Another radio preset pick this week for those of you with eclectic tastes. I found this one on somebody else’s list of top freeform stations, and got hooked immediately. NTS Radio is, like so many of my favorites, one of those stations that’s a cross between “a feeling” and “a community.” It was launched in Hackney, East London, in April 2011 by Femi Adeyemi, a local DJ turned blogger who ran a site called Nuts to Soup. Like so many of the stations, podcasts, and causes that I gravitate toward, he had the right skills, an unshakable will, and an ache that wasn’t being filled by the content providers around him, so he built the radio station he wanted to listen to. Specifically, one where any music was fair game.
The core principle of NTS Radio is that DJs and track programmers have total freedom. The station has no set playlists, no format rules, just human curation. Better still, there are no commercials or advertisements. The station supports itself through donations, partnerships, and the occasional fundraising projects. Currently, it broadcasts on two live streaming channels 24/7 (NTS 1 and NTS 2), featuring hundreds of regular presenters, frequent guests, and occasional “label takeover” events that curate and present their music. In addition, there is a vast archive of genre-specific, on-demand playlists you can stream if random chaos isn’t your thing, or if you know what you’re in the mood to hear.
I definitely recommend NTS as an experience if you are in a weird mood, feeling a bit restless and not sure what to listen to, or just bored with life and your music collection, and want to do some exploring.
