Radio Future 2, once started as a pirate radio station, has evolved into an important platform for electronic and alternative music styles.

The story of Radio Future 2 (or RF2, as it is nicknamed) is in fact the story of Gregor Plum and Mixmaster UB (whose real name is not known to the rest of mankind) from Frankfurt/Main, Germany. In the 1980ies Plum and UB were dedicated fans of (mostly electronic) underground music, and by the end of the decade started their own pirate radio station in order to bring their favourite music styles to the radio-listening public.

Gregor puts it like this: "Back then we had a lot of friends who listened to the likes of Joy Division, Skinny Puppy, Alien Sex Fiend, Front 242 or The Klinik. Apparently this kind of music was totally ignored by the mainstream media which left a gap that we were eager to fill. Plus, we were pretty fascinated by technology and had a lot of fun playing around with it. So one day it dawned on us we might as well run our own radio station."

The first RF2 broadcasts proved to be quite successful, despite (or maybe because of) their naivite and chaotic structure. Gregor and UB were soon to become pirate radio shooting stars in the Rhein/Main-area, and even mainstream listeners were attracted by the music and attitude of RF2. Says Gregor: "Commercial radio stations tend to ignore certain styles of music, which to my mind is a mistake. Back then, Radio Future 2 must have been the only radio station around Frankfurt that didn't use censorship and would play any music regardless of style or attitude".

However, in the 1990ies RF2 introduced the "Alternative Charts" which were strictly dedicated to alternative musical styles. Nowadays, the term "alternative" of course has to be re-defined, as many of the so-called "underground" or "alternative" music stems from major record-companies, and the term itself has turned into a marketing tag. So how does RF2 handle the paradigm shift? Well, rather pragmatically, it seems: Radio Future2 will play music that is not strictly "alternative" in a narrow sense rather than exclude a song only because it was released on a major record label.

> A step towards professionalism
 

Ex-pirate Gregor Plum