The basis for the sound installation in the urban space of Berlin-Adlershof was provided by authentic audio files from the German radio archive whose contents refer to the texts on the ellipsoid sound bodies.

Following the end of radio and television broadcasting in the GDR, the German radio archive in Berlin-Adlershof initially held collected archive stocks in the former GDR television (DFF) headquarters near the site of the aerodynamic park.

The archive was moved to Potsdam Babelsberg in 2000. In addition to numerous written documents, the considerable volume of visual and sound files are available for academic and research purposes as well as for use by public radio stations.
Besides radio and television features, the German radio archive’s sound collection was particularly useful for the sound pieces employed in the soundscape. This special archive encompasses over 36,000 individual sounds recorded on 12,000 audiotapes and is distinguished by a great thematic variety of materials.

For AIR BORNE, Stefan Krüskemper researched and selected numerous recordings on the theme of flight from the sound archive (such as historical audio files of biplanes and zeppelins, air traffic control centres and cockpit recordings) as well as radio contact, radio interference signals, recordings of military sounds, technical compression equipment and wind tunnels. These were then complemented with radio features and television documentaries including interviews with eye witnesses from the Johannisthal airport and aviation specialists from the early days.