The second episode centers around characters affiliated around the label Stroom, Stroom being an example both of a label that takes geography and storytelling very seriously, and an example of the story of the rise of online, independent radio.

I share excerpts from my interview with Dalia Neis and Enir Da of Dali Muru and the Polyphonic Swarm, as well as excerpts from my brief chat with the visual designer and long- term Stroom affiliate, Nana Esi.

Dalia, Enir and I sit, sunblinded, in a communal garden and discuss their universe of references – Sergei Parajanov’s Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors from 1965, Dario Argento’s soundtracks –, the power of rivers to transgress borders and time, their upcoming book and soundtrack ‘The Swarm’ – a multimedia continuation of the universe they have created with their debut album – and how the experience of an album is shows that music is a journey: a durational piece the listener sits through and experiences in real-time. We also discuss finding their home on stroom, alter egos in music, and their attempt to transgress the heteronormativity of love-songs by dedicating one to a boar.

With Nana Esi, who has been a key part of Stroom’s universe since the very beginning, I discuss her experience of the birth of the platform, the playful, ambiguous, near-fictive audiovisual identity of stroom, and the power of radio as a physical and digital space of community.