Circuit-Bent Radios & Siren Generator

I had acquired several old radios from a previous performance involving short range FM transmitters and thought I would see what I could do with them. Having not attempted “circuit-bending” before and with no real knowledge of electronics it was a process of trail and error. Simply taking it apart and randomly poking wires across the circuit board to see what might happen (DO NOT ATTEMPT THIS WITH MAINS OR VALVE EQUIMPENT!). The results were as I expected, lovely squealing, pops and dirty noise, best achieved with a wet thumb on a particular part of the board. I find this integration of flesh and electronics interesting, reminiscent of those macabre early experiments by Galvani. I wonder what would happen if I connected it to some meat? The rewired radio, like other devices I have made, possess an animal like quality particularly high pitch sounds rather like bird song. Is this organic quality something that is happening because they are sounds that are not conventionally musical in nature and therefore fit a vocabulary of sounds associated as animal noises or speech?

So far I have built three devices, one using a siren generator. Initial use for multiple and solo performance but I have ideas about making them into automata, using mechanical rather than electronic means.