Friday Night Tracks

Friday Night Tracks is a monthly live radio show and underground music podcast featuring 3 hours of unique undiscovered EDM, IDM and more, by XBN, since summer 2008.

The show is hosted and produced by Paradox (XBN Director/Producer), previous co-host Menokh and sometimes other guests. More recently, as of 2017, Takarias Rathen has been co-hosting with Paradox.

Originally called “Friday Night Tech,” the show changed its name on episode 200 to better reflect the show’s content.

Although the podcast used to be public, as of mid 2020 it has become private, now requiring an invite code to access the website and content.

Distribution
The show broadcasts primarily using their own proprietary video and audio streaming network, but often syndicates to other public streaming services such as YouTube Live and Periscope.

A special live FLAC audio stream is available for audiophiles and quality enthusiasts. Selected songs are played in a way that is bit-transparent to the original lossless audio file, meaning the studio’s workflow does not change or modify the audio in any way.

Friday Night Tracks records the allocated 3 hour show which is then later released as a downloadable MP3 podcast. As of episode 200, the MP3 files include embedded chapter markers for each track, as well as matching CUE and LRC files. The recordings are accessible to members through a custom website and private RSS feeds that contain a user's unique token in the URL.

Music
The show’s goal is to expose listeners to music they may have otherwise never heard or considered. Energy levels flow up and down throughout. Guests of the show also often bring their own music, or do live mix sets. Paradox often announces the flow plan as the show progresses such as stating an electro DJ set is about to start, or informing listeners of an energy change.