The streaming capabilities of the internet, the musical talents of people across the globe, and one of the most legendary (heh) video game franchises of all time come together in this fantastically displayed package known as Radio Hyrule. A place dedicated to a 24/7 stream of music from each entry in the Legend of Zelda franchise, Radio Hyrule is fan-made and fan-run by the more-than-capable hands of the folks at Zelda Reorchestrated. For the curious, Zelda Reorchestrated (typically referred to as ZREO) is a group of talented individuals seeking only to spread the musical beauty of the Zelda franchise through their own compositions. Though ZREO is a project that ended on a definite high note, (music puns!) the spirit lives on in this online broadcast.
For more information, visit the site yourself!
This internet radio community allows users to listen to original in-game music of the tales following our green-clad hero. Listeners will also hear acoustic renditions, techno/dance remixes, and metal-shredded recordings lovingly created by the fanbase. As such, Radio Hyrule not only gathers music from around the internet, but users with their own recordings can submit their own works to the catalog and they will be played for anyone listening in.
Right in their "About Us" section, they say, "Exposure and feedback are two very important key aspects of developing as a musician," and they could not be more correct. This stream allows for what would otherwise be unseen talent to be displayed and broadcast to an audience that truly appreciates what they are listening to. Anyone can listen to music from a dedicated source, but those loyal to the source itself are bound to enjoy such works and give more adequate feedback.
With plenty of material available, the site boasts a library of 1000+ songs which collectively amount to almost 60 hours of music. The stream operates like a jukebox with a seemingly random assortment of songs selected throughout the days; however, one aspect sets this apart from other music streaming websites: the ability to request which song you would like to hear.
That's right! You can comb through the vast amount of pieces yourself and pick and choose what you would like to hear coming out of your speakers. You can browse the collection by songs, artists, albums, tags, and so on to find exactly what you are looking for. You will come across other variations of the songs you love and could discover other pieces that shares a similar tag which you may not have heard otherwise. This helps people to discover new compositions and give exposure to the artists who submitted them. There is also a community chat room available to discuss your feelings with other listeners. It's a musical wonderland!
Radio Hyrule is also an ad-free website. No distracting flash banners, no obnoxious radio commercials about products irrelevant to you, and no breaks to ask "ARE YOU STILL LISTENING!?" Rather, every so often you get an announcement saying "You are listening to Radio Hyrule," accompanied by a well-known catchphrase of everyone's favorite fairy, Navi. A nice addition is that they play the audio from video commercials which originally aired on television, which I think is a very clever touch.
Should you decide a song affected you one way or the other and you feel that the situation warrants it, you may leave feedback. You can do this one of two ways, either by commenting on the piece directly on the website, or contacting the artist themselves. Most artists have a direct link to their personal websites listed with their own little artist page on Radio Hyrule, making it a snap to contact them. The process is faster than a 16th note in 4/4 time!
There are plenty of other features that I am sure I've forgotten to mention, but you should really take Navi's advice and LISTEN! Go explore the website and discover the masterpieces the world of composers has to offer. If you truly enjoy yourself while you're there, I urge you to consider donating to the website so that the stream can continue for what I hope to be a very long time. Most of all, go exploring and see everything the site has to offer!
Link! (Never gets old! (Except in Ocarina of Time. (No, I was talking about the "Link" gag, not Link himself aging. (Right.))))
Know of another similar streaming site? Let me know below!
-Zach
*All images courtesy of Radio Hyrule and Zelda Reorchestrated
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