets

Click here to download the Rider Spoke tour pack

In 2007 we made Rider Spoke. In the work you cycle alone through the city with a smartphone on your handlebars and a voice in your ear. You answer questions – choosing the perfect place to hide your answers – and then ride on to find recordings hidden by other people. It’s part late night pirate radio station, part anonymised social network. 15,000 recordings have been made and the work has travelled to over 20 cities around the world.

We are now redeveloping the work from scratch (the first version was made before smartphones existed) and we’re curious to see how it works in a socially distanced world. Like a piece of theatre, you buy a ticket and come to a venue to begin. But once you start to ride, you’re on your own. You might catch a glimpse of other riders but you are mostly looking inward.

It’s a work about intimacy through distance and anonymity. It’s an opportunity to say things into the night that might otherwise go unsaid. And there is a fascination in hearing what others have shared. As we re-emerge from private spaces into a shared world, we will need forms of common experience. We need live performance and the presence of others. But we have to find it in new ways. We hope Rider Spoke can play a part in that process.

 

If you are interested in learning more about Rider Spoke please get in touch with us at [email protected] or take a look at the info pack here. We’ll also be releasing some of our favourite recordings from Rider Spoke this month – please keep an eye out on our social channels.