Lo-Fi Fireplace Radio

I wanted one thing on my phone that asks nothing of me. So I made a cozy little room.

It's snowing outside. There's a fire going. A cat is asleep on someone's lap, and a little radio in the corner plays lo-fi. You open the app, put the phone down and leave it running.

That's most of it. Here's the rest.

THE RADIO
One lo-fi station, on day and night. Everyone hears the same song at the same moment, so if you start it on two phones they play in sync. I pick every track myself, from small lo-fi, chillout and jazzhop artists who said yes to being on it. It's good for studying, for working, for reading, or for nothing in particular.

THE ROOM
There are no buttons on the screen. You tap things instead:
• tap the cat and she purrs
• tap the fireplace and the fire gets louder
• tap the window and it snows
• tap the chest at the foot of the bed and the radio comes on

THE SOUND
Under everything is a recording of a real fire. You can add rain, wind, crickets or vinyl crackle, each on its own slider. The radio has a slider too, so the music can sit quietly under the fire or play over it. It keeps going with the screen off.

FOR FALLING ASLEEP
Set the sleep timer and everything fades out slowly, over a whole minute, so the silence doesn't wake you.

ON ANDROID TV
On a TV it's a fireplace for the living room, in 4K. Put it on for dinner, on a cold evening, or just leave the fire burning all day.

WHAT'S FREE
The room is free, for good: the fire, the cat, the snow, every sound and the sleep timer. It works offline. There are no ads, you don't need an account, and nothing tracks you.

The radio costs me money to run, so it's the one thing I charge for. You get 5 hours of it free every day (3 hours on a TV). If you want it all day, at full 320 kbps, there's a small subscription or a one-time purchase. If you join, your name shows up along the bottom of the room for everyone else listening.

IF YOU MAKE MUSIC
If you make lo-fi, chillout or jazzhop and want it on the station, send a link to [email protected]. I listen to everything that comes in.

Something broken, or something you'd like the room to do? Write to [email protected]. I read it all.