The Zen of Radio Paradise

picture by Brad Trent www.bradtrent.com

What music do you play when you shoot?

Playing the right music sets the tone of a shoot - period

I love my music, in fact as write this blog on the Glasgow to London train I’m listening to the wonderful ‘The Seldom Seen Kid’ by UK band ‘Elbow’

How did I become aware of this gem of an album?

Well in fact two ‘friends’ of mine introduced me to it.

I say ‘friends’ because I have never actually met them, they are the Bill and Rebecca Goldsmith.

They run a shinning light of an internet Radio Station in California, called ‘Radio Paradise’

There maybe a better, music Radio Station but I have not heard it

Or one more aptly named

As they say on their own website……

‘RP is a blend of many styles and genres of music, carefully selected and mixed by two real human beings. You’ll hear modern and classic rock, world music, electronica, even a bit of classical and jazz.
Our speciality is taking a diverse assortment of songs and making them flow together in a way that makes sense harmonically, rhythmically, and lyrically – an art that, to us, is the very essence of radio.’

It has NO ADS! As it is listener supported radio, which means they rely on people like you and I to keep the great music flowing into our worlds for the occasional contribution of the equivalent of a beer or two.

Before I discovered ‘Radio Paradise’ I was often scrabbling about to make a suitable music mix the night before the shoot, often getting it wrong with the client or subject not liking my mix, or simply forgetting to put one together

So one less thing for me to do, letting Bill and Rebecca make my shoots rock into the bargain.

How do I fill the studio with these sound? Laptop speakers are simply not up to the task.
I use a cheap, cheerful but very impressive set of speakers by Creative, I have seen them as cheap as 20 quid.

If you really want to splash out, lose the cables and place the set up in an optimum location, you can hook it up to an Apple Airport Express and listen wirelessly
One of the most frequently asked questions these days at a shoots is ‘what is that Radio Station? It is wonderful’

So if you want to bring an extra bit of magic to your shoots or anywhere else for that matter, pay my ‘friends’ Bill and Rebecca a visit, you won’t regret it.