Phonautograph (2014 Refix)

A recording made by Thomas Edison in 1877 has long been thought to be the first artificially recorded sound.  It turns out the first recordings were made in 1860 by Frenchman, Edouard-Leon Scott de Martinville, using a Phonautograph.  The recording medium was merely paper covered in soot, so the sound literally emerges from smoke.   As a result of advances in audio technology, these phonautograph recordings can now be heard again using lasers which do not damage or degrade these precious artifacts.  

This Deedlecast is a remastered and remixed ("refixed") version of the classic Deedlecast, "Phonautograph," which aired on June 20, 2008.  "Phonautograph" starts with the very first sound ever recorded using the phonautograph (albeit altered quite a bit by dj magic).  There are some other similarly altered phonautographic bits and pieces sprinkled throughout the show.

Learn more about the phonautograph.