by LORRAINE CARPENTER

Drawing inspiration from the Church of Harvey Christ and channelling their disgust with Gulf War II, American right-wing radio and TV infotainment, Montreal artists Anna Friz and Annabelle Chvostek present the Automated Prayer Machine, an experimental performance melding music, ambient video and low-watt radio.

"Violent death and violent speech spill incessantly out of the receiver. We in the West can experience the worst of world events remotely, and the listener response to this aural bombardment is not one of action so much as depression, fear and political apathy," says Chvostek, a singer, songwriter and musician.

In this show, which Friz and Chvostek performed half a dozen times in Europe last winter, the radio becomes a vehicle for prayer, countering hate and authoritarian speech with hope and voices from the community.

"The idea was partly inspired by the prayer sheets circulated at Harvey Christ masses, where people jot down anything they want the group to pray for," says Friz, a sound artist who has incorporated radio into installations and performances since 1998.

"Prayer, like radio, expresses a desire for contact or union with others over space and time," Chvostek says. "We received a wide range of prayers on Anna's answering machine, from formal religious prayers to personal calls for remembrance, from earnest to silly. Even the smart-ass prayers are really genuine."

Wishing for an end to hunger, an end to worrying and an end to the Bush administration, among other global afflictions, the responders prayed in a dozen languages, from our two official tongues to Aramaic. Alongside two-watt FM transmitters and an antenna for live radio manipulations - as well as samples of the "hate-filled holy rollers" of the airwaves, originally recorded for Emmanuel Madan's Freedom Highway project - a Theremin, violin, sampler and effects will map the musical backdrop, a key component in the world of radio.

"When radio was a new medium in the early 20th century, many people were idealistic about the communication and connection it would enable," says Friz. "We want to revive some of that, while playing a requiem for the state of mainstream radio."

At the Rad'a Gallery (841 Gilford) on Saturday, Aug. 21, 9 P.M., $7

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