The much loved, alternative Ibiza based Radio station, Open Lab, is currently off the air. The sudden development has surprised many on the island as there was no advance warning that the FM station was to cease broadcasting, with currently no updates or news on any of its digital media channels. Founded by Italian Roberto Concina, aka the late Robert Miles, who sadly passed away last year, the station broadcasts to over 600,000 people worldwide. Robert launched the station from a 500 year old San Juan Finca in 2012, before moving into the old Global Radio studios, where it was broadcasting from earlier this month.
The station catered to a creative community of music lovers, searching for sophisticated, niche quality content that employed a strict music policy. It enjoys a loyal fanbase on the island as the majority of its programming is advertisement and talk free. In an interview before his death, Robert commented on the ethos of Open Lab “our main aim is absolutely to promote the best independent artists and labels, not just in music, but also their equivalents in the visual arts, technology, innovation, architecture and most importantly ecology”.
While there is no official information available about the future of the radio station, there is speculation that it will re-launch under new commercial ownership and branding. With so many changes happening in Ibiza right now, the loss of Open Lab in its present format, would be another nail in the coffin of a golden era in Ibiza musical culture. Its more of concepts like Open Lab that the island needs right now, not less, and we do hope that it can return soon to the airwaves with a similar ethos to the one Roberto Concina originally envisaged.
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