If you love music, but don’t know about SomaFM yet, you’re really missing something special.
Based in a warehouse in San Francisco, SomaFM broadcasts 14 unique channels of listener-supported, commercial-free, underground/alternative radio.
But SomaFM isn’t a station that you listen to on a regular radio. They stream their music over the Internet, and you listen on your computer. (More about how to do that in a minute.)
SomaFM’s founder Rusty Hodge started the station in 1999 with one channel, and they now broadcast 14 unique channels of music, 24 hours a day. SomaFM’s commercial-free streams are listened to in over 200 countries around the world!
Listening to SomaFM gives you access to music and formats that aren’t available on commercial radio, or formats that are “not being done right” as Rusty puts it.
To listen to SomaFM you use a music (or media) player program on your computer. Mac (and Windows) users can use iTunes. Winamp for Windows plays both aacPlus and MP3 streams. Windows Media Player users can get the Orban aacPlus plugin to hear aacPlus feeds right in Windows Media player.
Just go the SomaFM listen page, to see the different music channels, and get links to the different players and streams.
Here are the 14 fabulous channels they have:
- Groove Salad: A nicely chilled plate of ambient beats and grooves. (My favorite!)
- Secret Agent: The soundtrack for your stylish, mysterious, dangerous life. For Spies and PIs too!
- Drone Zone: Served best chilled, safe with most medications. Atmospheric textures with minimal beats.
- Indie Pop Rocks!: New and your favorite classic indie pop tracks.
- cliqhop idm: Blips’n'beeps backed mostly w/beats. Intelligent Dance Music.
- Beat Blender: A late night blend of deep-house and downtempo chill.
- Tag’s Trip: Progressive house / trance. Tip top tunes.
- Illinois Street Lounge: Classic bachelor pad, playful exotica and vintage music of tomorrow.
- Space Station Soma: Tune in, turn on, space out. Spaced-out ambient and mid-tempo electronica.
- Doomed: Dark music for tortured souls
- Boot Liquor: Americana Roots music for Cowhands, Cowpokes and Cowtippers
- Lush: Sensuous and mellow vocals, mostly female, with an electronic influence.
- Digitalis: Digitally affected analog rock with a DIY mentality.
- Sonic Universe: NuJazz + avant-garde EuroJazz. Transcending the world of jazz with experimental takes on tradition.
SomaFM is the soundtrack to my day here at TheoreticalKen. For example, Groove Salad, Secret Agent and Illinois Street Lounge are medium/up-tempo energy, great for listening during the day. Space Station Soma, and Drone Zone are great for those quiet post-midnight working hours!
But try ‘em all! You’ll hear an amazing diversity of music, artists and genres!
