In collaboration with Malmö arts organisaion Foundation of the Teacherock, we are equal parts proud and mystfified to present The Audible Transitional Object, opus of the little known Swedish child psychologist Leif J. F. Callioscott.  A cornerstone of Leif's groundbreaking academic work of the 1970s, his theories around the ATO demonstrate that play and fantasy are crucial to a child's psychological development. Exposure to fantastical, magical or “unreal” sonic elements (disembodied voice, unidentifiable sounds, nonsense language), he contested, are key to providing the developing mind with a nuanced understanding and subtle picture of the world around us.
 
Callioscott's ATO workshops allowed children and adults the freedom to explore a multiplicity of soundscapes and sonic textures; his signature layering of sine waves in the octatonic scale leading to unshackled experimentation in timbre, overtone-phasing and bitonal composition. Acoustic instruments were also deployed - with physical objects struck, strummed and sometimes hurled across the room. One session, in 1972, lasted almost 12 hours.
 
Leif's ATO 'playscripts' instructed adults on the facilitation of children's play and fantasy, to assist in radical reality building. The instructional tape holds a reenactment of a 'Mini & Macro Modes' workshop, following one of Leif's classic playscripts. It is our hope that listeners, using this cassette, are able to hold their own workshops.