Kiosk Radio: ‘To give a voice to the people, whether they have a following or not’.

By Hard of Hearing on April 20, 2026

In conversation with Jim Becker, founder of Brussels’ Kiosk Radio.

Photos: Jente Waerzeggers | Words: Eve Morgan

Kiosk Radio is the kind of gem music fans love to stumble across and located in the most unlikely of settings. Founded in 2018 and situated in Brussels’ Parc Royal, the radio station has been spinning tracks of any and every genre for long enough to earn its stripes. It is both a radio station and a venue, with a bar tucked next to the studio, and no trip to the Belgian capital is complete without a visit to the wooden hut. Nursing a blonde beer outside the place itself feels a little like the last day of a festival, with the dusty ground, midday laidbackness, and smoke hanging in the air.

Jim Becker is the station’s Euro DJ turned founder, with the obligatory big coat and an infectious tranquillity that slips only when talk turns passionate. He agrees to chat with me on site at Kiosk, from which a soundtrack of anything and anything streams into the park and out across the world (I’ll go on to visit several times throughout the weekend, hearing everything from Ukrainian drum and bass, to afrohouse, to live Belgian rap layered over UK grime).

I’m told that Jim, one of the team of just four staff who run Kiosk alongside volunteers, leads on production, tech, volunteers, and coordination, when he’s not in and around the booth himself to enjoy the music. We chat about how the challenges facing the London music scene are replicated across Europe, and how Kiosk is rising above them. As we talk, patrons stop by the table to greet him; he’s clearly as much a part of the venue as the black flag that flies overhead, or the iconic tree-stump seats which, Jim tells me, were swapped for new benches just a week ago. Partway through our conversation, a few sparse raindrops begin to fall, but no one moves from their seat. Kiosk Radio is a place to embrace the elements, or perhaps just somewhere they don’t matter.

Eve: How did Kiosk Radio first come together?

Jim: We all wanted to work in electronic music, but not at night – we’d all worked in clubs already and didn’t want to do that. This was the compromise, electronic music in the daytime. It meant easier working hours; I had a kid already, and each of my colleagues have kids now. And we were good friends with Francois [Vaxelaire], who founded The Lot Radio a year and a half before us. That was one of the ideas that kick-started the process of doing Kiosk, among other radios that were inspirational to us, like Red Light Radio in Amsterdam, and NTS, and all the big ones from back then.

This is an incredible location. Have you had this from the start?

The location was a big part of the project. It’s because we saw the ad for the kiosk that we decided to go for it. When I speak about the Lot Radio, a community radio in New York, it’s on an empty lot in Brooklyn. This is also why their project resonated with us. It’s because of the mix of the terrace, the studio, the bar, the communal vibe, and coming together physically.

And Kiosk Radio runs 24/7?

We’re live about eight to nine hours a day, twelve pm to nine pm, and then we have a few pre-recorded sets. So online it’s twenty-four/seven, on site it’s from twelve pm to ten pm.

Is the city of Brussels accepting of this set-up?

Well, to come back to our earlier talk about the London scene being in trouble right now, it’s the same in Brussels. There is a big pressure from residents, there is less public money to fund clubs, more complaints, the rising cost of living, people drinking less. I guess Amsterdam is the same, Paris and London too. But then…Brussels is slightly disorganized. This need for constant compromise has always been a weakness and a strength of Brussels; I feel like we benefit from these cracks in the system to be able to do this. I would like to point out that this is not a residential park, it’s mostly embassies and offices. There are less families, and most importantly, there are no complaints. And because there are no complaints, nobody cares. A ton of people tell us this could never happen in their country, because of police, state of mind, people not being used to getting drunk in the open space.

Yeah, it’s hard to imagine something like this in London. That’s why it’s so amazing to see that Kiosk is still going strong here.

Yeah, I mean, it’s only 5pm now, and it’s already busy, but it’s going to be completely full soon, and we’re still in February. But this has been a growing curve. You know, the first few years, we were empty. We were alone in the cold, in the dark. And then progressively more and more people came.

Going back to the radio, how do specific shows or DJs get selected?

There’s a mix of looking out for people and handling submissions. We’ve always tried to stay inclusive, eclectic, go for the unexpected, be the counterpoint of FM radios, as most people do, but we do have a lot of electronic music. We try not to become another dance music radio, though. We try to incorporate all kinds of genres, from jazz to classical to experimental. And then, when it comes to choosing people, we’ve always tried to have the smaller voices heard as well. We’ve had so many people who had talent but were less famous, who ended up doing great sets or being residents. So we always try to listen, and if it’s good, we’ll programme it.

And why do you think it’s important to have such a broad mix of genres and influences?

Because good music is good music and bad electronic music is bad electronic music. You know, we like all kinds of music, and don’t want to be pigeonholed. So it’s this kind of idea that we work against. We don’t want to listen to the same music all day long.

Would you say there is a specific mission of Kiosk Radio?

To give a voice to the unheard. To give a platform to what is outside FM radio and mainstream conglomerates. To give a voice to the people, whether they have a following or not. And I think this is why we’re proudly open to everything. It’s so much fun to push for the lesser-known: everybody’s treated the same, everybody has the same good studio, and nobody’s getting paid to play. We give back as we can, but it’s still a non-profit, and we’re all in this together. That’s the beauty of these community projects. We fund ourselves with the bar, so people drinking here on the terrace allows us to run the project without any outside intrusion.

That feels really special, that the people who come here can fund the project just by drinking with their friends.

Yeah, and if you don’t want to drink it’s fine as well, you can come and have a seat and listen to the music. That’s also the ethos of Kiosk. We don’t have to put pressure on customers, because people are not specifically customers. The project was always thought as this open-minded, inclusive, safe space where you can just be yourself, and chill out, and listen to music, and have a chat with people.

When people first discover Kiosk, wherever they are in the world, how do you want them to feel?

I would love for them to feel curious, happy to hear different music, hopefully good music. And I would hope that our intentions get reflected in the kind of artists we welcome, in the way it’s presented. I just hope that the connection happens, you know? That they kind of realise what we’re trying to do. I still think if you watch Kiosk at home, then it means you’re passionate about the same things that we are.

What we hear is that people feel relaxed here. They feel safe and can be themselves. They can be with a friend, they can be with a lover, they can be visiting and meet people. It’s a very Brussels way of living, a very relaxed place, laid back, no judgment kind of vibe. I do hope people feel like they belong to something, and they are accepted for who they are. It’s all cool. It’s all about the good vibes and the music.

So if this is quite typical of the Brussels attitude, what is the Belgian music scene like?

I think that the Belgian music scene is going strong for the small country we are. There’s always been a big club and festival heritage, so it feels like people are accustomed to seeing a lot of culture, actually, whether it’s museums, concert venues, clubs, cultural centers, nonprofits, or youth houses. The scene is quite strong and still developing, and the cross-pollination, the cross-cultural mix is happening. Brussels at this time is discreetly booming in the shadows. We’ve never been on the map, but I think for the people in the know, Brussels has always been a respected city.

Obviously, radio has been around for a really long time, but it feels like people have been reconnecting with it recently. Do you think there’s an increased interest?

Definitely, but I think the question is why. We’re more and more connected to the digital world and maybe less looking up from our phones. In my opinion, people still need to link up physically. These web radios or community radios are a good solution to that, because it’s by the people for the people. They come together, there’s less money involved, there’s less sponsorship, there’s less branding. And maybe this is why it’s working, maybe this is why people gather. Music is the excuse, but then behind that, people just really need to meet. These physical, real-life projects like ours are the antidote to this digital life.

And you’ve been running those in-person events across the world, too.

We did a celebratory tour for our eight-year anniversary. We went to La Station in Paris, Open Ground in Wuppertal, Cafe Oto in London, Nyege Nyege in Uganda, we’re doing a date here with Horst Club, and we’re finishing off in New York at an event with The Lot. The events we do are mostly in Belgium and are usually done with partners from the big circle of music and culture around us. We’ve always liked to dabble in events, it’s the natural extension of music, and it’s always nice to hear it on a big sound system.

What do you see Kiosk looking like in five years?

Well, we hope to become better in what we do, and reach more people with better music and more content and hopefully bring the gospel to even more people. If we can inspire people to do similar projects everywhere, then that’s even better. The more the merrier. We love seeing artists grow, we love seeing volunteers that helped us grow find jobs in the cultural sector. Again, I think it’s all about sharing, developing projects we believe in. I guess the ethos will stay the same, but the reach will hopefully grow bigger.

What’s the first piece of advice you would give to someone wanting to create their own version of this?

Surround yourself with a nice team of passionate people. And if you believe in your project, go ahead, and some people will respond to that call. I guess that’s the beauty of having so many different genres and so many niche DJs. You’d be surprised how many people are interested in the same stuff as you are.