dublab DEdublab DE

dublab started in Los Angeles in 1999 as a non-profit built around the phrase future roots — DJs who wanted a station with no format to keep to and no owner to answer to. Cologne took the name in 2015 and built a local institution rather than a franchise, with a storefront studio on the Hansaring, a membership of listeners paying a few euros a month to keep the thing independent, and a roster of residents drawn from the city's record shops, labels and club nights rather than from anything resembling radio.

Ambient, dub and experimental turn up most often across the week, with house, disco, folk and jazz close behind and no attempt made to reconcile them. Hulk Hodn digs through hip-hop on Cold Cuts, James Pants runs Creep Zone, CV Vision keeps Alpha Frequenz, and Julian Brimmers talks to musicians on Calling In A Favour. Büdchen Radio moves the whole operation into a corner kiosk.