experimental music Archives

Contact Information

Music Director: Sybil Augustine – musicdirector@wortfm.org (for music submissions, charts and tracking, promotional exchanges for music events and following up on volunteer applications or other requests. Please include specifics in your subject line, such as “Hiphop Music Submission” etc, )

Music Assistant: Aaron Scholz – musicass@wortfm.org (for record donations and sales, promos recording volunteers, etc.)

Music Calendars: Submit your events online here or send by email to calendar@wortfm.org

How do I get my music played on WORT?

We accept submissions in most genres and styles of music, focusing on noncommercial, out-of-the-mainstream, independent releases (check out our playlists and music charts for more information.) It may take up to a few weeks for us to review and process your submission so we appreciate your patience, and feel free to contact us to follow up. Please send your music, indicating any tracks with language that needs to be aired after 10 pm and including a one-sheet description and any biographical and tour information, to WORT Music Director, 118 S. Bedford St, Madison, WI 53703 and/or to musicdirector@wortfm.org.

We do accept digital files on .wav or mp3, but currently we still prefer CDs to digital submissions because it’s the quickest way to get it into the hands of our programmers and onto the airwaves, though we have a growing digital library. Digital submissions should be .wav or other lossless files, or high quality mp3s [128-320 kbps.]

You can follow up or “track” your submissions by email, or call 608-256-2001 on Wednesdays between 1-4 pm CST to ask if we received it, has it been reviewed, has it been added to our library, and what kind of airplay it’s getting—e.g. light, medium, heavy or charting. Thanks and we look forward to hearing your music!

WORT Music Playlists

What was that song I heard? Who was the artist, what is the album title, where can I get it? Where can I find the entire playlist for a show?

Click on the Playlists button to bring up a calendar where you can choose any date to find the playlists for that day. If you can’t find the right playlist or the song you’re looking for, your best bet is to call the station the next time that program’s on and ask the host yourself. If that’s not possible we may be able to help you, but please have as much information as possible at hand when you contact us, such as: approximate day and time the music was played, what type or genre of music it was, who hosted the show and any other information you remember about the selection and we’ll do our best to track it down.

Once you figure it out, there’s a “Buy It!” link next to each track in online playlists that leads you to a place where you can buy songs and albums, and by doing it that way a small portion of each purchase goes to support WORT.

Brennan Connors & Stray Passage at the Mason Lounge

November 25, 2018 by Back Porch Calendar

Brennan Connors & Stray Passage has been playing experimental/free jazz/improvised music in Madison for about six years now and is still pushing the boundaries of what they do. The group features Geoff Brady on drums and percussion, Brian Grimm on contra-cello and electric bass, and Brennan Connors on saxophones. This show is a return to […]

Displaced Horizons

October 9, 2018 by WORT 89.9FM

Displaced Horizons is a multimedia project focusing on water infrastructures’ socio-cultural and historical complexities to encourage a re-visioning of current water systems. Join us October 27th for an exhibition of video, photographs, and maps and performance featuring musicians John Dieterich (Deerhoof), Chris Jonas (Anthony Braxton, Cecil Taylor), Robert Lundberg (JOBS, Nestle) Ryan Packard (Fonema Consort, […]

David Liebe Hart (Adult Swim/Tim & Eric)

August 21, 2018 by WORT 89.9FM

With Chip The Black Boy, Whatever Your Heart Desires, Wood Chickens & Meat Jelly. 7:30pm door, 8:30 show, all ages, $10 advance, $12 door Tickets: http://ArtByLiebeHart.com/tickets Best known for his roles on Adult Swim’s Tim & Eric Awesome Show Great Job!, David Liebe Hart is an outsider musician, actor and painter. A true original, he […]

A night with robotic anthropologists

August 30, 2018 by Tone Madison

Back at the end of May, we reported from a one-night art event called Awkward Nocturnes, at which artist Claire Wilson and an audience of tinfoil-hatted thrill-seekers enjoyed a “performance” from a clattery ensemble of crude robots. On this week’s podcast, we revisit that story with a reading from Chris Lay. Give the story a listen […]

Lykanthea on constantly revising memories through music

August 9, 2018 by Tone Madison

Lykanthea, the project of Chicago-based musician, multidisciplinary artist, and academic Lakshmi Ramgopal, explored a mix of ambient music, carnatic music, and a healthy bit of pop on the 2014 EP Migration. But since Migration came out, Ramgopal has been working on all kinds of different performances and installations, including “A Half Light Chorus,” a project at Chicago’s Lincoln […]

Mark Bridges spans the chamber and the electronic wilderness

July 26, 2018 by Tone Madison

High Plains, the duo of Madison-based cellist Mark Bridges and Canadian electronic musician Scott Morgan (best known for his solo project Loscil), released its debut album, Cinderland, in 2017. It’s a haunting, immersive release that combines Bridges’ patiently evolving cello melodies with Morgan’s dynamic approach to ambient music. The two played a show behind the album last […]

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