Radio Rivendell is a non-commercial, non-profit Internet radio station dedicated to playing fantasy music.

History

Radio Rivendell is an Internet radio station dedicated to playing dark ambient, orchestral,

neofolk Neofolk, also known as apocalyptic folk, is a form of experimental music blending elements of folk and industrial music, which emerged in punk rock circles in the 1980s. Neofolk may either be solely acoustic or combine acoustic folk instrumenta ...

, video game music, and fantasy music. The station is named after the Elven outpost Rivendell, a fictional realm created by J. R. R. Tolkien. Streamed 24 hours a day in a variety of formats, the station has been online since 2001. It plays music mainly from royalty-free soundtracks to

role-playing video game A role-playing video game (commonly referred to as simply a role-playing game or RPG, as well as a computer role-playing game or CRPG) is a video game genre where the player controls the actions of a character (or several party members) immers ...

s and up-and-coming independent artists who submit their fantasy music to be played online. Along with the music is an online discussion forum. Listeners who register for free can post to the forum, rate the music, and vote in the annual "Fantasy Awards". Based in Sweden, the station began when Anders Dahlgren (screen name "Lord Elrond") and his friends wanted ambient background music to supplement their

role-playing game A role-playing game (sometimes spelled roleplaying game, RPG) is a game in which players assume the roles of player character, characters in a fictional Setting (narrative), setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within ...

(RPG) sessions. After trying various CDs, Dahlgren began to experiment with broadcasting music over the Internet using a SHOUTcast server. Soon, listeners from around the world were tuning in. In 2005, Swedish label

Waerloga Records Waerloga Records is a small Swedish record label focused on dark ritualistic fantasy music. Records are available through mailorder and several stores worldwide. The label also have a Mailorder Store selling related releases, rare soundtracks etc. ...

asked Radio Rivendell to help recruit artists for their dark fantasy compilation CD, ''A Tribute to Uglakh''. In 2007, the station once again paired with Waerloga to produce the first ''Radio Rivendell Compilation'', an anthology of 16 fantasy tracks. ''Radio Rivendell Compilation, vol. 2: The Book of War'' was released in April 2008. This time the 17 tracks were linked by a single storyline of an epic battle between a dark lord and a noble captain. On January 9, 2008, '' Sci Fi Weekly'', the ezine of T.V.'s Sci Fi Channel, named Radio Rivendell its "Site of the Week". On March 12, 2009, Dahlgren's alter-ego Gargrim The Liar released his debut CD ''Stories of Long Forgotten'', together with ''The Challenge'' by Swedish band Anabasis, in a double CD compilation from

called ''Two Worlds''. Artwork includes a cover illustration by noted fantasy artist John Howe. On August 16, 2010, Radio Rivendell released an official iPhone Application.Dahlgren, Anders. "We got an iPhone app!," "RadioRivendell.Com", August 16, 201

/ref> The station is financed mainly by donations and the sale of compilation cds.

Albums

Since 2005, Radio Rivendell has collaborated with

on a series of compilation cds. ''A Tribute to Uglakh'' (2005) musicians include: Za Frûmi, Cryo, Balaghan, Alvskugga, Autumn tears, Musterion, Encryption, Patrice Deceuninck,

OverCoat An overcoat is a type of long coat (clothing), coat intended to be worn as the outermost garment, which usually extends below the knee. Overcoats are most commonly used in winter when warmth is more important. They are sometimes confused with ...

, Atrium Carceri,

Rising Shadows Rising Shadows is a neoclassical dark wave band formed in Stockholm, Sweden by composer Fredrik Klingwall in 1996. Biography Rising Shadows was originally started by Fredrik Klingwall as a one-man project under the name 'Shadow of the Concealed' ...

, Vurpa, The Soil Bleeds Black,

Vox Vulgaris Vox (Latin for 'voice') may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional characters * Vox (DC Universe character), Mal Duncan * Vox, several characters in the anime series '' Lagrange: The Flower of Rin-ne'' * Gleeman Vox, from the ''Ratchet ...

, Unto Ashes, Abnocto,

Sagor & Swing Sagor & Swing is a Swedish instrumental duo that fused disparate musical genres such as jazz, electronic music, and Scandinavian folk music. The band consisted of Eric Malmberg (organ, synthesizer), and Ulf Möller (drums) Ulf Möller was replaced ...

, Volstoj, and Vagrant's Steps. ''Radio Rivendell Compilation'' (2007) musicians include: Markus Holler, Erdenstern,

Sean Beeson Sean, also spelled Seán or Séan in Irish English, is a male given name of Irish origin. It comes from the Irish versions of the Biblical Hebrew name ''Yohanan'' (), Seán ( anglicized as '' Shaun/Shawn/ Shon'') and Séan (Ulster variant; angli ...

Wilbert Roget, II Wilbert Roget II (born December 7, 1983) is an American composer known for his work on video game music, particularly ''Mortal Kombat 11'' (2019), '' Call of Duty: WWII'' (2017), and ''Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris'' (2014). His scores hav ...

, Gargrim The Liar, Dimitrij Volstoj, Sibelian,

Tom W Hall Tom or TOM may refer to: * Tom (given name), a diminutive of Thomas or Tomás or an independent Aramaic given name (and a list of people with the name) Characters * Tom Anderson, a character in ''Beavis and Butt-Head'' * Tom Beck, a character ...

, Abnocto, Balaghan, Lost Kingdom,

, Tincolindo,

Project Morfeo A project is any undertaking, carried out individually or collaboratively and possibly involving research or design, that is carefully planned to achieve a particular goal. An alternative view sees a project managerially as a sequence of even ...

, Morgan the bard, and

Helen Trevillion Helen Trevillion is an English independent musician. After releasing her songs for free for several years (winning two Fantasy Awards from Radio Rivendell for her work), she released her first album in 2007. ''Inside Myself / Once Upon A Time'' was ...

. ''Radio Rivendell Compilation, vol. 2: The Book of War'' (2008) musicians include:

, Zmei Gorinich, Erdenstern, Sully Koba, A journey of the mind, Unto Ashes, Gargrim The Liar, Sibelian, Markus Holler, Dimitrij Volstoj, Za Frûmi, Lost Kingdom, Anabasis, Peter Szwach, Encryption, Ataraxia, and Dråm. Story by

Simon Kölle Simon may refer to: People * Simon (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name Simon * Simon (surname), including a list of people with the surname Simon * Eugène Simon, French naturalist and the genus ...

and Kris Swank. ''Two Worlds: Anabasis & Gargrim The Liar'' (2009) musicians include: Gargrim The Liar, Anabasis. Cover art by John Howe.

References

{{reflist

External links

Radio Rivendell HomepageRadio Rivendell MySpace PageRadio Rivendell iPhone ApplicationWaerloga Records
Internet radio stations Radio stations established in 2001 Things named after Tolkien works