“One of the main objectives of the project is to build a living library of sounds and memories of the Azores, through the collection of testimonies, environments, music, and local cultural expressions, actively contributing to the preservation of Azorean cultural identity and the creation of a collective archive built by the community itself,” the association stated in a press release.

The project, developed by the Silêncio Sonoro Association, is based at the Rubro space in Ponta Delgada, on the island of São Miguel, which also hosts the Tremor festival, the Yuzin Agenda, and the Marca Pistola record label.

Exclusively online and non-commercial, the radio station, available 24 hours a day at www.radiovaivem.pt, is “inspired by the free and independent spirit of old pirate radios” and presents itself as “a space open to collective participation and cultural experimentation”.

Launched in the year that Ponta Delgada is the Portuguese Capital of Culture, Rádio Vaivém presents itself as a “community and cultural project”, which aims to establish itself as “a platform dedicated to the creation, sharing and preservation of content produced by the Azorean community itself”.

The project already has around 30 programs, including conversations with local artists and projects, author programs, musical selections, radio dramas, DJ sets, concerts and special broadcasts, which, according to the association, “cross memory, experimentation and contemporaneity”.

Vaivém also incorporates historical content, such as the recording of the final hours of the radio broadcast of the 25 April 1974 Revolution, to highlight “the historical role of radio as an instrument of freedom, proximity, and communication.”

The Silêncio Sonoro Association also promotes the “Vaivém Residencies,” an artistic residency program that offers local musicians “space, time, and conditions for collaboration, creative experimentation, and studio recording.”

“For many participants, this represents their first experience in a studio setting and live performance, reinforcing the radio station's commitment to the emerging artistic development in the region,” the association emphasised.