international news _ 27th September, 2006
Pete Tong’s 21st Century Thursdays
Text by Jonty Skrufff (Skrufff.com)
Radio 1’s Pete Tong chatted to Skrufff this week about his new Thursday
night show In New Music We Trust and said the weekly show will be radically
different from the Essential Selection,
“It’s totally different from the Essential Selection, it’s another big step
in terms of Radio 1 embracing what the BBC has to look like in this century,
in the sense that it’s current model of broadcasting programmes
terrestrially, at set times, is rapidly moving out of date,” said Pete.
“I hate to use the word, but it is a kind of magazine show, there will be a
lot more chat in the show but equally it’s very important that the show is
very fast moving. I don’t know how successful the show will be initially but
I would imagine within six months the show will sound like radio hasn’t
sounded before on Radio 1; that’s our collective ambition. To make some 21st
century radio. If you haven’t got time to listen to me on a Friday or don’t
know much about dance music, this show is for you, it’s meant to be an entry
point.”
Hugely upbeat about the new show, Pete admitted he’s less than thrilled
about losing one hour of his Friday night Essential Selection though was
stoical about the new arrangement.
“Am I particularly happy about not being able to start at 6’oclock? Not
particularly. But did I think I’d be on at 6pm forever? No,” he said.
“Did I think I’d be on at 6pm for 12 years? No. Change is inevitable but
I’ve always seen change as an opportunity.”
He also defended vigorously his right to play maintream music, pointing out
‘you’re on the radio and you’ve got to be entertaining and we play to an
audience that fluctuates around 2million people at the start of the show on
a Friday night.’
“If you were playing to a stadium of 2 million people you wouldn’t go and
play a bunch of minimal techno records at the start of your set. That’s what
it’s about- entertainment. I’m not on at 2 in the morning, I’m on at six,
now 7pm. I’ve been really successful at both entertaining people and turning
them onto something new, I don’t think I’ve ever gone down the route of
lowest common denominator.”
He also revealed his favourite track of the moment is Ame’s Rej and
suggested dance music is changing quickly yet again.
“The minimal thing last year was very healthy it introduced a newness. A
year down the line minimal has almost disappeared, or rather it’s morphed.
I’m still playing a lot of records from Germany but they’re not that
minimal. I think records have got more soulful again, a little blacker
again. I suppose in a way we’ve had a house music revival,” said Pete.
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