Music Technology students have tracks played live on radio

Nescot’s Music Technology students had their own tracks played on new community radio station Flex FM on a visit to the studio on Friday (September 28).

The second-year Level 3 students were shown around the studio and learnt about radio licensing and how shows are put together, and then met Jungle and Drum and Bass legend DJ Kane.

The students then met DJs Carloss and Tempo and appeared on their Anything Goes show live on air from 12-2pm, selecting tracks and even playing their own music.

Neil Keating, who teaches Music Technology at Nescot and is an established DJ and former pirate radio host, said the visit had been a brilliant experience for the students.

“This was an opportunity for the students to see how the skills they learn in college are applied in a real-life setting,” he said.

“They learnt a lot about the details of how radio stations work and the different career paths involved, and it was also a great networking opportunity for them to make new contacts.”

Student James Olias had a track he had engineered played live on air, and it proved so popular with the DJs and listeners that it was played again.

“The track is called Free, and I engineered the vocals from scratch at home using skills that I learnt on the course at Nescot,” James said.

“It was amazing to have a song I’d worked on played live. It was really rewarding – you don’t get many opportunities like that. It’s given me a lot more confidence in what I’m doing.”

Student Emily Wright, who helped to arrange the visit, said it had helped with her plans to work full-time as a Dance and House DJ in the future.

“It showed us what kind of opportunities are out there if we work hard and go for it,” Emily said.

“A lot of the industry is about networking and making contacts, so this was a great chance to meet lots of different people and learn more about different roles in music.”

Louise Gaskin, Head of Media and Music at Nescot, said: “We’re grateful to the team at Flex FM for being so welcoming to our students, and we hope this is the start of a new partnership.”

Flex FM was established in 1992, and was granted a community FM licence to broadcast in London in 2017.