Wednesday, July 18, 2007

BlastFm.ch has a Nose for Cool

A while back when I lived in Copenhagen Denmark, I knew a guy - Lornts - who worked with the fashion industry. He wasn't a designer. Rather, he worked for himself as a distributor of new international brands that he would introduce to Denmark. When Lornts wasn't pitching these brands to Danish retailers, he was on the lookout for the next trends. Although he was too modest to have described himself as this, he was basically a Cool Hunter.

I asked Lornts how he did it, and how the fashion industry knows what's fashionable. He explained to me that the fashion industry (while appearing to be in control), were in fact slaves to the unpredictable, and generally would respond through copying and selling for a cheaper price. He showed me that in spite of how hard the fashion industry would try to guide the direction of fashion, the latest tends would always emerge from a grass roots level. This intrigued me, and I kept asking Lornts how he could tell what was coming next. He admitted that he was wrong a lot of the time, but explained that he would just observe people on the street, what they were wearing, how they were positioned, what they were doing, how they were talking, and so on. Beyond that he was unable to give any specifics. This intrigued me further since the whole thing seemed almost mystical in that we couldn't dissect it, but at the same time he was always pretty successful, so there was definitely something real and tangible going on - just impossible to pick apart.

Which brings me to BlastFM.ch.

We recently were contacted by BlastFm.ch to put their station on our Dial. I always take a listen to new stations going up on our Dial, and this one really caught my ear. These guys really have their ear-to-the-ground. In their own words, BlastFM.ch plays a "mix of Dub, Downbeat, Funky breaks and cold sweated House". For me it just sounds authentic. When I listen to BlastFM.ch I'm reminded of some of the best bars, coffeeshops, and parties in some of my favourite European cities like: Amsterdam; Copenhagen; Berlin; Paris; Krakow; Prague; and Jaun les Pins.

For me, this music is pure zen. Much like the station's gorgeous surroundings located in Bern Switzerland.

I'll be honest though, I don't recognize the names of over 90% of what these guys play, but it's all really really good! The genius of BlastFM.ch appears not to be entirely an accident. In their own words:"After collecting records for years and spending hours in bars and clubs around the world, the time has finally come. BlastFM.ch, a brand new webradio, is ready for Blast off." So, clearly there is a genuine pedigree here. The fact that they have been able to mix together such distinctive and silky sets can partly be explained by this experience. How they do it. We'll never know. At this point, science must take a back seat, and we should all kick back and enjoy the music.

We are very proud to have stations like BlastFM.ch on the TUN3R Dial.

In my next post I'll talk about another station that recently joined The Dial, but that which appeals to a totally different mood.

Stay TUN3D.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Neil, you're dam right. Blastfm.ch rocks and supplies cool music for cool people...like us!