Trilingual and Funky: 'Radio Global Germany' Takes 'The Berlin Spectator' On the Air
Update April 8th, 2021: The project proved to be too effortful for the little success it had within a few weeks. We will likely end it these days.
Radio Global Germany, an online radio station in development, is on air. The station will offer what it calls 'Real Music' and editorial content from Berlin. There is another aspect that sticks out.
Berlin, March 6th, 2021 (The Berlin Spectator) — Radio Global Germany, a new online radio station that is an affiliate of The Berlin Spectator, is already on the air while it is being set up. The online station offer a special blend of music as well as news and features from Berlin. More and more programming will be added over time.
Uplifting Nature
Step by step, editorial content will be added. The show 'Berlin - City of Cities' is already providing information from Berlin. It relies on this publication, The Berlin Spectator, but also has exclusive content. Over time, more news and cultural insights from Germany, including its vibrant capital, will be added. Setting it all up will take a few months. Step by step, more elements will be included to Radio Global's program. At this stage, 'Berlin - City of Cities' is on the air every day from midnight to 2:00 a.m., from 6:00 a.m. to noon and from 2:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. CET.
What Radio Global Germany's music is concerned, it will consist of Soul, Funk, Jazz and Brazilian music with a strong 1970s-tendency. There is a big 'Real Music' community. Many of its members will be attracted by the sounds the station will be offering. At the same time, the beauty of the music and its uplifting nature will appeal to open-minded persons who do not consider themselves Soul, Funk or Jazz lovers, at least not before they listen to Radio Global Germany.
International Approach
During regular programming, easily digestible Real Music tunes of several kinds will be aired. Special shows highlight subgenres. For instance, the show 'Sing Me a Song' (daily, at 4:00 a.m., 12:00 noon and 8:00 p.m.) is focusing on stunning songs, and 'The Fun Tracks' (daily, at 2:00 a.m., 6:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m.) is a broadcast series that delivers energetic Funk recorded since the late 1970s and Jazz-Funk "bombs".
Radio Global Germany is a station for the Real Music community, for expatriates in Germany, but also for Germans. The station will take a very international approach, also by presenting its program in several languages. German and English are the two main tongues. The music shows are even being presented in three languages simultaneously, namely in English, Spanish and German. This aspect qualifies as unique as well.
Radio Global Germany general streams at 192 kbps, for instance via the player above. On some mobile devices, those with weaker internet connections, using the 68 kbps stream might be a better idea (works on mobile version of Chrome).
Driving Force
The driving force behind Radio Global Germany is Imanuel Marcus, who worked for conventional radio stations a lot, decades ago, as a presenter, editor, news editor and Head of Music. He also was a war reporter in Bosnia, Serbia and Croatia in the 1990s, as well as a U.S. correspondent for five and a half years. During a long break he took from journalism, he dealt with 'Real Music' a lot, as a concert agent and festival director.
Imanuel Marcus also runs The Berlin Spectator, this English-language publication for expatriates which is also being read by Germans as well as people from all over the world including the U.K. and the U.S.. It offers the most relevant news from Germany, local news from Berlin as well as features on a wide range of subjects. The Berlin Spectator was founded in January of 2019. At this stage, both the publication and the radio station are "low to zero budget projects", as their founder puts it. He is hoping for donations from listeners.
Lifelong Dream
According to Imanuel Marcus, Radio Global Germany is both an extension of The Berlin Spectator and the fulfillment of a lifelong dream. The latter applies to the music part of the endeavor.