Know Wave: Channeling Culture

A five-foot-long mixing board complete with countless swivels, dials and controls. Gleaming silver and black dynamic mics hanging directly above precisely positioned seats. Walls lined top to bottom with thick soundproof padding, and of course, the bright red light of the patented “On-Air” sign.

This is not the setup of Know Wave radio.

Instead, the radio platform at the moment has no permanent space, existing only online. Its transmissions come only from pop-up locations including galleries, retail stores and homes throughout. The longstanding station has actually been evicted from three separate locations in the last two years – not due to any lack of resources or ability to sustain, as you may imagine. Rather, their humble spaces continue to be inundated with flocks of energetic youth and creatives, for which they simply can’t contain. It comes as no surprise that having 30-40 kids hanging out and playing music is not met with welcoming arms in any neighborhood. However, much of the issue can be attributed to the simple fact that what Know Wave radio is doing is unprecedented, and a bit difficult to comprehend.

“For the most part neighbors and police departments don’t understand what’s happening, so we keep getting evicted, and because of that it keeps us moving,” Aaron explained with a subtle annoyance in his voice. What’s happening is that Know Wave is (digitally) providing a space for creatives from all different fields and backgrounds – fashion, art, music and design – to produce and collaborate, to create, and have their work be seen (or heard). By now Aaron Bondaroff, along with his partners Al and Mills Moran, understand the transient nature of their radio platform, and have embraced it, continuing to keep the show going three years strong with portable setups from around the world. But in order to continue their mission in providing a vessel for youth culture, they remain persistent in scouting fitting locations to continue building this living, breathing creative community. Their latest beacon of hope, which undoubtedly took a bit of digging, comes in the form of a 50,000-square-foot church in Detroit, Michigan. This vacant cathedral will be the latest home to both Know Wave radio broadcasts and contemporary art exhibitions from its parent gallery and collective, Moran Bondaroff.

The support system and backbone to Know Wave, Moran Bondaroff, is the collective brainchild of Al, Aaron and Mills – and is what started it all. The gallery first began under the moniker OHWOW in 2008 in New York, where Aaron and Al fortuitously met while just “hanging out on the streets.” For Aaron, the journey into the art world came as a natural progression. Where “Downtown Don” once used clothing brands like Supreme and aNYthing as vessels to communicate ideas and promote culture, he now represents some of the most acclaimed artists including Lucien Smith, Daniel Arsham and perhaps the gallery’s most prized account, the entire estate of fabled American photographer, Robert Mapplethorpe. Even now, nearly a decade in, Aaron confesses he is still astonished at where their unconventional paths have led them. Bondaroff and the Morans have no formal training or education in art. The guys all agree that the gallery was really birthed out of passion, and they are convinced this is what separates them from other establishments within art and culture.

Since his days co-founding cult streetwear labels, Aaron explains he has always worked off feeling and intuition, making all that he undertakes both spontaneous and untraditional. The gallery, to them, is a way to not only bring artists’ work to the world, but also to give it life – to integrate it into society, within the community it exists and beyond. However, the well-established traditions of the art world require a standardized formula, systemically and cosmetically. The white box, the exhibitions, the collectors – proper gallery etiquette.

Understanding this several years in, the trio wanted a way to drive their ambitions even further. The solution came in the form of an internationally broadcasted Internet radio station. The Internet provided a fully institution-less platform not bounded by customs, traditions, or a past to measure from. The radio provided an entirely open-source outlet, with unlimited reach for which artists and individuals from all different realms could contribute and be a part of. “That’s the thing about Know Wave, it kinda breaks down the walls of politics for us. We get to work with artists that we don’t represent, all the creative people that we like but don’t do gallery business with. That’s how Know Wave came about, it was like how can we still keep this thing fresh and be spontaneous.”

The station began out the basement of Aaron’s home in Los Angeles, with a small core group of people, close friends for the most part. Fast forward three years, Aaron and Al’s spontaneous little project has literally become larger than life – physically outgrowing any space they attempt to inhabit, and attracting creatives from all over the world contributing to remote shows broadcasted from Los Angeles to New York, London to Tokyo. The most impressive aspect of the massive growth of Know Wave radio is that it has been 100 percent organic. “The gallery funded the project. We’ve wanted to keep as much outside support away as possible, so we can have trust with the subject who volunteer their time to be involved.”

This means no marketing. No advertising. Al tells us about the number of brands that have wanted to sponsor Know Wave, and give them X amount of money to run the station. He has had to reject each and every offer, however, in order to keep the station what it was from the start.

“It is important to keep it brand-free and let it live and grow organically based on what we can grow with it.”

It is difficult to imagine anyone turning down heaps of money, but at this point, the guys are actually fighting to keep the station smaller, believe it or not. Their reason being that they want to give it some time to develop and grow in quality not quantity. Aaron and Al understand that even more so today, in this short-lived social world, things get blown out of proportion too quickly, often times before it has even been given the fair chance to be fully actualized. “How can I protect an idea and nurture it to its full capacity, that’s the hard part,” Aaron confesses. Staying small must prove to be extremely difficult at the moment, with the amount of talent and noteworthy names joining in on the broadcast – A$AP Mob, LQQK Studio and Richardson to name a few.

These big names, however, are really just friends. Friends, and friends of friends, as they say. While the Know Wave community itself has become quite large now – with countless contributing guest and hosts – the people they decide to work with are just based off of real-life relationships. “This word community is almost cliché, but it’s really the truth,” says Al. “It’s about having faith in community. Aaron’s got like 20 people around him, those 20 people have their 20 people; there is a lot of faith in the core group to invite other people in.” This approach has been indicative of the Know Wave brand from the start, “Starting from the ground up” both Aaron and Al continue to harp on almost in unison.

A distinguishable air of excitement passes through their collective voices when speaking about the bigger picture intentions of Know Wave. Driving culture – part of the worldview that they all share – and providing the proper platform for it. “I’d rather take chances with new homegrown ideas, and give people opportunities and keep it within arm’s reach. That’s what this thing is about,” Aaron tell us. Aaron has helped provide not just a platform for new artists – like Onyx Collective, a group of young jazz musicians – but also opportunities for them to connect with the community. He tells us about the fateful collision of the 20-year-old musicians with artist and art collector, Brian Belott – who is more than double their age – and their collaborative work on a new album. “The lines get really blurred now with entertainment, fashion and art. We use Know Wave as a bridge between great people and new ideas.”

This grassroots approach in staying devoted to the community is the allure of Know Wave radio, and staying close to the ground allows it to continue to evolve with what is happening around – shifting, moving and adapting to what comes its way. With an emphasis on finding the youth that are out making things happen, Aaron explains that this is innate in them. “It’s what we know, this is all I know; I came up through the street as a kid. Meeting other creatives, finding other characters, whatever, everybody can contribute to each other. Teaming up and trying to put our mark in culture and in history.” And that is precisely what Know Wave has done. Often broadcasted during art and music events like Art Basel, or on location directly inside clothing stores and art galleries, each unique episode provides a snapshot of the exact place in time within our culture. Through the years, as the locational reach of Know Wave broadens and the amount of episodes multiplies, the bed of a cultural archive has spawned. And while this may not have been the initial intention of Aaron, Al and Mills, they have embraced it and taken the responsibility on wholeheartedly, with future generations in mind.

But forget the future, the far-reaching radio shows are already, in real time, making a direct impact on the youth. “I get daily emails of kids from Australia, or wherever, asking for a specific download link from three-year-old episodes. How are people finding this?” Al exclaims, while holding back chuckles. The continual uptick of streams in the last two years is still astonishing to the guys – hundreds of thousands of downloads and plays. “We are really getting to culture worldwide and not just in LA or NY,” Aaron says in an astonished tone. And while the expansion has come with its fair share of struggles, the outcome of what Know Wave provides reigns supreme. “A lot of people, a lot of problems, but then something will happen and it’s worth it. Some kid, there’s no traffic lights in front of his house, no garbage pickup, but the fucking guy is streaming our program, and he is connected to what’s happening. It’s moments like those where you are like, alright this has to live – this has reached way beyond what we’re seeing in our little bubble of production.”

It is apparent that the guys have yet to fully comprehend all that which Know Wave has become, but continue to be pleasantly surprised by it.

Very, very big is what it has become, and it does not take much digging to see its global reach. In the past year, its logo can be found almost everywhere, circulating throughout the Internet and in the streets – stretched across chests and foreheads. The reach of Know Wave-branded T-shirts and caps have undoubtedly matched that of their radio broadcasts. Its presence swiftly swept through the fashion world, the products now found in most touted shops, Supreme and Dover Street Market. If the extent of the merchandise is any indicator of the radio station’s growth, Al and Aaron’s intention of keeping Know Wave small seems physically impossible. But Aaron is not too worried. Their uncompromising approach to staying organic and rooted in the community, as Aaron explains, is all that matters.

“There is no way to control growth, but as long as the spirit stays true, as long as it’s supported by something that has some backbone and substance then I’m not worried about it.”

This seems to be the only formula for a sustainable growing project. If organic is real, organic is lasting. Know Wave as a radio station and a brand seems to be in good hands with Aaron and the guys. “Maintaining the genuine feeling and being able to still create environments and opportunities for each other, it comes with the spirit. It’s what I care about and I like to genuinely be a part of this thing. It’s fun as you get older, you get more historical legends like I was there for that, man I was there for this, I saw that go down; I put that together. That to me is success in so many ways – seeing people grow from that.”

Aaron, Al and Mills will definitely see a lot of that. When asked what they see for the future of Know Wave, they answered: “Live shows, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.”