The ArrayFM app beta is open

The request line gets more messages than ever, and our DJs read every single one on air. Radio has always been about company, and that has not changed just because the transmitter is now a rack of servers. A radio station is really a promise: that there will be something good playing whenever you tune in.

Behind the scenes

Our engineers obsess over latency because a stream that stutters is a stream people switch off. Our favourite metric is the number of listeners who stay through the ad break. When a listener sends a track we have never heard, it goes straight into the next hour.

The request line gets more messages than ever, and our DJs read every single one on air. Listeners tell us they tune in while they code, study, drive, cook and occasionally while they should be sleeping. A radio station is really a promise: that there will be something good playing whenever you tune in. When a listener sends a track we have never heard, it goes straight into the next hour.

• Chat moderated by real people
• Transcripts for every talk segment
• Shows archived for 90 days
• Listen on the web, in the app or on a smart speaker

Our schedule is built in blocks, with softer sounds in the morning and heavier beats after dark. We keep a strict no-autoplay policy on the site: you press play, and then we never interrupt you. Every Friday we look at the numbers, and every Friday the numbers say people want more synthwave. The studio is small, the monitors are loud and the coffee machine has its own on-call rotation. We measure success in hours listened, not clicks, which keeps us honest about what actually matters.

What we learned

We keep the site lightweight on purpose, so it loads fast on a train, a tired laptop or a phone at 5% battery. Every Friday we look at the numbers, and every Friday the numbers say people want more synthwave. Some weeks the playlist is meticulously planned; other weeks it is a group chat argument that somehow turns into a show. Morning shows are for energy, weather, traffic and the one story everyone at work will talk about.

Behind the scenes, the playout system is a small pile of open source tools glued together with very careful shell scripts. A good transition is invisible: you only notice it when it goes wrong, like a page that flashes white between clicks. The best feedback we ever got was a single line: “you made my deploy go faster”. We measure success in hours listened, not clicks, which keeps us honest about what actually matters. We believe the music should never stop just because you clicked a link.

We do not do playlists. We do conversations that happen to have a beat.

We test new segments live, keep what works and quietly retire what does not. Most of our DJs have day jobs in software, design or support, which explains the jokes. We record every show, trim the talk, and publish it as a podcast by the next morning. Our favourite metric is the number of listeners who stay through the ad break. Listeners tell us they tune in while they code, study, drive, cook and occasionally while they should be sleeping.

Lessons from the studio

Radio has always been about company, and that has not changed just because the transmitter is now a rack of servers. We record every show, trim the talk, and publish it as a podcast by the next morning. Some of our most-loved segments started as a joke in the green room. We run on a tiny budget, a lot of goodwill and a very generous hosting sponsor.

We record every show, trim the talk, and publish it as a podcast by the next morning. The studio is small, the monitors are loud and the coffee machine has its own on-call rotation. Our engineers obsess over latency because a stream that stutters is a stream people switch off.

The short version

We keep the site lightweight on purpose, so it loads fast on a train, a tired laptop or a phone at 5% battery. Every Friday we look at the numbers, and every Friday the numbers say people want more synthwave. Radio has always been about company, and that has not changed just because the transmitter is now a rack of servers.

The station started as a side project in a spare room and a borrowed microphone. We keep the stream running around the clock, which means someone is always awake, caffeinated and slightly too excited about a B-side. We believe the music should never stop just because you clicked a link. Morning shows are for energy, weather, traffic and the one story everyone at work will talk about.

A short history

The request line gets more messages than ever, and our DJs read every single one on air. The studio is small, the monitors are loud and the coffee machine has its own on-call rotation. Most of our DJs have day jobs in software, design or support, which explains the jokes. Some weeks the playlist is meticulously planned; other weeks it is a group chat argument that somehow turns into a show.

We believe the music should never stop just because you clicked a link. Listeners tell us they tune in while they code, study, drive, cook and occasionally while they should be sleeping. A radio station is really a promise: that there will be something good playing whenever you tune in. We run on a tiny budget, a lot of goodwill and a very generous hosting sponsor. Our engineers obsess over latency because a stream that stutters is a stream people switch off.

We still print the weekly playlist and pin it on the studio wall, mostly out of habit. Our community Discord is where most show ideas start and where most bad puns go to live forever. A good transition is invisible: you only notice it when it goes wrong, like a page that flashes white between clicks.

The long version

We keep the stream running around the clock, which means someone is always awake, caffeinated and slightly too excited about a B-side. Our community Discord is where most show ideas start and where most bad puns go to live forever. Morning shows are for energy, weather, traffic and the one story everyone at work will talk about. We measure success in hours listened, not clicks, which keeps us honest about what actually matters. Listeners tell us they tune in while they code, study, drive, cook and occasionally while they should be sleeping.

Behind the scenes, the playout system is a small pile of open source tools glued together with very careful shell scripts. Radio has always been about company, and that has not changed just because the transmitter is now a rack of servers. The station started as a side project in a spare room and a borrowed microphone.

• No autoplay, ever
• Listen on the web, in the app or on a smart speaker
• Late-night mixes with no talking
• Shows archived for 90 days

The archive now holds more than two thousand hours of shows, all searchable by track and guest. The mixing desk is older than some of our interns, and it still sounds better than anything new. The request line gets more messages than ever, and our DJs read every single one on air. Radio has always been about company, and that has not changed just because the transmitter is now a rack of servers.

The numbers

Our engineers obsess over latency because a stream that stutters is a stream people switch off. We learned early that a stable stream matters more than a fancy one. The chat is moderated by humans, which keeps it friendly, weird and welcoming. We keep a strict no-autoplay policy on the site: you press play, and then we never interrupt you.

When a listener sends a track we have never heard, it goes straight into the next hour. We keep a strict no-autoplay policy on the site: you press play, and then we never interrupt you. The mixing desk is older than some of our interns, and it still sounds better than anything new. We record every show, trim the talk, and publish it as a podcast by the next morning.

The music never stops. That is not a slogan, it is a technical requirement.

If you have ever wondered why a song sounds warmer on air, the answer is a ridiculous amount of compression. We run on a tiny budget, a lot of goodwill and a very generous hosting sponsor. Accessibility matters to us, so every show gets a transcript and every page works with a keyboard. Listeners tell us they tune in while they code, study, drive, cook and occasionally while they should be sleeping. Some of our most-loved segments started as a joke in the green room.

The playlist

Our schedule is built in blocks, with softer sounds in the morning and heavier beats after dark. Our favourite metric is the number of listeners who stay through the ad break. Listeners tell us they tune in while they code, study, drive, cook and occasionally while they should be sleeping. Every Friday we look at the numbers, and every Friday the numbers say people want more synthwave.

Our engineers obsess over latency because a stream that stutters is a stream people switch off. When a listener sends a track we have never heard, it goes straight into the next hour. We run on a tiny budget, a lot of goodwill and a very generous hosting sponsor.

The short version

The chat is moderated by humans, which keeps it friendly, weird and welcoming. We believe the music should never stop just because you clicked a link. Our engineers obsess over latency because a stream that stutters is a stream people switch off.

We measure success in hours listened, not clicks, which keeps us honest about what actually matters. Some of our most-loved segments started as a joke in the green room. A good transition is invisible: you only notice it when it goes wrong, like a page that flashes white between clicks. We keep the stream running around the clock, which means someone is always awake, caffeinated and slightly too excited about a B-side. Every show on ArrayFM starts with a simple rule: play the track you would send to a friend at 2am.

Why we did it

We believe the music should never stop just because you clicked a link. We keep the stream running around the clock, which means someone is always awake, caffeinated and slightly too excited about a B-side. Late nights are for experiments: long mixes, ambient sets and the occasional field recording.

Every Friday we look at the numbers, and every Friday the numbers say people want more synthwave. Most of our DJs have day jobs in software, design or support, which explains the jokes. Our engineers obsess over latency because a stream that stutters is a stream people switch off. We believe the music should never stop just because you clicked a link. Our favourite metric is the number of listeners who stay through the ad break.

The best feedback we ever got was a single line: “you made my deploy go faster”. A good transition is invisible: you only notice it when it goes wrong, like a page that flashes white between clicks. Our schedule is built in blocks, with softer sounds in the morning and heavier beats after dark. If you have ever wondered why a song sounds warmer on air, the answer is a ridiculous amount of compression. Behind the scenes, the playout system is a small pile of open source tools glued together with very careful shell scripts.