NOW/WAVE LIVE: Seattle internet radio station streams synth pop and dark wave around the clock

NOW/WAVE LIVE is an inde­pend­ent inter­net radio sta­tion based in Seattle, Washington. It broad­casts around the clock and, accord­ing to the sta­tion, every track on air is hand-picked by a human cur­at­or. The sta­tion pos­i­tions itself expli­citly as an altern­at­ive to algorithm-driv­en stream­ing ser­vices, arguing that people with a genu­ine view on the music make bet­ter pro­gram­ming decisions than recom­mend­a­tion engines.

What's on the playlist

The station's pro­gram­ming cov­ers synth pop, dark wave, EBM, cold wave, post-punk, goth, elec­tro pop and clas­sic new wave, along with indie rock rooted in those genres. Recent rota­tion has included Blackbook, Male Tears, TVAM, Drab Majesty, Actors, Choir Boy and The New Division. The sta­tion says the major­ity of its air­time goes to inde­pend­ent artists, while estab­lished acts from the genre's his­tory remain part of the mix.

How the station is funded

NOW/WAVE LIVE runs without advert­ising, sponsored playl­ists or label fund­ing. The sta­tion cov­ers its own stream­ing, host­ing and licens­ing costs and states that it pur­chases the music it plays, so that artists are paid for their work.

Shows and presenters

Alongside the con­tinu­ous stream, the sched­ule fea­tures DJ-hos­ted pro­grammes includ­ing The Newer New Wave Show, Synth-Not, Sounds Like and Tracks From the Dark Side. The sta­tion com­pares its approach to col­lege and pir­ate radio, with a will­ing­ness to take chances on new music.

Getting in touch

Listeners can con­tact the sta­tion through The WAVE Length, which accepts voice­mails and text mes­sages at +1 218–616-9283 (218–616-WAVE) as well as mes­sages via the web­site. Requests, recom­mend­a­tions and gen­er­al feed­back all go to the same inbox.

Where to listen

NOW/WAVE LIVE can be streamed free of charge at NowWave.Live and via the NOW/WAVE LIVE app for iOS and Android.

Note on transparency

Advertisement / Sponsored Post: This art­icle was pro­duced in paid part­ner­ship with PlaylistsForYou. All fig­ures and details about the ser­vice come from the pro­vider itself.