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<meta name="description" content=""After over a year of conversations with Fade on IRC, I'm excited to be contributing to asteroid.radio - a broadcasting station for asteroid music, designed to help you get into that deep workflow."">
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<title>"Contributing to asteroid.radio: Broadcasting Asteroid Music for Deep Work" - Glenn Thompson</title>
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<a href="/" class="text-accent-yellow font-serif text-xl font-bold">Glenn Thompson</a>
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<span>[community, radio, open-source, irc, music]</span>
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<time datetime="2026-01-12">January 12, 2026</time>
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<span>3 min read</span>
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<h1 class="text-4xl font-serif font-bold text-accent-yellow">"Contributing to asteroid.radio: Broadcasting Asteroid Music for Deep Work"</h1>
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<time datetime="2026-01-12">2026-01-12</time>
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<span>3 min read</span>
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<span>By Glenn Thompson</span>
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<span class="text-accent-yellow px-2 py-1 rounded-full bg-base-bg text-xs">[community</span><span class="text-accent-yellow px-2 py-1 rounded-full bg-base-bg text-xs">radio</span><span class="text-accent-yellow px-2 py-1 rounded-full bg-base-bg text-xs">open-source</span><span class="text-accent-yellow px-2 py-1 rounded-full bg-base-bg text-xs">irc</span><span class="text-accent-yellow px-2 py-1 rounded-full bg-base-bg text-xs">music]</span>
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<h2>Introduction</h2>
<p>Sometimes the best projects emerge from casual conversations that span months or even years. That&#39;s exactly how my involvement with <a href="https://asteroid.radio">asteroid.radio</a> came about - through countless discussions with Fade on IRC, stretching back over a couple of years.</p>
<p>Fade is the development lead on asteroid.radio, and our conversations about the project have been a recurring thread in our IRC interactions. What started as occasional mentions evolved into deeper technical discussions, and eventually into an opportunity to contribute. I did bend Fades&#39; arm a little bit to get us started, but I hope he appreciates the push.</p>
<h2>What is asteroid.radio?</h2>
<p><a href="https://asteroid.radio">asteroid.radio</a> is a broadcasting station dedicated to what Fade has dubbed &quot;asteroid music&quot; - that particular genre of sound that helps you slip into a deep workflow when hacking or deeply engaged at the computer. The moment Fade coined the term, I knew exactly what he was referencing. It&#39;s that music that fades into the background while simultaneously sharpening your focus.</p>
<p>We&#39;re attempting to build a community around this concept - a space for people who understand that the right soundtrack can transform a coding session from distracted fumbling into hours of productive flow. The project is open source, and you can find the code at <a href="https://github.com/fade/asteroid">github.com/fade/asteroid</a>.</p>
<h2>The IRC Connection</h2>
<p>My involvement with asteroid.radio is deeply rooted in IRC culture. Fade and easilok are both active in the IRC community, and it&#39;s through these channels that the project has grown and evolved.</p>
<p>There&#39;s something special about IRC as a medium for project collaboration. The asynchronous nature of conversations allows ideas to percolate over time. Fade and I would discuss asteroid.radio concepts, then return to them weeks or months later with fresh perspectives. This slow-burn approach to project development has its own rhythm - one that I&#39;ve come to appreciate.</p>
<h2>Getting Involved</h2>
<p>After over a couple of years of these on-and-off conversations, I&#39;m now actively contributing to the project. Working with Fade as the dev lead has been a great experience - there&#39;s a &quot;clear&quot; vision for what asteroid.radio should become (don&#39;t mention Autechre), while still leaving room for contributors to bring their own ideas and expertise.</p>
<p>The project represents exactly the kind of work I find most rewarding: community-focused, technically interesting, and aligned with the values of open source that I care about.</p>
<h2>Looking Forward</h2>
<p>I&#39;m excited to see where <a href="https://asteroid.radio">asteroid.radio</a> goes from here. Projects like this demonstrate what&#39;s possible when communities come together to build something meaningful.</p>
<p>If you&#39;re interested in asteroid music, deep work soundtracks, or just want to see what we&#39;re building, tune in to <a href="https://asteroid.radio">asteroid.radio</a> and check out the <a href="https://github.com/fade/asteroid">source code on GitHub</a>. And if you&#39;re on IRC, come say hello - you might find yourself drawn into a years-long conversation that leads somewhere unexpected.</p>
<h2>Community Matters</h2>
<p>This experience has reinforced something I&#39;ve come to believe strongly: the best open source contributions often come from genuine community connections. Whether it&#39;s the <a href="https://systemcrafters.net/">System Crafters</a> community, the <a href="https://craftering.systemcrafters.net/">Craftering webring</a>, or the IRC channels where projects like <a href="https://asteroid.radio">asteroid.radio</a> take shape, these spaces matter.</p>
<p>Thanks to Fade for the leadership on this project, to easilok for being part of the community, and to everyone who makes IRC such a valuable space for collaboration.</p>
<p>Happy Hacking!</p>
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