Absolute Radio’s dabbl station to ‘take a break’

Absolute Radio has announced that its interactive digital radio station dabbl will be taken down, less than a year after it was launched.

Dabbl was available online and on digital audio broadcasting (DAB) radio, for 24 hours a day in south Wales, and 7pm to 6am in London.

Listeners could make requests via its website, which would then be turned into a playlist – leading to the slogan: “The radio station where your votes decide the music we play.”

Absolute Radio described the platform, before it was taken down: “Dabbl isn’t limited to a single musical genre. The dabbl technology can run radio stations of all musical tastes and styles.”

Dabbl launched in October last year. The songs most voted for on the site included a live version of Muse’s Uprising recorded in Madrid, Brandon Flowers’ Crossfire, Gorillaz’s Oh Melancholy Hill and Marina and the Diamonds’ Oh No.

To explain the removal of the interactive digital radio station, Absolute Radio said: “We have a lot more ideas for dabbl, so for now the radio station bit is taking a break whilst we can experiment with how dabbl can continue to democratise the playlist”.