Wednesday May 28, 2008

Cosy place to jam

Air Raves by ANTHONY THANASAYAN

ARE you bored with the present humdrum offerings on radio? And perhaps, even desperately looking for something more out-of-the-ordinary to whet your music appetite?

Well, if you are, then look no further. CAPITAL fm is the station for you! CAPITAL jams is a four-hour show on the FM broadcaster that is loaded with new music from a variety of genres.

From start to finish, listeners will be treated to some of the hottest music, including rare tracks from hip-hop, broken beat, dub step and many others.

In fact, there is a good chance that the music played on the show – which is sourced from all over the world – is not likely to be heard in any of our other FM bands.

Admittedly, while some listeners may find such selections weird, Arabyrd, the show’s host, insisted to Air Raves last week that they are eclectic and appeal to music lovers from all age groups.

Frankly, I could not help but totally agree with her when I tuned in to the show over the weekend. The music was odd but curiously wonderful. It is great for people at home on the weekends with nowhere to go but to share a cosy and private party ... on air.

Arabyrd, who is really 22-year-old Malaysian Arafah Edruce, is also rather unique in her style of presentation. Apart from having a cute voice and accent, her speech is unscripted. But that is not a problem as she seems to be able to gel well with the music she spins – occasionally even talking while the music is still playing.

And no wonder because she is a performer too: she raps, sings, dances and is about to release her first solo album in August. However, the first time deejay has a few things to learn about her new job. One of them is how to explain things clearly to listeners who are unfamiliar with her brand of music.

CAPITAL jams can be heard on Saturdays and Sundays from 9pm until 1am the next morning. The station, which is operated by ISY Holdings in Kuala Lumpur, can be heard only in the Klang Valley for now on FM88.9MHz.

Meanwhile, we all now know which of the two Davids it was who succeeded in walking away with the coveted American Idol 2008 title last Thursday.

But how about which radio station emerged as the winner for their coverage of the live event in Malaysian?

What an unexpected let down it was for the many of us who had expected Hitz.fm to get the crown. More so as the station had been faithfully running related features on Idols every week since the latest season began.

Most of the other radio stations practically snubbed the event. Hitz.fm, for at least an hour-and-a-half during the live ceremony in Los Angeles, said virtually nothing about Idol or cared to air live audio clips or any latest updates.

Even when the results were finally announced live on TV, it took about 10 minutes before Hitz.fm disclosed it to listeners and everyone knows that is too long a time for radio.