Radio Blagon
Encyclopedia
Radio Blagon is a volunteer-run
, indie Internet radio
station near Bordeaux
in southwest France
. The station was created in October 2004 and its objective is the diffusion and the promotion of diverse francophone
music, such as rock, reggae
, electronic music
, etc. Most of the artists promoted on this radio belong to the alternative music scene.
In addition to a continuous stream
of francophone music, the station regularly carries out broadcasts with topics ranging from interviews, reports and current events. In France, it is the first Internet
radio stations to offer a "radiophonic bouquet", a choice between different channels.
This radio is available on channel 99 of the FreeboxTV, that belong to French ISP Free
. It is listed also on Shoutcast
site.
The station currently broadcasts seven music channels and a video channel.
channel that streams music video
s.
This musical bouquet is hosted on three servers
located in Paris
, connected by optical fiber
s which allow a bandwidth of 300 Mbit/s. These servers can receive several thousand listeners simultaneously. Music is streamed at 128 kbit/s or 192 kbit/s bitrate
s.
Radio Blagon endeavors to promote artists from diverse geographical origins; there are groups not only from France
but also from other French speaking regions, like Quebec
, Switzerland
, Belgium
, Mali
, Côte d'Ivoire
and Haiti
.
The station seeks to promote unknown, self-produced artists by playing their music on the various channels. The listeners take part regularly in the programming by recommending new groups on the station’s online forum.
Lastly, Radio Blagon carries out interviews of well known francophones, such as Thiéfaine, Les Têtes Raides
, Les Wampas
, Tryo
and Les Cowboys Fringants
. The interviews are available for free on the Radio Blagon website, in podcasts
from iTunes
or in the French directories. These interviews contribute to the notability of this station. The website is often very active after new interviews are posted.
and le tremplin rock de Lanton in Aquitaine
.
On August 19, 2006, the station held a benefit concert for the children of Haiti, which featured the Cameroon
ian artist Idy Oulo and the Haiti
an artist Bob Bovano. The profits were transferred to the children of Haiti
.
In 2007, the association organised a music festival near Bordeaux
, À fleur de rock, starring Mademoiselle K
, Nosfell
, etc.
Lastly, the station edited in 2006 the music album
of Nicogé, singer of the group Le Clandestin
each month:
Approximately 3,000 different songs are played on the various channels, including 2,000 for the channel Rock Français.
Voluntary association
A voluntary association or union is a group of individuals who enter into an agreement as volunteers to form a body to accomplish a purpose.Strictly speaking, in many jurisdictions no formalities are necessary to start an association...
, indie Internet radio
Internet radio
Internet radio is an audio service transmitted via the Internet...
station near Bordeaux
Bordeaux
Bordeaux is a port city on the Garonne River in the Gironde department in southwestern France.The Bordeaux-Arcachon-Libourne metropolitan area, has a population of 1,010,000 and constitutes the sixth-largest urban area in France. It is the capital of the Aquitaine region, as well as the prefecture...
in southwest France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. The station was created in October 2004 and its objective is the diffusion and the promotion of diverse francophone
Francophone
The adjective francophone means French-speaking, typically as primary language, whether referring to individuals, groups, or places. Often, the word is used as a noun to describe a natively French-speaking person....
music, such as rock, reggae
Reggae
Reggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady.Reggae is based...
, electronic music
Electronic music
Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...
, etc. Most of the artists promoted on this radio belong to the alternative music scene.
In addition to a continuous stream
Streaming media
Streaming media is multimedia that is constantly received by and presented to an end-user while being delivered by a streaming provider.The term "presented" is used in this article in a general sense that includes audio or video playback. The name refers to the delivery method of the medium rather...
of francophone music, the station regularly carries out broadcasts with topics ranging from interviews, reports and current events. In France, it is the first Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
radio stations to offer a "radiophonic bouquet", a choice between different channels.
This radio is available on channel 99 of the FreeboxTV, that belong to French ISP Free
Free (French ISP)
Free is a French ISP, which is a subsidiary of Iliad. It operates in France.It was the first company to offer a "triple play" service in France, through its self-produced singular Freebox set-top box...
. It is listed also on Shoutcast
SHOUTcast
SHOUTcast is cross-platform proprietary software for streaming media over the Internet. The software, developed by Nullsoft , allows digital audio content, primarily in MP3 or HE-AAC format, to be broadcast to and from media player software, enabling the creation of Internet radio "stations"...
site.
The station currently broadcasts seven music channels and a video channel.
Radio content
Radio Blagon streams music on the Internet via eight different channels: seven musical channels and a video channel. The seven musical channels are named Rock Français, Scène française, Canal Hard, Canal festif, Canal électro-rock, Canal ambient and Canal Reggae Iles. The final channel, named Télé Blagon , is an Internet televisionInternet television
Internet television is the digital distribution of television content via the Internet...
channel that streams music video
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
s.
This musical bouquet is hosted on three servers
Web server
Web server can refer to either the hardware or the software that helps to deliver content that can be accessed through the Internet....
located in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, connected by optical fiber
Optical fiber
An optical fiber is a flexible, transparent fiber made of a pure glass not much wider than a human hair. It functions as a waveguide, or "light pipe", to transmit light between the two ends of the fiber. The field of applied science and engineering concerned with the design and application of...
s which allow a bandwidth of 300 Mbit/s. These servers can receive several thousand listeners simultaneously. Music is streamed at 128 kbit/s or 192 kbit/s bitrate
Bitrate
In telecommunications and computing, bit rate is the number of bits that are conveyed or processed per unit of time....
s.
Radio Blagon endeavors to promote artists from diverse geographical origins; there are groups not only from France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
but also from other French speaking regions, like Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
, Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
, Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
, Mali
Mali
Mali , officially the Republic of Mali , is a landlocked country in Western Africa. Mali borders Algeria on the north, Niger on the east, Burkina Faso and the Côte d'Ivoire on the south, Guinea on the south-west, and Senegal and Mauritania on the west. Its size is just over 1,240,000 km² with...
, Côte d'Ivoire
Côte d'Ivoire
The Republic of Côte d'Ivoire or Ivory Coast is a country in West Africa. It has an area of , and borders the countries Liberia, Guinea, Mali, Burkina Faso and Ghana; its southern boundary is along the Gulf of Guinea. The country's population was 15,366,672 in 1998 and was estimated to be...
and Haiti
Haiti
Haiti , officially the Republic of Haiti , is a Caribbean country. It occupies the western, smaller portion of the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antillean archipelago, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. Ayiti was the indigenous Taíno or Amerindian name for the island...
.
The station seeks to promote unknown, self-produced artists by playing their music on the various channels. The listeners take part regularly in the programming by recommending new groups on the station’s online forum.
Lastly, Radio Blagon carries out interviews of well known francophones, such as Thiéfaine, Les Têtes Raides
Les Têtes Raides
-Group history:The group was founded in Paris during the 1980s. Originally, they played music heavily influenced by the punk movement and depended on electric instruments. Their third album featured Anne-Gaëlle, a classically trained cellist, and marked a turning point in the group's music toward a...
, Les Wampas
Les Wampas
Les Wampas are a French punk rock/psychobilly band, who refer more exactly to their music as "Yé-yé-punk". The band was formed in Paris in 1983.-Les Wampas vous aiment:...
, Tryo
Tryo
Tryo is a French language 'unplugged' reggae acoustic band, popular in Europe and in Quebec, with three French guitarists, a percussionist, and a producer: Guizmo, Christophe Mali, Manu Eveno, Daniel "Danielito" Bravo and Bibou....
and Les Cowboys Fringants
Les Cowboys Fringants
Les Cowboys Fringants are a popular band and cult phenomenon from Quebec, who perform Québécois néo-trad music , the band also draws on Country music. They have gained an international underground following, especially in France, French-speaking Belgium and Switzerland...
. The interviews are available for free on the Radio Blagon website, in podcasts
Podcasting
A podcast is a series of digital media files that are released episodically and often downloaded through web syndication...
from iTunes
ITunes
iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....
or in the French directories. These interviews contribute to the notability of this station. The website is often very active after new interviews are posted.
Channels
- Rock Français : this channel plays new music from the French-speaking alternative scene. It is the "headlight" channel of the station because it is the most listened to channel.
- Scène française : this channel is a more accessible version of Rock Français.
- Canal Hard : this channel gathers all that is less ordinary among the French-speaking scene.
- Canal Festif : this channel plays festive music.
- Canal Electro-Rock : this channel plays various kind of electronic musicElectronic musicElectronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...
and rock music. - Canal ambient : this channel plays relaxing musics such as chill outChill outChill out may mean:*Chill out music, a laid-back style of music*Chill Out, an album by KLF*Chill Out *Chill Out, an album by John Lee Hooker...
music. - Reggae Iles : this channel plays Caribbean musicCaribbean musicThe music of the Caribbean is a diverse grouping of musical genres. They are each syntheses of African, European, Indian and native influences, largely created by descendants of African slaves...
like zoukZoukZouk is a style of rhythmic music originating from the Caribbean islands of Guadeloupe & Martinique. Zouk means "party" or "festival" in the local Antillean Creole of French, although the word originally referred to, and is still used to refer to, a popular dance, based on the Polish dance, the...
and reggae. - Télé Blagon : this channel is an Internet televisionInternet televisionInternet television is the digital distribution of television content via the Internet...
station, that plays music videoMusic videoA music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
s.
Organization
The station is managed by voluntary administrators and is free of advertising. It organized an association in order to be able to join the contributions of the members needed to obtain the rights which the radio and the website require. Since March 2006, Radio Blagon has been a member of the Association Nationale des webradio, an association created in order to defend the legal interests of French Internet radio stations.Other activities
The association Radio Blagon is partners with musical festivals like the festival D' Hilbesheim in AlsaceAlsace
Alsace is the fifth-smallest of the 27 regions of France in land area , and the smallest in metropolitan France. It is also the seventh-most densely populated region in France and third most densely populated region in metropolitan France, with ca. 220 inhabitants per km²...
and le tremplin rock de Lanton in Aquitaine
Aquitaine
Aquitaine , archaic Guyenne/Guienne , is one of the 27 regions of France, in the south-western part of metropolitan France, along the Atlantic Ocean and the Pyrenees mountain range on the border with Spain. It comprises the 5 departments of Dordogne, :Lot et Garonne, :Pyrénées-Atlantiques, Landes...
.
On August 19, 2006, the station held a benefit concert for the children of Haiti, which featured the Cameroon
Cameroon
Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon , is a country in west Central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west; Chad to the northeast; the Central African Republic to the east; and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the Republic of the Congo to the south. Cameroon's coastline lies on the...
ian artist Idy Oulo and the Haiti
Haiti
Haiti , officially the Republic of Haiti , is a Caribbean country. It occupies the western, smaller portion of the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antillean archipelago, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. Ayiti was the indigenous Taíno or Amerindian name for the island...
an artist Bob Bovano. The profits were transferred to the children of Haiti
Haiti
Haiti , officially the Republic of Haiti , is a Caribbean country. It occupies the western, smaller portion of the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antillean archipelago, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. Ayiti was the indigenous Taíno or Amerindian name for the island...
.
In 2007, the association organised a music festival near Bordeaux
Bordeaux
Bordeaux is a port city on the Garonne River in the Gironde department in southwestern France.The Bordeaux-Arcachon-Libourne metropolitan area, has a population of 1,010,000 and constitutes the sixth-largest urban area in France. It is the capital of the Aquitaine region, as well as the prefecture...
, À fleur de rock, starring Mademoiselle K
Mademoiselle K
Mademoiselle K is a four-person French rock band currently signed with EMI, as of July 2007. The band takes its name from its leader, Katerine Gierak, and so the K is for Katerine.-Early days:...
, Nosfell
Nosfell
Nosfell is a rock musician who performs in a group with Pierre Lebourgeois and Orkhan Murat . His full stage name, Labyala Fela Da Jawid Fel, means "The one who walks and heals"....
, etc.
Lastly, the station edited in 2006 the music album
Music Album
Music album is the name of:* Music Album , a 1970s Canadian television series* Album, a collection of music tracks...
of Nicogé, singer of the group Le Clandestin
Statistics
Since its setting on line, Radio Blagon is in constant progression,each month:
- 200,000 people listen to Radio Blagon.
- 100,000 people watch Télé Blagon.
- 70,000 people visit the website.
- Each interview is downloaded about 3,000 times.
Approximately 3,000 different songs are played on the various channels, including 2,000 for the channel Rock Français.
External links
- official Site of Radio Blagon
- Site of Télé Blagon
- Forum of Radio Blagon (a section is dedicated to English-speaking)
- Blog de Radio Blagon