Plugged In

As a small boy one of my prize purchases was a set of headphones bought from an army surplus shop. Despite their ‘mad max’ appearance they were  customised for use with a home made stereo system constructed from old valve amplifiers. The rubber cased headphones enabled me to isolate myself from the rest of the household with the help of a vinyl record and valve volume. I can remember the smell of dust burning and sparking from the heat of the valves.

Dj entertaining London & Barth's hospital workers, 2004

I was considered odd because of the time I spent listening to music through headphones in my box room with a bed and glowing valves.

A young man wearing headphones on the 25 bus, 2005

My first headphones were made of bakelite and were designed for use with a 1920’s crystal set I was given when I was 12. The apparatus worked with the back up of a substantial ariel. The headphones and small biscuit like crystal case with a variable condenser was earthed to a radiator next to my bed and the aerial was a piece of wire stretching from my bedroom to the top of a cherry tree in the back garden. It sounded magnificent despite, or probably because of, the crackles. You could argue we’ve come a long way with digital radio. Alternatively the sheer random behaviour of the crystal set puts it at the top of the gadget pantheon. It requires no energy and offers a playlist largely determined by climatic conditions. Perhaps the young man (above) knows exactly where I’m coming from. He has no time for flimsy ear pieces and has sensibly wrapped himself in practical high fidelity rather than skeletal ear plugs.

Rickshaw driver with 'ipod' earplugs, Dhaka 2009