Pulse guide

Where to Hear Underground Music on UK Radio: a DAB Station Guide

Beyond mainstream daytime playlists: the UK digital radio and community stations playing house, UK garage, drum & bass, oldskool and soul.

Why digital radio is having an underground revival

National FM stations rarely stray far from safe daytime playlists. On DAB, smart speakers and station apps, independent and community broadcasters are keeping the UK's underground traditions alive and giving local DJs and producers a platform around the clock.

Shine 879

House, UK garage, oldskool and club classics. Shine started life as an Essex pirate station and now broadcasts on DAB across Essex and parts of Greater London, plus worldwide online. Expect veteran DJs mixing nineties and early-2000s garage anthems, soulful vocal house and big weekend party sets.

Centreforce

Acid house, classic house, UK garage and hardcore. One of the most famous names in British rave history, born during the 1989 second summer of love and now broadcasting legally on DAB across London and the South East. Real vinyl DJs, upfront underground house and oldskool garage sessions at the weekend.

Select Radio

Tech house, deep house, melodic techno and UKG. Broadcasting on DAB+ across London and the South East with a strict focus on modern electronic club music. Good for a Friday afternoon if you want to hear what headliners will be playing that weekend.

Rinse FM and Flex FM

UK garage, grime, drum & bass, bassline and dubstep. Rinse shaped the evolution of garage, grime and dubstep through the 2000s, and alongside Flex FM on South London DAB the pair remain the benchmark for fresh dubplates, live MC sets and genuine grassroots club culture.

How to tune in

Most car radios and home DAB sets pick these stations up automatically in London, the Home Counties and parts of the Midlands, depending on the local multiplex. If you are outside the transmitter area, all of them stream free on their own websites and through TuneIn, Alexa and Google smart speakers.