In this episode of Sound Files, get ready to explore the amazing world of Citizen DJ with its brilliant creator, Brian Foo! This isn’t your usual sound archive — it’s a wild, fun playground where historic audio comes alive, thanks to the Library of Congress. Hear how kids and hip hop artists alike are diving into thousands of public domain recordings — from early motion pictures and jazz to folk and opera - and transforming history into new beats and soundscapes. Whether you’re a history buff or just love fresh music, Citizen DJ lets you remix the past in ways you never imagined — making sound preservation fun, funky, and unexpected!
The episode introduces the Citizen DJ project. The project uses historical audio, which has been preserved and digitized at the Library of Congress, in a custom platform that allows users to remix and save new audio clips. Explore the project with host Jesse Johnston, meet the the creator of Citizen DJ, Brian Foo, and learn about how it’s being used in youth programming projects by Rashard Dobbins at Class Act Detroit. Find out how archival audio from the past can drop into fresh beats through the Citizen DJ project!
Explore Citizen DJ on your own at www.citizen-dj.labs.loc.gov and dive deeper into the Library of Congress’ vast audio collection at www.loc.gov/audio/.
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Episode Credits
Sound Files is presented by the National Recording Preservation Foundation (NRPF), an independent nonprofit dedicated to preserving recorded sound history with generous support from the University of Michigan School of Information and other NRPF supporters. Learn more or make a donation at www.recordingpreservation.org.
Jesse Johnston, creator of Sound Files and a Clinical Assistant Professor at the University of Michigan School of Information, hosts the podcast. Teresa Carey is the senior producer, editor, and creative lead for Morse Alpha Studios, which produced this podcast. Writing is by Jacob Pinter, field production by Steve Lack, and sound engineering by Ben Carey. Original music by Evan Haywood.
