Radio Interface will soon be transmitting live festive material on to the web in association with Festival Eye.
THE HISTORYPatrick, Philipa, Steve and Ashley are the main team behind interface. Ashley who founded interface, originally ran a pirate radio station (Heart FM) from a block of flats in South London in the early 90s Continued confiscation of equipment made him think seriously about alternatives. The result was an internet project that is now one of cyberspace's success stories.
The radio station is "non-commercial" and the project is supported by donations from hardware and software producers and interface's own crew. DJs pay ?10 per set as a contribution to the costs of transmitting music down an ISDN line (wide band telephone line) to computer servers, around the world.
These then relay the music and site content to up to 1 million "visitors" per week. At anyone time there are now between 5000-10000 tuning in to interface via "the web".
This makes them the world's biggest dedicated "internet radio station" and the second most visited web site that is hosted in Britain. Interface were involved in developing the software (Real Audio) that they use with 'AL Digital'.
They currently transmit a mostly "dance music" based repetoire. Original mixes by their DJs mean that there are no copy-right problems.
THE SHOW
Interface and Festival Eye are offering to run a joint "show space" and "transmission studio" from events starting this year. We are interested in covering diverse aspects of festival culture. We don't want to just cover the main stage, but are looking to host & cover more of the hidden sides of events, including camp fire jams, theatre and workshops. Much of what goes out initially will depend on what we are asked to do by event organisers. We will be transmitting from the Festival Eye Marquee at "The Enchanted Garden Festival" (aka "The Big Chill").
We are looking for bookings for other events so organizers get in touch if you want to go "live" world-wide on the net, either for this season or in future.
HELP WANTED
The festival project is still in its infancy and will need a dedicated crew once it starts to take off. If you would like to help in some way and you have skills, ideas, or resources to offer (eg. help with setting up a space, filming material, putting on or helping with activities) please write in saying what you can do).