Tell us about your new radio show!
My new show is for Sunny Govan Radio (103.5fm) and is broadcast across Glasgow on the last Friday of every month at 10pm. The show is also repeated on air at various times over the course of the month. The aim of the of the show is to share a mix of dance music, placing an emphasis on local artists and music producers, introducing these artists to a new listener base while also being entertaining and informative to the audience. I have already highlighted tracks from students at the college as well as my own that I produced as part of my coursework.
Tell us about your experience of creating/preparing the new show.
It was quite a learning curve during the first show. In preparation I had to make sure the dj set was well programmed in regards to checking for expletives and track timing. I also had to make sure any artist and show sponsorship information was correct and consider how I could work this fluidly into the format of show.
During the show I had to get to grips with the operation of the broadcasting software in the live studio whilst also performing my dj mix and sharing any relevant information, it was quite a bit more work than just turning up to play a few tunes!
The staff at Sunny G were extremely helpful every step of the way most notably Steg G, the station manager, who is always happy to share his wealth of skills and experience thankfully, as I still have plenty to learn when it comes to presenting at a radio station.
Tell us about your own musical background/influences.
From as far back as I can remember I always had a passion, not only for music, but also the technology behind the music. Some of my earliest memories of music are of lying on a rocking chair listening to DR Hook or UB40. My parents would always have different styles of music playing around the house or in the car. As I got older I was forced to start thinking about how audio was created as I adjusted the eq on an old cassette player to load games onto my ZX Spectrum, this is probably how I got interested in the technical side of sound. Later on, I would be wiring old audio equipment together that my dad found at work and broadcasting his LP collection on the CB radio. My parents also bought me an Atari ST, I think this was the only home computer available with built in midi at the time and it was a bit too advanced for me, however, I was very lucky to have this type of support from my parents at such a young age.
How has the HND Sound Production course helped you – which skills, knowledge/classes have been the most useful for you?
Although I have always made edits and mashups for dj sets, I always felt that my music production skills were never up to a good enough standard to be an artist. This has changed since completing my 1st year of the HND course, I am now able to fully finish my own original musical works from start to finish. My first official release will be available on all major platforms from July 2nd and I could not have achieved this without the knowledge and skills I have learned this year, in not only music production but also in regards to the music business.
Why did you want to study at Riverside Music College?
I researched many colleges before I chose to study at Riverside and I found that the college operates as a fully operational music studio, as well as being an educational facility so students get lots of hands on experience with both rare and vintage equipment as well as the latest and greatest digital systems. Another great benefit of this is that the staff are active professionals in the music industry who have many years of experience between them. There are also always extra classes available to learn new skills and also extra curricular activities to gain experience.
What are your future plans?
In the short term I will continue to produce music and dj while studying at Riverside College until I gain my BSc in Audio Engineering, in the long term I would like to set up a company that is able to help people through music. I have a few ideas about how I could possibly achieve this I will keep under my hat for now!
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