Plaza de Cibeles–MAdrid, Spain (Photo: Wikimedia Commons)
For your listening pleasure: one hour, fifty minutes of Radio Exterior de España.
Recorded on September 16, 2013, starting at 00:00 UTC on 9,535 kHz.
Click here to download the recording as an MP3, or simply listen via the embedded player below:
The Citadel of the Time Lords on Gallifrey (Source: Wikimedia Commons)
Last night, I recorded pirate station, Radio Gallifrey Intergalactic.
RGI appeared on 6,935 kHz USB and started their broadcast with a set of audio sweeps (which looked rather distinctive on my SDR’s waterfall), followed by tones and then straight into the Dr. Who theme.
What followed was a free-form set of spacy electronic music; from ambient to trance. You’ll hear their station ID in Morse code.
Click here to download an MP3 of the full broadcast, or simply listen via the embedded player below:
Confession time: one of my favorite pirate radio stations is Radio Casablanca.
Why?
For one thing the format is WWII-era music. When I hear Radio Casablanca, I close my eyes and imagine what it must have been like to hear the great bands of the era over the shortwaves…
Radio nostalgia at its best.
The signal strength is always sufficient to be heard in relatively good fidelity here in my radio room, but not so strong as to detract from the perceived distance. I believe the recording you’ll hear below could very well mimic broadcasts over shortwave, heard across borders during WWII as well as listened to on classic console radios in people’s living rooms and front parlors.
When my buddy Mark Coady posted that he was listening to Radio Casablanca Tuesday night on 6940 kHz AM, I immediately rushed outside to hook up my antenna, and started rolling. I didn’t want to miss even one more minute (I came across Mark’s post about twenty minutes into the broadcast). Though regional storms produced some static pops and crashes, overall fidelity is decent. You will hear the filter and side-band sync being adjusted at times as I attempted to eliminate adjacent noises–which, in the end, are all a part of the listening experience.
Click here to download an MP3 of the recording, or simply listen via the embedded player below. Either way, prepare to go (or at least, send your ears) back in time…
Lately, the Voice of Greece has been playing very long sets of music; and not all of it Greek. I assume the break in format has to do with the reorganization of Greek national broadcasting.
I believe VoG could be cut without notice. With heavy budget cuts being dealt to national broadcasting, I doubt investment in shortwave radio will continue since they no longer even have an English language service. This is one of the reasons I’ve devoted a lot of recording time to VoG as of late. Admittedly, I certainly hope I’m wrong about my prediction.
On September 1st, I recorded over five hours of VoG, starting around 22:00 UTC. After about an hour of Greek commentary, you’ll hear music ranging from contemporary to classical.
Click here to download the full recording as an MP3, or simply listen via the embedded player below.
QSL from BOCHF
Again this morning at 2:20 UTC–and last night, during a very active night of pirate radio activity–BOCHF crept onto the airwaves, this time on 6,920 kHz USB.
Yesterday, BOCHF played the Boards of Canada album Tomorrow’s Harvest; this morning, they played their album In a Beautiful Place Out in the Country.
And how did it sound? Combining the music of the Boards of Canada with the sonic texture of the shortwave ether is a winning combination, in my opinion. Thanks, BOCHF! But don’t take my word for it: take a listen yourself.
Click here to download the full broadcast as an MP3, or simply listen via the embedded player below:
By the way, I recorded several other pirate stations last night–look for them in upcoming posts!
The Voice of America provided Cuban jazz trumpeter, pianist and composer, Arturo Sandoval with a source of inspiration through Jazz. In a recent interview with NPR, Sandoval stated:
“We used to listen every day, every single day, [to] Voice of America. [It] was a shortwave radio program, and they play everything in jazz music. That was the only way we have to hear that kind of music and to be connected with the music we love. I was in the obligatory military service for three years when the sergeant [caught] me listen[ing] to the Voice of America, and then they put me in jail because I was listening to the voice of enemies.”
For your listening pleasure: a recording of the Voice of Greece made Tuesday night, August 20th, starting at 23:00 UTC.
This broadcast begins with my favorite Voice of Greece station ID, then, following a little Greek commentary, resumes with an eclectic mix of music.
This is one of the few broadcasts I’ve heard with a substantial dose of non-Greek music. Click here to download the full recording as an MP3, or simply listen via the embedded player below:
