4. Radio Package - Preparation

I decided to make my feature package about a musician I’m interested in. This would minimize the required background research for interviews and scriptwriting, as I would already be aware of most of the relevant information needed, and would also ensure that I was enthusiastic about the project from start to finish, and doubly keen to create a polished, professional-sounding piece of radio.

I started by emailing various musicians – either directly or through their record labels. I deemed it important to feature interviews with the artists themselves in my package, particularly due to the very personal, expressive nature of the musicians I am interested in - the personal insight of the artist into their musical motives and influences was vital. All of the email addresses were found on the artists’ official homepages. Although the email was a template that I wrote, copied and pasted, I personalized each one slightly in order to imply a genuine personal interest in that particular artist. I did this by mentioning particular albums or events in that artist's career that I wished to talk about. This is the template email I sent:

“Hi (Artist Name),

I'm Jack Chuter - a University student from Bournemouth, England. I'm on my second year of my Journalism degree, and have been asked to construct a short feature package designed for radio. As a massive fan of your work, I would love the opportunity to make my package about your music, and conduct a phone interview with you.

The package would, with your permission, feature short clips of your work, interjected with interview clips and a brief biography. It would not be broadcast, but would be submitted to the exam board as part of my coursework.

If you're able to take part in this for me, that would be fantastic - please do write back to me soon.

Cheers,
Jack”

Two musicians got back to me. The first was Steve Roach – a hugely influential ambient/electronic composer from Arizona, who creates lengthy pieces designed for background and subconscious listening. The second was David Tibet, who is based in Hastings and writes music spanning a wide range of styles with his Current 93 project. Both were happy to conduct a phone interview with me. I began to prepare questions on both artists by researching their respective back catalogues, their influences and personal ideologies.

I arranged to interview Steve on Tuesday 20th October at noon. However, because of the expense of the long-distance call and the time difference constricting the interview to the evening, I was unable to book out the radio studio for the required time. I still carried the interview out by calling him from home and using the Skype internet calling application. I managed to find a free program that enabled me to record Skype calls and recorded the interview this way. The questions I asked revolved around his latest releases, his recent festival in Colorado and his compositional approach. Although he was an excellent interviewee and provided me with lengthy, elaborative answers, the audio quality of the interview was poor and unfit for radio. I decided to focus on my interview with David Tibet, which I had arranged for Thursday 22nd and had managed to book the radio studio for.

Before my interview with David, I listened to an audio interview conducted by WFMU radio in 2006 to find out more about him – both from the actual content of his answers and the way he behaved. I ensured that I went into the studio fifteen minutes before the arranged interview time, in order to re-familiarize myself with the mixing desk and the Burli software. The interview itself went smoothly, and he provided me with more than enough material to work with. I asked him questions on his recent festival in Rome, the influences on his lyrics and his work as a visual artist. At the end of the interview I requested his permission to use two of his tracks in my package, which he was perfectly happy with. I also asked if he would be able to put me in touch with any of his musical collaborators. He agreed to do so, and I arranged a further phone interview with singer and multi-instrumentalist Baby Dee.

I asked Dee about her contribution to the latest Current 93 album, and gained her perspective on David’s compositional process. This would provide a more comprehensive insight and alternative view on his thought process when composing music, as well as ensuring that my package features a variety of different voices in order to sustain listener interest. This was only a short interview – lasting only seven minutes in contrast to the half an hour spent talking to David - due to focusing my questions on one specific topic.