SomaFM Heavyweight Reggae

The San Francisco-based internet radio station SomaFM operates with Heavyweight Reggae a specialty channel dedicated almost exclusively to the various styles of Jamaican music. The programming consists of a curated selection of reggae, ska, and rocksteady. In addition to well-known genre classics, there is a particular focus on so-called Deep Tracks, i.e., less popular or rarely played recordings. This selection is based on the personal music collection of the responsible DJ Dion, who regularly compiles tracks from his extensive archive of digital files, CDs, and vinyl records.

The station broadcasts completely ad-free and finances its operation exclusively through listener donations. Technically, Heavyweight Reggae is optimized for different bandwidths and offers a variety of streams, including high-resolution MP3 formats at 256 kbit/s as well as AAC variants. Access is available worldwide via the web player or by integrating the corresponding stream links into external playback software and hardware radios. The station is part of the SomaFM network, which has existed since the year 2000 and is based in California.