Red-light district is one of these places that you have heard a lot about and probably, everything you have heard is true. But you have not heard everything, yet.
Apart from brothels, sex shops, adult theaters and strip clubs, red-light now offers some really catchy tunes.
Red Light Radio is an online radio station broadcasting from a former prostitution window in the red-light district of Amsterdam and brings daily shows of local DJs, live performances and cool personalities doing a one time only radio show.
Cool concept, right? So, we felt like dropping by and interviewing Hugo van Heijningen, the co-founder, owner and manager of the station.
How did you come up with the whole idea about the radio?
This area is changing - see Project 1012 - so I thought I had a good chance to get a building, a window and have a radio show.
People listen to radio but also like to see what the DJs are doing. Since December 9, they can.
What kind of music do you play?
We play everything; disco to metal, noise to jazz… everything except those silly pop songs. However, if someone is totally down with the silly pop songs maybe we can make an exception.
We have only a few DJs that are not Dutch but there will be more in the future.
What about your audience?
I get many emails, facebook messages and tweets from people who want to have a show or say hi.
Everybody seems to like it and we have more listeners every week. Some shows even have listeners from Japan and US!
We are growing...
Do people drop by?
Most visitors are my or the DJs' friends who dropped by for a beer. It is a nice place for a beer… that is why we do not have a coffee machine.
However, most people knock on the door to have a cigarette and small talk. Not many people want to come in and frankly, it is not open for everybody.
Any future plans? Maybe franchise?
It would be cool to have Red Light Radios in many "red-light districts" but first, we have to make this work.
We eat our bread without cheese and maybe I should short it a little or look for a sponsor, brand, funding etc.
Any last words?
Check our live player, click the button and enjoy freaky jazz or metal or noise or…
There are many SoundCloud recordings too.