SEM was recently given the opportunity by Reform Radio to do a fortnightly School of Electronic Music show on the pioneering Manchester-based station where we could showcase the talent that we believe is the backbone of our school. A call out for wannabe radio presenters, DJs and potential guests brought in an overwhelming amount of interest and talent from around the school and after a lot of deliberation, we chose our first SEM radio presenter. We caught up with SEM student Will Judd to find out what we can expect from the upcoming show.
How does it feel to be named the first ever SEM Reform Radio presenter?
I feel privileged and proud! I would like to thank Elle and the rest of the team for entrusting me with the position. I’m pretty nervous as it’s going to be my first experience of live radio, but I’m looking forward to making the position my own and learning more skills in a radio environment. Reform Radio is such a cool station, I’m overjoyed.
What can we expect from your upcoming show School of Electronic Music show on Reform Radio?
I aim to showcase artists from all over the world, but also to bring you the minimal revolution! To give you a flavour of my musical taste, my main musical passion is inspired by the Romanian minimal techno scene and artists such as Petre Inspirescu, Rhadoo, Raresh (collectively known as (RPR Soundsystem) and the a:rpia:r imprint. I will also, of course, be spreading the word about the many cool things going on at the school and showcasing artists who have or are studying with there.
What are you looking forward to most about being on radio?
I can’t wait to gain experience on all the professional radio equipment and learn how the radio industry works whilst reaching a larger audience with my music. Learning to control the energy of a show in a live environment is going to be such a buzz. I’m really looking forward to meeting the wider team of presenters at Reform. I’m expecting some good parties!
In doing so I hope to encourage listeners who may have had bad experiences within traditional education. I had low self esteem as I was told in Year 7 that I have dyslexia and ADD and that I was essentially different. I felt like this throughout my school and it wasn’t until I was in my twenties when I realised that having these issues weren’t limitations, I just learnt in a different way which can often be more creative. I want to show everyone who’ve been told they have learning difficulties not to worry – just keep working hard and believe in yourself.
Tell us what you’ve been up to at SEM with your studies?
I am on the Master Diploma, currently studying Advanced Music Production Module and have also studied the Complete DJ module at SEM. I’m grateful to have two teachers who galvanise a classroom so easily. Tom Lonsborough (Advanced Music Production) is brilliant and has made learning about all aspects of music production within the DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) Ableton. I’ve really enjoyed investigating the inner-workings of “Drum Rack”, manipulating audio, the history and technology behind drum machines, synthesis, sampling, and the mix and mastering phase.
In our assessed assignment (where you have to create an original piece of work and a remix of someone else’s work) my whole class did really well, which was great to see. Secondly Mark One, my DJ tutor, like Tom, is awesome. He has accumulated over thirty years experience and his mixing methods and understanding of the science and art of DJing is inspiring, and the lessons are also fun. I would say our whole class have become seamless at mixing under Mark’s guidance. Quick-mixing, creative-looping, drop mixing, hot cue drop mixing, FX and X8 intro mixing means I feel really inspired now when I DJ.
What’s your favourite Reform Radio show?
Eastern Bloc have a show on Wednesday’s 9-11pm which brings you the finest new releases, re-issues and personal favourites from the Eastern Bloc record shop team. I’m biased as a I’m a big fan of the record store, which is well worth a visit if you haven’t already. Eastern Bloc, which is located in Manchester’s Northern Quarter was established in 1985 by John Berry & Martin Price of 808 State – who’s legendary work at the forefront of the acid house sound was highly influential in the development of the electronic music scene in Manchester.
The School of Electronic Music Show goes out live on Reform Radio every second Wednesday 2-3pm GMT starting 28th March. Tune into Reform Radio tomorrow to hear the first every show go live. You can also listen to their full schedule of shows on Mixcloud.
SEM’s Manchester Event Guide April 2018