Brighton’s newest radio station launched on Sunday with a four hour live-stream from a group of inexperienced but promising young DJs. In a post-youtube world, Platform B aims to reinvigorate broadcasting and has the potential to discover, support and champion the next generation of radio presenters and producers.

For now it will only be streaming once a week on Sundays, with the next session on 29th May, although as it grows, so will its output. The first broadcast, which held a hip-hop and grime theme, was a more open and social experience than traditional radio: you could listen at home, or drop into the Green Door Store to listen live and mingle with the DJs after their set. To run it exclusively like this is an engaging take on a profession that has normally been conducted behind closed doors, and where getting involved can be difficult. But this is a reflection of Platform B’s structure and ideals – any aspiring DJ or presenter between 16-25 can join and receive training and experience, and while there are some older, more experienced people involved, they are very much hands-off: to all intents and purposes, the station is run by and for young people.

Sagal Yusuf opened the session at midday with a set of mostly hip hop, tinged with some soul. She was friendly on the mic, very chatty and comfortable. Of all the DJs, she was the only one with some experience in broadcasting. It showed, giving her hour a breakfast-show type feel (although with darker music). She was followed by a vinyl-only set from Turner, who took in some classic dubstep and grime, covering a few of Skream’s greatests, along with tracks from Kano, Mala and Stormzy. His set was deep and dusky, and full of gems.

The favourites of the day had to be Jambo and Dereck, a pair of MCs who had never broadcast before, but who took to it naturally. Throughout their hour they were charismatic, energetic, and massively entertaining. It didn’t hurt that they played a comprehensive selection of quality hip-hop, much of it from local groups. They covered releases from Yogocop and Team Dreebs, as well as Normanton Street, and Frankie Stew and Harvey Gunn, which tended to have a jazzy current running through their production. From there the set moved to Ocean Wisdom, then to Along Came Shifty. The list goes on, but their set wandered through an eclectic selection of hip-hop, both local and national.

The final hour of the broadcast was a live performance. Dereck stayed on the mic and was joined by Guja, while Husky took to the decks (and occasionally took the mic too). They managed a whole hour of freestyle, each with completely different styles, but all lyrically dextrous, ranging from observational rap to political jibes. They ended the broadcast on a high.

All the DJs and presenters were very young, but they made some great radio. Hopefully as it develops, Platform B will find more inexperienced but talented presenters, and give them a platform to broadcast from. As well as being a great way to spend a Sunday afternoon, it’s a refreshing approach to radio that could really help to grow the local broadcasting industry. How the station grows will be something to watch closely.
Ben Noble

Website: platformb.org.uk
Facebook: facebook.com/platformbradio
Twitter: https://twitter.com/platformbradio