Rare FM is the student

radio station Radio broadcasting is the broadcasting of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based rad ...

University College London University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...

Background

Rare FM was set up in 1998 as an affiliated society of UCL Union. Rare FM broadcasts continuously over the Internet with approximately 15 hours of live original programming, starting at 9:00a.m. and finishing at 12:00 midnight from. Rare FM has started to provide some content via

podcast A podcast is a Radio program, program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. Typically, a podcast is an Episode, episodic series of digital audio Computer file, files that users can download to a personal device or str ...

which is published through Anchor to Spotify and Apple Podcasts among other locations. Rare FM now broadcasts a published schedule of shows from November to June between the hours of 09:00 to 00:00. When not broadcasting set shows, the station plays a curated playlist. Rare FM has moved home over the last two years in a process overseen by the 2021-23 president, treasurer and studio manager: Yiannis Goeldner-Thompson, Dan Amery and Jack Ward respectively. The new studio has been fully upgraded with broadcasting and mixing equipment. Rare FM also hosts several club nights throughout the year at venues such as The Cause and The Pickle Factory. From 2022-23 these are overseen by Louis Miller, the station's Head of Events. Rare FM also promotes its music based journalism magazine and online platform, Under City Lights, which goes to print annually. 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.

Content

Rare FM is primarily a music station, which in past tended to focus on

indie Indie is a short form of "independence" or "independent"; it may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media *Independent media, media free of influence by government or corporate interests *Indie art, fine arts made by artists independent of commer ...

alternative Alternative or alternate may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Alternative (Kamen Rider), Alternative (''Kamen Rider''), a character in the Japanese TV series ''Kamen Rider Ryuki'' * Alternative comics, or independent comics are an altern ...

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 is a music genre that originated in African-American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African-Americans in the ...

Soul The soul is the purported Mind–body dualism, immaterial aspect or essence of a Outline of life forms, living being. It is typically believed to be Immortality, immortal and to exist apart from the material world. The three main theories that ...

Disco Disco is a music genre, genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the late 1960s from the United States' urban nightclub, nightlife, particularly in African Americans, African-American, Italian-Americans, Italian-American, LGBTQ ...

Jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

Blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...

House A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air c ...

, Electro,

Hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...

DnB DNB may refer to: * The ''Dictionary of National Biography'', a reference work on notable figures from British history * Diplomate of National Board, an Indian credential for healthcare providers * Drum and bass (DnB), an electronic music style * ...

Dubstep Dubstep is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in South London in the early 2000s. The style emerged as a UK garage offshoot that blended 2-step rhythms and sparse dub production, as well as incorporating elements of broken ...

Grime Grime may refer to: * Dirt, in the form of black, ingrained dust Music * Grime music, a genre of music * ''Grime'' (album), a 2001 album by Iniquity * "Grime", a 2023 song by Macklemore from ''Ben'' * "Grime", a 2024 song by Kittie from ''Fire ...

Psytrance Psychedelic trance, psytrance, or psy is a subgenre of trance music characterized by arrangements of rhythms and layered melodies created by high tempo riffs. The genre offers variety in terms of mood, tempo, and style. Some examples include full ...

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 reggae, roots style, which had dominated much of the 1970s.Barrow, Steve & Dalton, Peter (2 ...

and

Reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica during the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its Jamaican diaspora, diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, "Do the Reggay", was the first ...

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 The Student Radio Association (SRA) 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. It is a not-for-profit organ ...

chart show each Sunday.

Broadcasts

Broadcasts in 2020

Rare FM for the first time since its formation, changed broadcast location, choosing to broadcast from presenter's homes through Mixlr whilst the UK continued to inflicted by the Covid-19 pandemic. The station now hosts 90 different shows with over 150 current members.

Events

Rare FM regularly puts on events which fill some of London's largest nightclub venues. From 2020-2023, this has included The Cause, Corsica Studios and Pickle Factory. Rare FM members including president from 2021-2023, Yiannis Goeldner-Thompson, Ibra Ali and Rob Norris also played at the Seaside Beano Festival with The Cause in June 2022.

Station alumni

* Aliza Ayaz - Pakistan City FM89 RJ *

Alex Zane Alex Zane (born Faris Alexander L. Albayaty) is an English television presenter and DJ. Early and personal life Zane was born in Leeds and attended Boston Spa School before going on to study Medicine at University College London, a course wh ...

- DJ in 1999-2000 (with weekly show ''It's Alex Zane!''), went on to be a presenter for

XFM Radio X is a British national commercial radio station focused on alternative music, primarily indie rock, and owned by Global. The station launched in 1989 as a pirate radio station named Q102, before being renamed Xfm in 1992. The station b ...

MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...

and

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...

where he hosted ''

Popworld ''Popworld'' is a British television programme that was broadcast on Channel 4 as part of the T4 strand, featuring pop news, trivia, gossip, interviews and music videos, as well as musical performances from contemporary artists. The show began ...

''.

References

External links

Official Rare FM websiteUCL Union's Rare FM pageThe Student Radio Association's list of members
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rare Fm Clubs and societies of University College London Student radio in the United Kingdom Radio stations in London