Like a lot of recent projects, alto radio is the product of lockdown. Founded by friends Owen and Tom, we had thrown the idea around for some time but managed to have a serious think about how this could become a reality during the summer of 2020. We managed to set the station up using freeware, an old laptop and an inconsistent North Leeds broadband connection.

Our opening broadcast was October 2nd 2020. Originally, we had some friends and a small number of DJs we didn’t know contribute mixes that were broadcast for a couple of hours over the weekend. Our vision for alto was that it would be a sort of everyman’s radio station, a friendly and approachable local project that is as broad as possible. We host a huge variety of shows from folk, to jazz, Balearic, synth pop and everything in between. Many of our DJs put together their first ever mix for alto, which is so nice to see. We like the idea that in one evening, listeners can hear a DJ that has 30 years experience followed by someone who picked up mixing music whilst furloughed as a hobby.

Looking to the future, we see the next step is creating an accessible place we can call home and when the guidelines allow it, meeting some of our creators in person. We look forward to putting on events, workshops, fundraisers and all of the other fun stuff that would come with operating a radio station under regular circumstances. The addition of a physical studio space means that we can flourish as a Leeds-based community radio station as well as hosting international guests remotely. The hope is that we will be able to invite people from the community into the studio and in time, create a hub for everyone to enjoy alto.

To do this, we need a home. This is where you come in...

We are a long way into achieving our goal already, as we have secured a space at Testbed, a new venture by The Wunderkind Group (Sheaf St, Duke Studios, Duke Makes, in Good Company) – We have a space in the offices at the front of what will become a new large scale event spaces for Leeds (www.testbedleeds.com). Our challenge is to turn said space into a sustainable, accessible, fully-functioning studio. This means fitting out the room with all necessary equipment, furniture, fixings, branding, and a new station computer.

We are very grateful to have the backing of Testbed in this project. They have kindly given us rent-free studio space for at least one year, enabling us to grow without having to worry about rental costs for the start-up period.

We have a subs structure being setup to cover future costs, and creative investment whilst remaining sustainable. However, the initial start-up costs for the fit out are quite substantial.

Thanks for taking the time to read this - your help is hugely appreciated, big or small. If you are able to help, you would be part of not just our success story, but for the creative community of Leeds as a whole.