Music / Bristol
New Bristol radio station launches
New Bristol radio station SWU.FM is broadcasting for four weeks until May 27, and can be heard on FM as well as online.
It looks like being a Bristolian equivalent to London’s influential Rinse FM, with a focus on underground urban and electronic sounds from grime and hip-hop to house and techno.
The brainchild of Ollie 303 (Trojan Audio) and Tom Koast (Durkle Disco / Central Spillz), SWFU.FM pulls together an amazing array of local talent. Highlights include Roni Size & Krust, Pinch, Smith & Mighty, DJ Die, Jus Now, Young Echo, My Nu Leng and Idle Hands, while out of town guests include Amy Becker (BBC Radio 1Xtra) and Om Unit (Metalheadz).
is needed now More than ever
“Getting that lineup together definitely took a lot of hard work, emotional blackmail, calling in favours, and sweet talking”, says Tom, “although luckily Bristol music does have a real sense of civic pride, and togetherness, so once people ‘got’ the vision of what we were trying to do it all fell into place quite nicely.”
He says plans do go beyond the initial four-week run but for now he remains tight lipped about what that might entail.
In terms of Bristol club culture the list of people involved is pretty exhaustive. It includes Bristol24/7 interviewees Ishan Sound, Sam Binga, Deli G, Just Jack, Psyched and Parallel Dimensions as well as Blazey Bodynod, who made the station’s first broadcast at 1pm on Sunday, May 1. Wordlife – who brought a two-hour showcase of live hip-hop to our show at The Fleece back in March – are also on board, as is regular B24/7 contributor Ngaio Anyia.
Check out the video above for more on the lineup. If SWU.FM ends up being even half as good as it looks on paper it will be exactly what Bristol has been waiting for.
Listen to SWU.FM on 87.7 FM and online at swu.fm from May 1-27
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