How radio found new life on the internet and changed music discovery forever

Presented entirely by people under 25, Reprezent is renowned for its quality musical output – grime, UK rap and hip-hop, electronic and bass, house and alternative music – but also for its championing of youth culture. Originally borne out of a project tackling youth violence in South London (and based in a shipping container in Brixton) it now provides a platform for young people to showcase their talents but also to discuss social issues, challenge youth stereotypes and help young people better represent themselves in society.

The success of this pioneering station resulted in a royal visit from Prince Harry and Meghan Markle in early 2018, to celebrate its training programme and how the station uses music, media and radio to have a positive impact it has on young creatives.

But Reprezent is far from a youth project, it’s written into the station’s licence to play music rarely heard on mainstream: if you want to get stuff before anyone else, Reprezent is the place to go. It’s got an international rep too: past presenters include Novelist, Stormzy, Lady Leshurr, Lady Lykez, Section Boys, Jamz Supernova, Mim Shaikh and Kenny Allstar, and the station’s regular collaborations (with artists like the xx, Young Turks and Gorillaz) have resulted in shows being produced with Ray Blk, Kurupt FM , Warpaint, Basement Jaxx, J Hus and jungle legend Goldie.

In 2016, UK garage dons So Solid Crew had residency with ‘So Solid Sundays’, harking back to their late 90s / early 2000s pirate radio days on South West London’s Delight station, when they had a live caller show on Sundays, playing out early grime and garage track’s to the city’s young listeners.

Among the station’s current line-up of shows are young talents like Lil C – south London’s self-described “Dancehall Queen” – and MC Pinty with his ‘Second To None’ show, playing garage, hip-hop, house and jazz. gal-dem – a South London creative collective of women and non-binary people of colour – host a guest chat show alongside tunes from the both established and breaking artists like M.I.C Antifa, Lizzo, Anais, Tom Misch and Drake.

"We don’t really specify a genre or sound, it’s a sound that’s just really reflective of London’s youth culture"

Station manager Adrian Newman says what makes internet radio unique is the sense of camaraderie between stations, rather than competition. “We’re all really aware of what each other do,” he explains. “There are shows that have been on Reprezent that have gone to Balamii for example, that have absolutely fit. What Balamii is doing, what Worldwide is doing…we’re all respectful of each others’ audiences. Everyone’s really wide-eyed and just excited to be doing creative stuff.

“It’s a really positive vibe. Everyone’s trying to make it, but the only way to do that is to support each other.”

He talks about the “character” of each station being unique, and says that this is what makes it worth tuning in for; with Reprezent occupying a particularly interesting and important space in London. “We don’t really specify a genre or sound, it’s a sound that’s just really reflective of London’s youth culture,” he explains.

“You’re just as likely to hear a really leftfield show as you are a hip-hop show or an electronic show: it’s dictated by London’s youth population, that’s our thing. You’re as likely to hear a conversation on Windrush as you are about the Chicken Cottage Ramadan special.”

Listen to Reprezent at reprezent.org.uk

This East London based station truly does what it says on the tin. Founded by DJ and label-owner Gilles Peterson in September 2016, Worldwide focuses on underground music, culture and stories from around the globe, with off-shoots in Berlin, Kyoto, Los Angeles, Paris, Rio and Tokyo.

The music on offer is consistently eclectic and of high quality. Take HAAi’s ‘Coconut Beats’ show, for example, exploring psychedelic sounds from around the globe with each episode focusing on a specific country or region (as the presenter does with her Coconut Beats party series) and she spotlights upcoming artists from each place. HAAi bags impressive guests for these too, for example the episode focusing on the sounds of Japan with Japanese noise rock band Bo Ningen and Awesome Tapes from Africa lending a hand on an instalment exploring music from mid to North Africa in the 1970s.

London’s Channel One – one of the most the most iconic dub crews and influential sound systems in the world – have had a monthly residency with two hours of solid dub and roots classics, and each week listeners are treated to the ‘Classic Album Sundays’ show, delving deep into records by everyone from Lauryn Hill , Björk and D’Angelo, to Bob Marley, The Strokes and Nick Cave.

Worldwide also celebrates local London talent by championing artists, DJs and producers like Henry Wu, Bradley Zero, Al Dobson Jnr and Mo Kolours.

Music journalist, broadcaster and DJ, Kate Hutchinson (pictured above), hosts a regular show that demonstrates the spirit of Worldwide, combing chat with great tracks, featuring a wide variety of guests and an equally wide variety of musical genres. She counts Kojey Radical, Kelly Lee Owens, Stewart Lee, Ikonika and Seun Kuti among past guests, as well as producing specials – such as a women in pirate radio show to coincide with International Women’s Day – and spinning everything from Afro-disco to kuduro-pop, Balearic acoustica and rave.

“Live radio has such a magic to it, and I really enjoy the idea that anything could happen,” she says. There’s a freedom and adventure with internet radio over mainstream stations, too: “Being free of play-listing, the freedom that gives you musically – I can play whatever I want, and that feels wonderful.”

"The stories I can tell that aren’t being told...that’s what’s always driving me as a writer, and in the same way I want that to drive me as a broadcaster"

Kate talks about the same sense of family that Adrian Newman at Reprezent emphasised, and how internet radio stations have become more like clubs than simply stations, building an identity through music in a way that mainstream stations are unable to.

“The community you get, there’s a real camaraderie, family vibe to it that I don’t think you get with star-led stations,” she explains. “When you’re inked by music. Location, or culturally in some way, it has that community, family, like-minded vibe that I really love.”

Kate’s approach to her show is organic, stemming from her long-nurtured industry contacts – in the club, DJ and live music world – and a deep knowledge (and of course, love) of music. She grabs interviewees who are passing through London, makes selections based on releases she knows are coming out, and builds specials around what’s topical – for example, International Women’s Day – using her keen journalistic nose for a story. “The stories I can tell that aren’t being told,” she explains. “That’s what’s always driving me as a writer, and in the same way I want that to drive me as a broadcaster.”

He talks about the importance of getting stories from her guests that people haven’t already heard, through unpredictable mechanics, such as asking Stewart Lee for tracks that remind him of places he’s been like English Midland towns likc Sollihull and Stoke-on-Trent.

For Kate, internet radio has grown into something vital to music discovery and underground culture. “In many ways, internet radio has replaced blogs,” she explains. “Years ago when you wanted to hear about new music you, would just go on a blog, and now I think in many ways internet radio has replaced that space for new music.

“If you’re trying to get a sense of a place – and a sense of its underground culture – it’s the best place to get a sense of a city. Things are a bit undone and a bit raw. Most established radio stations are slick to the point of not being engaging. With online radio and its underground mentality, the idea that anything could happen – like how at NTS someone could literally walk into the booth, or start shouting outside – all of those things make it a more enriching listening experience.”

Listen to Worldwide FM at worldwidefm.net

This central-London station plays every genre, from soul to Japanese grime, rockabilly to the psychedelic, and the location’s long-standing association with London’s creative scene attracts the crem-de-la crème of musical talent.

Take for instance, ‘Dub on Air’ with dub hero Dennis Bovell: a seminal artist, sound engineer and producer who founded Jah Sufferer sound system, was a key figure in key figure in the early days of lovers rock, played in Matumbi – the top British reggae band of the 1970s and early 1980s – and has produced for artists including Fela Kuti, The Slits, Orange Juice and Madness.

Soho Radio appeals to listeners of all ages and tastes, though. ‘4 To The Floor’ began in the clubs of East London from a desire to connect the dots throughout the history of dance music. Appealing to versatile and open-minded dance floors their sound is a unique blend of 4/4 beats from house, techno, disco, garage, disco to jazz and everything that makes sense in between.

Eddieboi, Kengo, djsoulprovyder and Jay Carder hailing with roots in South Africa, Japan, Jamaica and London respectively treat ‘4 To The Floor’ as a forum for world music, whether it’s German techno, Angolan kuduro, Thai disco or Chicago house.

The range of presenters on offer to listeners is impressive too, with Soho counting Simone Butler, bass guitar player for Primal Scream, and prominent music journalist Pete Paphides (who’s worked for the Times, Guardian, Mojo, Q, Melody Maker and Time Out, as well as making documentaries for BBC Radio 4 and the ‘Vinyl Revival’ series for BBC 6 Music) on its roster.

"We’re not regulated by Offcom, so we can do what we want really...the BBC are listening to us, Balamii, NTS..."

Adrian Meehan founder and director agrees with Kate Hutchinson of Worldwide FM and Arian Newman of Reprezent that the internet radio world fosters a different atmosphere to mainstream stations. “It’s a community,” he says. “It’s a great thing. Internet radio is in a brilliant place.”

He sees his own station specifically as continuing the tradition of creativity and artistic freedom in a part of London that has seen massive change in recent years. “It’s getting pretty sterile in Soho,” Arian explains. “And I feel quite happy that we are looked upon as someone who’s been there a while. We’re an independent outfit – there are just three of us who run the station.”

Soho Radio definitely has a strong “IRL” existence that has embedded it firmly into Soho life, and Adrian talks about the space at the café/event space at the front of their site on Great Windmill Street that that they lend out for residencies, as well as supporting other creative in the area. The radio station also incorporates a designated performance area with a bespoke vinyl lathe, hand crafted explicitly for pressing recordings of live sessions.

Each intimate live performance is cut directly to vinyl, and filmed in 360 Virtual Reality to create an exclusive package, producing a unique physical and virtual representation of the live session.

These added extras keep Soho Radio an IRL as well as listening experience, and Adrian knows that their offer is something unique – enabled by the freedom given to internet stations. “We’re not regulated by Offcom, so we can do what we want really,” he explains. “And I know that all the other radio stations do listen to each other. The BBC are listening to us, Balamii, and NTS, for example.” He’s confident that internet radio stations will continue to offer something more and to stand out from the crowd.

Listen to Soho Radio at sohoradiolondon.com

Berlin Community Radio (BCR) – which has been live since 2013 – is home to over 100 shows covering everything from arts, music and culture, to relationships, queer politics, literature, feminism and gender issues, such as ‘Hystereo’ – a bi-weekly radio show run by the feminist collective Fem Coven, exploring politics, art and literature through a series of readings, panel discussions and lively discourse, bringing listeners a rolling platform of writers, artists, activists, academics, filmmakers, techies, and musicians to explore the effects and affects of gender in the greater world. BCR’s stated aim is to “bring together the continually evolving communities of the city and to establish a modern platform for cultural exchange”.

There’s an especially rich musical offering on the station, whether that’s Bassgang collective (DJs Minoto, Gofi, Tuan:Anh, Ostblokkk and J.Cloudwith) and their regular slot, flying the flag for Berlin bass culture, or Wilted Woman, playin goise / industrial and “graveyard soundscapes”.

Many of BCR’s music shows have a socially or culturally curious under-pinning, making them uniquely interesting and explorative. Lamin Fofana , for example, uses his regular electronic slot to unpick “questions of movement, migration, alienation, and belonging” via ethereal sets of tripped-out ambient, field recordings, techno and house, plus beats and bumps from other places and times.

Another show – ‘Yalla!’– revolves around music hailing from or inspired by the Middle East, with host Abu Ashley covering a wide genre spectrum, from underground house and techno by Middle Eastern artists and Lebanese R&B, to classic Egyptian ballads. The program isn't made up exclusively of Middle Eastern music, also featuring tracks from Abu's vinyl label, Parka, and discussing issues around Middle Eastern art and culture.

"High definition and high quality come from having resources, money, the state, and often from men – very conservative structures”

Anastazja Moser is co-founder and director of the station, which she started as a way of capturing and interviewing the huge range of talented, interesting artists passing through the city: she says that she saw that they were coming to Berlin, performing and then leaving without anyone talking to them or documenting conversations and thoughts, so she decided to do something about it.

“From the beginning, I wanted to work with people who were up and coming, and over the years it’s been really nice to see people come to us and grow and start supporting themselves, making careers in music,” Anastazja said at an event celebrating Europe’s diverse DIY music scenes in 2017, of the creative community the station has built. The station doesn’t use post-production, giving the shows an organic, DIY edge that offers listeners something truly unique, an approach that Anastazja emphasised is “in defence of poor quality”. For BCR, putting “imperfect” or “unfinished” material out into the world isn’t just an aesthetic choice: it’s a political statement.

“High definition and high quality come from having resources, money, the state, and often from men – very conservative structures,” Anastazja said at the DIY event. “I think moving away from that, creating things with a rougher aesthetic, connects with the DIY movements of the 1970s, and there’s a real beauty to that.”

The BCR team are all self-taught in managing the tech side of radio too (and in turn, they teach their volunteers), such as setting up make-shift stations with very little kit, DJing and repairing equipment The station also produces a BCR zine, and runs its own incubator program: a residency focused on giving under-represented and marginalised artists a regular platform in the form of a residency, as well as access to production software, a mentorship program, a professional photoshoot and other resources.

Producer, Bonaventure (pictured above) – real name Soraya Lutangu – of the station’s ‘Raise Your Own Flag’ show, was one of the incubator participants. She’s now gone onto release music on NON – a global crew of producers from the African diaspora – and gain international attention for her use of club music, fusing Afrobeat and rap, to confront systemic racism. She’s the perfect example of BCR’s unique way of fusing cultural and social exploration with ground-breaking new music.

Listen to Berlin Community Radio at berlincommunityradio.com