SomaFM: Commercial-free underground/alternative streaming radio w/player app

[abacab]

Over 30 unique channels of listener-supported, commercial-free, underground/alternative radio broadcasting to the world. All music hand-picked by SomaFM's award-winning DJs and music directors.

https://somafm.com/

No registration required. Listener supported.

A few of my favorite channels:

Groove Salad: Downtempo and chillout electronica featuring artists such as Kruder & Dorfmeister, Fila Brazillia, dZihan and Kamien, Afterlife, Zero Seven, Nightmares On Wax, Shantel, Groove Armada and artists on Pork Recordings, Waveform Records and Cafe del Mar recordings. https://somafm.com/groovesalad/

Secret Agent: An eclectic blend of cinematic downtempo, stylish lounge, sambas and easy-tempo sixties European pop music with an adventurous flair. Artists you'll hear include Piero Piccioni, De-Phazz, Seks Bomba, Shirley Bassey, Henry Mancini, William Orbit, Yoshinori Sunahara, Martin Denny and Walter Wanderly. https://somafm.com/secretagent/index.html

Space Station Soma: Mostly analog-inspired mid- and downtempo electronic music, from 1990 to now. Broadcasting from geostationary orbit to listeners here on Earth and throughout the solar system. https://somafm.com/spacestation/

SomaFM also has channels for folk, indie-pop, reggae, album rock from the 70's, vintage soul, underground 80's UK Synthpop and new wave, country, instrumental hip-hop/future soul/liquid trap, as well as most flavors of electronic music.

Windows app available in the Microsoft store,  Android and iOS apps available in their respective app store. Free. No account needed.

Edited August 4, 2022 by abacab

[Starship Krupa]

Longtime fan here. I've discovered so much great stuff there.

I'm also a fan of Drone Zone, Synphaera, Beat Blender, and Illinois Lounge.

It's one of my musical ambitions to get a track played on a SomaFM stations.

Rusty did download my track and started following me on Bandcamp, but it's not been played on SomaFM to my knowledge.

I suspect he may have a wait-and-see policy for artists with only one track to their name.

[abacab]

19 minutes ago, Starship Krupa said:

Longtime fan here. I've discovered so much great stuff there.

I discovered SomaFM early in the last decade, while I was taking some online computer science classes. I found the instrumental stations were very conducive to deep concentration!

[Starship Krupa]

1 minute ago, abacab said:

I discovered SomaFM early in the last decade

It was 2012 for me. They helped me emerge from the worst episode of major depression I've ever experienced.

Later, I moved from my indie rock focus back to electronica, which shift was down to my discovery of SomaFM. I have much to thank them for, and did so on my Bandcamp page.

[PhonoBrainer]

Best ever. Long time listener. Multiple swags from the store purchased. Groove Salad is beyond excellent. Recently discovered Black Rock.

Lusine, Tycho, the New Deal, Alex Cortiz. Jon Hopkins of course. Without GS, how would I ever have heard of Ulrich Schnauss??

Oxygen by P O N G M A N?

Anything by Smooth Genestar???

Fanboi stops now.

 

[TerraSin]

I love SomaFM. I don't love that they disabled streaming on platforms such as in games. lol

There are some amazing stations on there though. I wish they would put a software player out that would allow browsing stations easier. I still run it in Winamp. lol

[abacab]

4 minutes ago, TerraSin said:

I love SomaFM. I don't love that they disabled streaming on platforms such as in games. lol

There are some amazing stations on there though. I wish they would put a software player out that would allow browsing stations easier. I still run it in Winamp. lol

The web browser HTML version on PC works well. The main page lets you browse all of the stations, and the pop-out HTML web player controls the playback for the selected station.

[TerraSin]

1 minute ago, abacab said:

The web browser HTML version on PC works well. The main page lets you browse all of the stations, and the pop-out HTML web player controls the playback for the selected station.

Yeah, I'd just like something akin to Spotify's app so it didn't have to run through a browser. I'm strange when it comes to all this browser based stuff. I've always liked everything in their own apps. Especially since browsers are trash when it comes to resource balancing. Hell, Firefox is using over 2gigs of RAM right now. lol

[Starship Krupa]

38 minutes ago, TerraSin said:

I wish they would put a software player out that would allow browsing stations easier.

Check Microsoft Store and the iOS App Store and Google Play Store. All of them have SomaFM players that allow you to Like songs and go directly to sites where you can purchase them. I haven't checked, but the MacOS App Store probably does, too.

Whatever CODEC they're using is really good.

[abacab]

9 minutes ago, Starship Krupa said:

Check Microsoft Store and the iOS App Store and Google Play Store. All of them have SomaFM players that allow you to Like songs and go directly to sites where you can purchase them. I haven't checked, but the MacOS App Store probably does, too.

Whatever CODEC they're using is really good.

Here are the mobile apps for SomaFM

https://somafm.com/mobile/

And drum roll..................................

The SomaFM app for Windows!

Edited August 4, 2022 by abacab

[Starship Krupa]

1 hour ago, PhonoBrainer said:

Without GS, how would I ever have heard of Ulrich Schnauss?

Same here. He's the man. Did you know there's even a record label named A Strangely Isolated Place? BTW, Hoopla Digital, which is usually free with a library card, has the original mix/master of Strangely Isolated Place which I like better than the 2019 remaster. It sounds clearer and better balanced.

Dave Tipper, Chris Zippel, Telefon Tel Aviv, Candlegravity, Steve Roach, so many discoveries thanks to SomaFM.

[abacab]

Edited August 4, 2022 by abacab

[PhonoBrainer]

. . . and there's a Roku app for Roku TV's . . .

 

[abacab]

Just now, PhonoBrainer said:

. . . and there's a Roku app for Roku TV's . . .

 

Thanks, gotta check that out! Big fan of my Roku!!!

[abacab]

9 minutes ago, PhonoBrainer said:

. . . and there's a Roku app for Roku TV's . . .

Also on the Roku Express streaming device, which is what I am using....

Which is very cool, because the Roku Express is hooked up to my living room HDTV, and that is hooked to my stereo receiver and full size speakers!

Edited August 4, 2022 by abacab

[PavlovsCat]

Interesting. I vaguely recall this service, but definitely need to check it out again.  Thanks for the insights @abacab and @Starship Krupa. I really would like to find a good outlet to find new music. Back in the day, my town (Chicago) had a great radio station that was very good at playing off the beaten path rock bands and also had shows devoted to jazz and blues,  but over the years, they stayed with the same music and artists, and while I've aged too, I still love hearing a new great band or song. 

Edited August 4, 2022 by PavolvsCat

[abacab]

1 hour ago, PavolvsCat said:

I still love hearing a new great band or song. 

Dive right in! The waters flow deep!

But I should add that us older guys should probably check out Illinois Street Lounge or Secret Agent first...

Edited August 5, 2022 by abacab

[Starship Krupa]

SomaFM does tend to lean toward the electronic, but there are other genres served. Boot Liquor for new artists doing country things, Left Coast 70's for mellow Yacht Rock-y sounds, Folk Forward, Metal Detector, Thistle Radio for Celtic-influenced stuff. Looking through the list of stations....oh COOL, there's a new one called 5MD Radio that I'm digging. Kinda a bit edgier Groove Salad. The chord changes are a little darker. I am definitely submitting "Sensation" to the curator of this station.

From what I know of your tastes, @PavolvsCat (is that spelling deliberate or a typo?), you might dig Radio Paradise, too:

 

[PavlovsCat]

29 minutes ago, Starship Krupa said:

SomaFM does tend to lean toward the electronic, but there are other genres served. Boot Liquor for new artists doing country things, Left Coast 70's for mellow Yacht Rock-y sounds, Folk Forward, Metal Detector, Thistle Radio for Celtic-influenced stuff. Looking through the list of stations....oh COOL, there's a new one called 5MD Radio that I'm digging. Kinda a bit edgier Groove Salad. The chord changes are a little darker. I am definitely submitting "Sensation" to the curator of this station.

From what I know of your tastes, @PavolvsCat (is that spelling deliberate or a typo?), you might dig Radio Paradise, too:

 

Thanks for the recommendation and catching the typo in my username! Cakewalk keeps changing my name back to my registered name -- which I changed to my pseudonym from back in the day -- and when I mistyped PavlovsCat today when I went to change it back. While I am a rocker, I actually love a lot of different genres,  including jazz, funk, prog rock, R&B, reggae,  world music, Latin music... I even surprise my (teenage) kids by liking music they don't expect people my age to like. The surprise? Rihanna.

That's right forum friends. The first rock album I purchased was Zeppelin III at age 5. My mother,  a classically trained (music college) pianist was horrified that her son liked "acid rock." At 18, when my band covered "Good Times,  Bad Times," she seemed to respect the band more.  So yeah, I know I'm going to get crap for admiting I dig some of Rhianna's songs!

Edited August 5, 2022 by PavlovsCat

[Starship Krupa]

3 minutes ago, PavlovsCat said:

I know I'm going to get crap for admiting I dig some of Rhianna's songs!

I think musicians tend to be more open-minded about such things. We can appreciate the craft that goes into making music, however it's made or by whom.

Maybe we see how they connect with their audience, and appreciate that that's a skill right there. Maybe a good song is just a good song, maybe a good singer is just a good singer, etc.