Author: Andrew Grantham

Riff Raiders single “Sound Mirror”

Posted on by Andrew Grantham

Melbourne, Australia, based “modern hard rockers, Riff Raiders have dropped their latest single SOUND MIRROR and accompanying video to celebrate the physical release of their new album Welcome to Mars.”

The video features an Abbot’s Cliff-esque sound mirror.

Melbourne modern hard rockers, Riff Raiders have dropped their latest single SOUND MIRROR and accompanying video to celebrate the physical release of their new album Welcome to Mars […]

So, what’s a sound mirror. They’re giant experimental concrete “acoustic ears” that were placed along the British coast in the 1920s to detect enemy aircraft, before the world had radar.

The song Sound Mirror delivers a classic hard rock punch with massive riffs, a dark stoner groove, and the ominous weight of a pre-radar world on edge and draws inspiration from how sound mirrors might have been used in World War 2, before radar changed warfare forever.

Following the success of their set on Mars Broken Halo video, this music video was once again created and directed by Raiders guitarist and songwriter Marty Powell. The video imagines an alternate reality in which those eerie listening monuments became an active line of defence against an imaginary European enemy, with an Edwardian Pinky Blinders type character scanning the skies for an approaching invasion. The video hits heavy, brooding and is cinematic in an Oppenheimer way, and is another perfect example of mixing creativity, sweat and tears with new technology.
Source: RIFF RAIDERS SOUND MIRROR IS WATCHING OUT FOR YOU – SINGLE DROPS 26 July 2026

Concrete at War photo exhibition

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Concrete at War photo exhibition by Mark Wrigley.

Concrete at War is a photographic study documenting Britain’s coastal wartime defences. […]

The exhibition features ‘sound mirrors,’ an ingenious acoustic method for detecting enemy aircraft developed between the two world wars. This technology was remarkably analogue, requiring minimal electronics, with amplification provided simply through stethoscopes. The collection includes a 3D printed model of the imposing 30-foot sound mirror at Dungeness—the product of a lockdown project meticulously modelled entirely from web-sourced imagery.

US ‘Sound Mirror’ art exhibition

Posted on by Andrew Grantham

VISITOR CENTER is pleased to present its inaugural exhibition ‘Sound Mirror,’ a solo exhibition by Audra Wolowiec featuring works on paper and sculptures investigating the materiality of sound and their visual manifestations.

Sound or Acoustic Mirrors are large parabolic cement structures that were built along the coast of England in the early 1900’s as listening devices to detect the approach of enemy aircraft. Soon made obsolete by new technology, these architectural forms punctuate the landscape, as reminders of the physicality of sound. Works in the show, from large handmade paper waveforms, to cast concrete and ceramic sculptures, mine materiality through surface echoes and reciprocal wave patterns. These series are in conversation with Wolowiec’s work with language-based sound scores in print and book form.

The exhibition is at Newburgh in New York state, USA, and is open from October 9 to December 18 2021

Sound mirror made for the 2015 Royal Academy Summer Show

Posted on by Andrew Grantham

1:200 scale sound mirror made for the Royal Academy Summer Show 2015. “This concept model was made from acrylic and brass etching. It was predominately a flat base with a contoured detail depicting part of the Essex coastline. The idea was based on the concrete radar reflectors built during the Second World War.” Artist Hannah Sawtell, architect Friend and Company.

Sound mirror talk and exhibition in Ramsgate

Posted on by Andrew Grantham

Sonic reflections

09/09/2020 | 5 p.m.

East Cliff Bandstand, Wellington Crescent, Ramsgate

This talk will see guest speakers discussing their experience in researching the history & archaeology of sound mirrors & acoustic detection in Kent. Please be aware the event will be subject to social distancing.

Speakers:

Peter Osborne was involved in publishing Richard Scarth’s important work on acoustic detection “Echoes From the Sky” & has conducted much personal research on the subject for books & articles.

Robert Hall has researched sound mirrors & contributed to publications on acoustic detection. He was also instrumental in assisting the National Trust’s excavation of the Fan Bay sound mirrors in Dover, 2014.

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Echoes: sound mirrors exhibition

10/09/2020 | noon

East Cliff Bandstand, Wellington Crescent, Ramsgate
This exhibition assesses the history of Kent’s coastal sound mirrors & their role in an unusual history of acoustic detection, for which the East Kent Coast played such a crucial part.

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Sound mirrors at the Ramsgate Festival of Sound 2020

Posted on by Andrew Grantham

The East Kent Coast Discovery Programme has received Arts Council funding to host an exhibition and installation on sound mirrors as part of the Ramsgate Festival of Sound.

Echoes explores the archaeology of sound by looking at Kent’s coastal sound mirrors, spherical dishes built in the early 20thC to reflect & concentrate soundwaves. Providing an early warning system against incoming aircraft they could approximate location & distance, helping to pave the way for radar positioning. By inviting guests to interact live with an immersive installation & sound piece using built acoustic mirrors, Echoes raises questions about sound, archaeology & human experience.

The event will be at the Eastcliff Bandstand, Ramsgate, CT11 8JL, from Thursday 10 September until Sunday 13 September 2020.