Old School Sound School — "If" by Sherre DeLys

The radio piece "If," produced by Sherre DeLys for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s *The Listening Room* in 1997, serves as a masterclass in experimental audio storytelling. Created in collaboration with a young patient at the Children’s Hospital at Westmead, the work captures the imaginative, stream-of-consciousness musings of a child navigating illness. This project highlights the necessity of "creative sandpits"—environments where producers have the time and freedom to experiment without the constraints of rigid commercial formats. The tactile, analog production process, involving physical tape loops and faders, imbued the work with an enduring, embodied quality that resonates decades later. Beyond its technical innovation, the piece demonstrates how collaborative, human-centered storytelling can transform a fleeting radio broadcast into a lasting piece of art, influencing both the participant’s trajectory and the broader landscape of audio production.