Rare FM
Encyclopedia
Rare FM is the student
-run radio station
of UCL
. The current station manager is Tom Riste-Smith.
, headed at that time by Ed Jackson. It is managed by a committee elected annually at the society's AGM
by its members.
Rare FM broadcasts continuously over the Internet
, making use of MP3
and OGG
streaming, streaming
music
when DJs are not live in the studio
hosting their shows. On a normal day during the university's Autumn and Spring Terms, there will be approximately 15 hours of live original programming, starting at 9.00 a.m. and finishing at 12.00 midnight.
During the university's holidays and reading weeks, many of the student DJs leave London
resulting in the output of shows per day decreasing, although some other shows are extended to cover some time that would otherwise be filled by streaming music as happens at night. Similarly, during the Summer Term many students DJs are unable to do their shows owing to exams.
Whilst students are not in the studio, music is streamed via a computerised playout system. Students are able to play music from a variety of sources including the studio database, CDs
, cassette tapes, records
, mp3 players, MiniDisc
s and laptops.
Rare FM has started to provide some content via podcast
. The podcasts are available via RSS
feed available through the website and listeners can also listen and subscribe via the iTunes
music store. Podcast material is also available to listen to direct from the website using a Flash-based player. The podcast show Some News Or Something has been nominated for the 'Media Project of the Year' award at UCL Union's Social Colours and Arts Awards Ceremony 2007.
Rare FM uses Restricted Service Licence
s to broadcast on FM to Central London
, (as well as over the Internet as normal), for a fortnight each year. During this period, local London businesses are given the opportunity to advertise on FM. New Look
advertised on Rare FM during the 2007 FM broadcast. The FM broadcast often poses a challenge in the form of London's many pirate radio broadcasters, but coverage can extend to a good portion of central London nonetheless.
FM Broadcast History:
Rare FM DJs also broadcast live at UCL and UCL Union events, such as the Freshers' Fayre and the Summer Arts Festival.
/alternative
music. However in recent years this focus has dwindled and a diversity of genres and interests is now widely catered to. Shows specialising in Funk
, Soul
, Disco
, Jazz
, Blues
, House
, Electro, Hip hop
, DnB
, Dubstep
, Grime
, Psytrance, Dancehall
and Reggae
all now feature on a schedule that of 2008 amasses over 130 DJs with a vast variety of tastes. Rare FM also broadcasts the weekly Student Radio Association
chart show each Sunday.
Rare FM is believed to be the first radio station in the world to play a Coldplay
track, the members of Coldplay having met at UCL, although there is still some debate about this.
Outside of the music content, Rare FM has shows focusing on film
, books, football and news from UCL Union's clubs and societies. The station regularly features interviews with musicians and comedians. Recently, special guests have included Alan Fletcher
(Neighbours
's Karl Kennedy
and lead singer of the band Waiting Room
), Josie Long
, The Spinto Band
, the Five O'Clock Heroes
, Jason Bavanandan (lead singer of the band Battle
), Ty
, Field Music
's David Brewis (aka School of Language), Portland, Oregon
folk outfit The Battle of Land and Sea and Agaskodo Teliverek
.
Past interviewees and/or studio guests have included Thirteen Senses
, The Subways
, Stewart Lee
, The Magic Numbers
, Graham Coxon
, Gideon Defoe
, Razorlight
and Kings of Leon
. Guests on the Blonde Bimbo Show compiled by Brooke Burfitt-Dons include Julian Bennett Hayley Westenra
and Johnny Rotten.
During the 2009/2010 season, the station began Rare Sessions, a YouTube
series in which bands perform acoustic songs around the UCL campus. Guests so far have included Gideon Conn
, Dan Mangan
, Hey Rosetta!
and Woodpigeon. The series won UCL Arts Colors award in 2010.
- DJ in 1999-2000 (with weekly show It's Alex Zane!), went on to be a presenter for XFM
, MTV
and Channel 4
where he hosted Popworld
.
Nick Godwin - DJ in 2000-2001 worked as a DJ on London Live
.
Karyn Miller - Head of Spoken Word 1999-2000 went on to be a successful journalist for Vogue
and The Mail on Sunday
.
December 2009 saw the launch of a new club night, Pensioners' Yacht Club held at the Relentless Garage in Islington and it is expected that a similar night will follow during UCLU's freshers week in 2010.
Student
A student is a learner, or someone who attends an educational institution. In some nations, the English term is reserved for those who attend university, while a schoolchild under the age of eighteen is called a pupil in English...
-run radio station
Radio station
Radio broadcasting is a one-way wireless transmission over radio waves intended to reach a wide audience. Stations can be linked in radio networks to broadcast a common radio format, either in broadcast syndication or simulcast or both...
of UCL
University College London
University College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and the oldest and largest constituent college of the federal University of London...
. The current station manager is Tom Riste-Smith.
Background
Rare FM was set up in 1998 as an affiliated society of UCL UnionUniversity College London Union
University College London Union , founded in 1893, has a credible claim to be England's oldest students' union. It was formed with the following objectives: "the promotion of social intercourse and of the means of recreation, physical and mental, of the students of University College, and the...
, headed at that time by Ed Jackson. It is managed by a committee elected annually at the society's AGM
Annual general meeting
An annual general meeting is a meeting that official bodies, and associations involving the public , are often required by law to hold...
by its members.
Rare FM broadcasts continuously over the Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
, making use of MP3
MP3
MPEG-1 or MPEG-2 Audio Layer III, more commonly referred to as MP3, is a patented digital audio encoding format using a form of lossy data compression...
and OGG
Ogg
Ogg is a free, open container format maintained by the Xiph.Org Foundation. The creators of the Ogg format state that it is unrestricted by software patents and is designed to provide for efficient streaming and manipulation of high quality digital multimedia.The Ogg container format can multiplex...
streaming, streaming
Streaming media
Streaming media is multimedia that is constantly received by and presented to an end-user while being delivered by a streaming provider.The term "presented" is used in this article in a general sense that includes audio or video playback. The name refers to the delivery method of the medium rather...
music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
when DJs are not live in the studio
Studio
A studio is an artist's or worker's workroom, or the catchall term for an artist and his or her employees who work within that studio. This can be for the purpose of architecture, painting, pottery , sculpture, scrapbooking, photography, graphic design, filmmaking, animation, radio or television...
hosting their shows. On a normal day during the university's Autumn and Spring Terms, there will be approximately 15 hours of live original programming, starting at 9.00 a.m. and finishing at 12.00 midnight.
During the university's holidays and reading weeks, many of the student DJs leave London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
resulting in the output of shows per day decreasing, although some other shows are extended to cover some time that would otherwise be filled by streaming music as happens at night. Similarly, during the Summer Term many students DJs are unable to do their shows owing to exams.
Whilst students are not in the studio, music is streamed via a computerised playout system. Students are able to play music from a variety of sources including the studio database, CDs
CDS
-Computing and electronics:* Cadence Design Systems, American Electronic Design Automation software company* Chromatography data system, software to control chromatography instruments* Cockpit display system* Compact Discs...
, cassette tapes, records
Gramophone record
A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...
, mp3 players, MiniDisc
MiniDisc
The disc is permanently housed in a cartridge with a sliding door, similar to the casing of a 3.5" floppy disk. This shutter is opened automatically by a mechanism upon insertion. The audio discs can either be recordable or premastered. Recordable MiniDiscs use a magneto-optical system to record...
s and laptops.
Rare FM has started to provide some content via podcast
Podcast
A podcast is a series of digital media files that are released episodically and often downloaded through web syndication...
. The podcasts are available via RSS
RSS
-Mathematics:* Root-sum-square, the square root of the sum of the squares of the elements of a data set* Residual sum of squares in statistics-Technology:* RSS , "Really Simple Syndication" or "Rich Site Summary", a family of web feed formats...
feed available through the website and listeners can also listen and subscribe via the iTunes
ITunes
iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....
music store. Podcast material is also available to listen to direct from the website using a Flash-based player. The podcast show Some News Or Something has been nominated for the 'Media Project of the Year' award at UCL Union's Social Colours and Arts Awards Ceremony 2007.
Rare FM uses Restricted Service Licence
Restricted Service Licence
A UK Restricted Service Licence , is typically granted to radio stations and television stations broadcasting within the UK to serve a local community or a special event...
s to broadcast on FM to Central London
Central London
Central London is the innermost part of London, England. There is no official or commonly accepted definition of its area, but its characteristics are understood to include a high density built environment, high land values, an elevated daytime population and a concentration of regionally,...
, (as well as over the Internet as normal), for a fortnight each year. During this period, local London businesses are given the opportunity to advertise on FM. New Look
New Look (store)
New Look is a British global fashion retailer with a chain of high street shops in Britain, Belgium, France, The Netherlands, Republic of Ireland, Malta, Singapore and the United Arab Emirates.-History:...
advertised on Rare FM during the 2007 FM broadcast. The FM broadcast often poses a challenge in the form of London's many pirate radio broadcasters, but coverage can extend to a good portion of central London nonetheless.
FM Broadcast History:
| Year | Date |
|---|---|
| 2004 | 1 February - 28 February |
| 2005 | 23 September - 5 October (UCL Fresher's Week) |
| 2006 | No FM broadcast |
| 2007 | 6 March - 19 March |
| 2008 | 4 March - 18 March |
| 2009 | No FM broadcast due to lack of available frequencies |
Rare FM DJs also broadcast live at UCL and UCL Union events, such as the Freshers' Fayre and the Summer Arts Festival.
Content
Rare FM is primarily a music station, which in past tended to focus on indieIndie rock
Indie rock is a genre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom and the United States in the 1980s. Indie rock is extremely diverse, with sub-genres that include lo-fi, post-rock, math rock, indie pop, dream pop, noise rock, space rock, sadcore, riot grrrl and emo, among others...
/alternative
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
music. However in recent years this focus has dwindled and a diversity of genres and interests is now widely catered to. Shows specialising in Funk
Funk
Funk is a music genre that originated in the mid-late 1960s when African American musicians blended soul music, jazz and R&B into a rhythmic, danceable new form of music. Funk de-emphasizes melody and harmony and brings a strong rhythmic groove of electric bass and drums to the foreground...
, Soul
Soul music
Soul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of...
, Disco
Disco
Disco is a genre of dance music. Disco acts charted high during the mid-1970s, and the genre's popularity peaked during the late 1970s. It had its roots in clubs that catered to African American, gay, psychedelic, and other communities in New York City and Philadelphia during the late 1960s and...
, Jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
, Blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
, House
House music
House music is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in Chicago, Illinois, United States in the early 1980s. It was initially popularized in mid-1980s discothèques catering to the African-American, Latino American, and gay communities; first in Chicago circa 1984, then in other...
, Electro, Hip hop
Hip hop
Hip hop is a form of musical expression and artistic culture that originated in African-American and Latino communities during the 1970s in New York City, specifically the Bronx. DJ Afrika Bambaataa outlined the four pillars of hip hop culture: MCing, DJing, breaking and graffiti writing...
, DnB
Drum and bass
Drum and bass is a type of electronic music which emerged in the late 1980s. The genre is characterized by fast breakbeats , with heavy bass and sub-bass lines...
, Dubstep
Dubstep
Dubstep is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in south London, England. Its overall sound has been described as "tightly coiled productions with overwhelming bass lines and reverberant drum patterns, clipped samples, and occasional vocals"....
, Grime
Grime (music)
Grime is a style of music that emerged from Bow, East London, England in the early 2000s, primarily as a development of UK garage, dancehall, and hip hop...
, Psytrance, Dancehall
Dancehall
Dancehall is a genre of Jamaican popular music that originated in the late 1970s. Initially dancehall was a more sparse version of reggae than the roots style, which had dominated much of the 1970s. In the mid-1980s, digital instrumentation became more prevalent, changing the sound considerably,...
and Reggae
Reggae
Reggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady.Reggae is based...
all now feature on a schedule that of 2008 amasses over 130 DJs with a vast variety of tastes. Rare FM also broadcasts the weekly Student Radio Association
Student Radio Association
The Student Radio Association is a representative body which supports and acts on behalf of the UK student radio community, comprising radio stations that are associated with or linked to a place of education...
chart show each Sunday.
Rare FM is believed to be the first radio station in the world to play a Coldplay
Coldplay
Coldplay are a British alternative rock band formed in 1996 by lead vocalist Chris Martin and lead guitarist Jonny Buckland at University College London. After they formed Pectoralz, Guy Berryman joined the group as a bassist and they changed their name to Starfish. Will Champion joined as a...
track, the members of Coldplay having met at UCL, although there is still some debate about this.
Outside of the music content, Rare FM has shows focusing on film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
, books, football and news from UCL Union's clubs and societies. The station regularly features interviews with musicians and comedians. Recently, special guests have included Alan Fletcher
Alan Fletcher
Alan Fletcher is an Australian actor and musician, best known for his role as Karl Kennedy in long-running soap opera Neighbours. Fletcher was educated at Wesley College, Perth.-Career:...
(Neighbours
Neighbours
Neighbours is an Australian television soap opera first broadcast on the Seven Network on 18 March 1985. It was created by TV executive Reg Watson, who proposed the idea of making a show that focused on realistic stories and portrayed adults and teenagers who talk openly and solve their problems...
's Karl Kennedy
Karl Kennedy
Karl Raymond Kennedy is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera Neighbours, played by Alan Fletcher. The character and his family were created by storyliners in an attempt to bring the show back to its roots. Karl made his first on-screen appearance on 20 September 1994 along with his...
and lead singer of the band Waiting Room
Waiting Room (band)
Waiting Room is an Australian band with Alan Fletcher as lead vocalist. The band also consists of Chris Hawker, Tommy Rando and Jeff Consi...
), Josie Long
Josie Long
Josie Long is an English comedian.-Background:Long spent her early life in Orpington, South East London, where she attended Newstead Wood School for Girls in Swift House. She also attended GIFT Ltd. summer schools. She began performing stand-up comedy at 14, winning the BBC New Comedy Awards at...
, The Spinto Band
The Spinto Band
The Spinto Band is an indie rock band from Wilmington, Delaware. They are currently signed to Park the Van Records.-Biography:The Spinto Band was originally formed as recording project by high school students in Wilmington, Delaware in the late 1990s...
, the Five O'Clock Heroes
Five O'Clock Heroes
Five O'Clock Heroes are a New Wave influenced indie rock band currently based in New York City. Lead singer Antony Ellis is originally from Northampton in the UK...
, Jason Bavanandan (lead singer of the band Battle
Battle (band)
Battle were a UK indie rock band. They came to some prominence with a sound consisting largely of post-punk, spacious guitar hooks and dance-orientated beats, and have been compared to The Cure, and New Order/Joy Division. Later recordings have grown increasingly organic and atmospheric and...
), Ty
Ty (rapper)
Ty is the recording name of the British hip hop artist, Ben Chijioke.-Career:He was born in London, his family having moved from Nigeria to the UK. He is based in Vauxhall....
, Field Music
Field Music
Field Music are a band from Sunderland, England who formed in 2004. The band's core consists of brothers David and Peter Brewis , with Andrew Moore. Their line-ups have at times featured members of both Maxïmo Park and The Futureheads...
's David Brewis (aka School of Language), Portland, Oregon
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
folk outfit The Battle of Land and Sea and Agaskodo Teliverek
Agaskodo Teliverek
Agaskodo Teliverek is a London based quartet. Their extremely unconventional merging of various musical genres makes Agaskodo’s music hard to classify, producing music which they call ‘Psycho Goulash’....
.
Past interviewees and/or studio guests have included Thirteen Senses
Thirteen Senses
Thirteen Senses are a post-britpop band from Penzance, Cornwall. The group released the album The Invitation on 27 September 2004, along with several singles: "Thru the Glass", "Do No Wrong", "Into the Fire" and "The Salt Wound Routine", of which the first three have reached the UK Top 40...
, The Subways
The Subways
The Subways are an English alternative rock / indie rock band. Their debut album, Young For Eternity, was released on 4 July 2005 in the UK and February 14, 2006 in the U.S. Their second album, All or Nothing, was released on 30 June 2008 and their third album Money and Celebrity debuted on the...
, Stewart Lee
Stewart Lee
Stewart Lee is an English stand-up comedian, writer and director known for being one half of the 1990s comedy duo Lee and Herring, and for co-writing and directing the critically acclaimed and controversial stage show Jerry Springer - The Opera...
, The Magic Numbers
The Magic Numbers
The Magic Numbers are an English pop rock band comprising two pairs of brothers and sisters from Greenford. The group was formed in 2002, releasing their critically acclaimed debut album titled The Magic Numbers on 13 June 2005...
, Graham Coxon
Graham Coxon
Graham Leslie Coxon is an English singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and painter. He came to prominence as the lead guitarist, backing vocalist and occasional lead vocalist of rock band Blur, and is also a critically acclaimed solo artist, having recorded seven solo albums...
, Gideon Defoe
Gideon Defoe
Gideon Defoe is a British writer and author of The Pirates!, a series of comedy books following a group of pirates on their adventures.His publisher claims that Gideon started writing stories about pirates to convince a young lady to leave her boyfriend for him .-Bibliography:*The Pirates!...
, Razorlight
Razorlight
Razorlight are a UK based indie rock band formed in 2002. They are primarily known in the UK, having topped the charts with the 2006 single "America" and its parent self-titled album, their second...
and Kings of Leon
Kings of Leon
Kings of Leon is an American rock band that originated in Albion, Oklahoma but formed in Nashville, Tennessee in 1999. The band is composed of brothers Anthony Caleb Followill , Ivan Nathan Followill and Michael Jared Followill Kings of Leon is an American rock band that originated in Albion,...
. Guests on the Blonde Bimbo Show compiled by Brooke Burfitt-Dons include Julian Bennett Hayley Westenra
Hayley Westenra
Hayley Dee Westenra is a New Zealand soprano, classical crossover artist, songwriter and UNICEF Ambassador. Her first internationally released album, Pure, reached No. 1 on the UK classical charts in 2003 and has sold more than two million copies worldwide...
and Johnny Rotten.
During the 2009/2010 season, the station began Rare Sessions, a YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
series in which bands perform acoustic songs around the UCL campus. Guests so far have included Gideon Conn
Gideon Conn
Gideon Conn is a singer-songwriter. He is based in Manchester, but tours extensively around the UK, and has played at UK festivals, including Glastonbury Festival....
, Dan Mangan
Dan Mangan
Daniel Mangan is a Canadian indie folk-rock singer-songwriter.-Early life:Mangan was born in Smithers, British Columbia. His family moved a fair amount, residing in both the provinces of Ontario and British Columbia - and primarily in his current home town of Vancouver...
, Hey Rosetta!
Hey Rosetta!
Hey Rosetta! is a six-piece Canadian indie rock band from St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador. Known for its energized live shows, the band creates a massive, layered sound by incorporating piano, violin and cello into the traditional four-piece garage rock sound.-History:Their influences include...
and Woodpigeon. The series won UCL Arts Colors award in 2010.
Station Alumni of Note
Alex ZaneAlex Zane
Alex Zane is an English television presenter and DJ.-Background:Zane was born in Leeds and attended Boston Spa School before going on to study Medicine at University College London, a course which he left after a year, and then Media and Communications at Goldsmiths College.-Stand-up comedy and...
- DJ in 1999-2000 (with weekly show It's Alex Zane!), went on to be a presenter for XFM
Xfm
Xfm is a brand of two commercial radio stations focused on alternative music, primarily indie pop, and owned by Global Radio.-History:Xfm was created in London in 1992 by Sammy Jacob, who later co-founded NME Radio in 2008. Xfm subsequently expanded to a network of four stations; there are...
, MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
and Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
where he hosted Popworld
Popworld
Popworld was a British television programme that was broadcast on Channel 4, offering pop news, trivia, gossip, interviews and music videos, as well as musical performances from the most recent top artists....
.
Nick Godwin - DJ in 2000-2001 worked as a DJ on London Live
BBC London 94.9
BBC London 94.9 is London's BBC Local Radio station, and part of BBC London. Broadcasting across Greater London and beyond on 94.9 FM, DAB, Virgin Media Channel 930, Sky Channel 0152 and also online...
.
Karyn Miller - Head of Spoken Word 1999-2000 went on to be a successful journalist for Vogue
Vogue (magazine)
Vogue is a fashion and lifestyle magazine that is published monthly in 18 national and one regional edition by Condé Nast.-History:In 1892 Arthur Turnure founded Vogue as a weekly publication in the United States. When he died in 1909, Condé Montrose Nast picked up the magazine and slowly began...
and The Mail on Sunday
The Mail on Sunday
The Mail on Sunday is a British conservative newspaper, currently published in a tabloid format. First published in 1982 by Lord Rothermere, it became Britain's biggest-selling Sunday newspaper following the closing of The News of the World in July 2011...
.
Club Night
Rare FM previously ran a club night called I Like It Rare! beginning with a Christmas themed special in the Winter of 2006. The nights acted as a means to fund the station whilst allowing Rare FM DJs to DJ live at venues across London with live music provided by UCLU's own Live Music Society. The Elbow Rooms in Angel played regular hosts to the night and was the venue of the last I Like It Rare! in 2008.December 2009 saw the launch of a new club night, Pensioners' Yacht Club held at the Relentless Garage in Islington and it is expected that a similar night will follow during UCLU's freshers week in 2010.