Hi,

Thanks for signing up to the icradio mailing list– Imperial College’s student radio station.

 

It’s always hard to have a proper chat with everyone at Fresher’s Fair, to really explain the various things we do, so it’s usually best to put it in an email.

 

 

 

A little introduction

 

First and foremost we are a student radio station; broadcasting online, 24 hours a day. We have a sustain service which plays out music from our massive library and people come in to do their own shows.

Because we are student radio it is a lot more laidback than a commercial station. We have loads of different and varied shows; talk, dance, rock, pop, indie – anything goes. The important thing is to have fun and get to know more people at university.

 

If you got to have a look around the station yesterday then you will have seen that we have awesome resources. IC RADIO  has been running for well over 30 years now, meaning that  the equipment and systems that we have are pretty unbeatable.

Once you have joined the society the door is pretty much open for you to use our gear. Basically, if there isn’t a show on then you can come in and have a practice on the decks etc in the studio - much cheaper and convenient than buying your own stuff and carting it to uni each year.

 

 

 

Radio isn’t the only thing that we do.

 

We have a very well equipped recording studio which a team of us have spent the last 2-3years setting up. This can be used for recording and/or broadcasting live sessions on the air or doing more involved jobs (band demos/radio plays etc etc). We are pretty unique to have such a facility as a student radio and it is something that we’re going to really push this year – if you saw any of the flyers yesterday (added as an attachment to this email) we have 12 sessions booked in the first 9 weeks of term. These sessions are open for anyone to turn up to and watch and are held in our “shared studio”. Equally if you are interested in getting involved with the recording side then the best thing to do is email John, our Production Manager, production@icradio.com

 

A big part of being a radio station is of course the music that we play. We are constantly sent music from all the big labels which needs to be listened to, reviewed and eventually put into our play out system - Kate is our Head of Music and leads an army of avid music fans who task is just that. It is a big job and she needs as much help as possible, if it is something that you think you might be interested in then please get in contact with her at music@icradio.com

 

We’re all at Imperial and so therefore geeks, at least on the inside. This might not be “cool”, but it does mean that our technical side to the station is pretty damn good!

As you can imagine there is a lot of upkeep and challenges associated with keeping a radio station running. We also do things like outside broadcasts from the annual Varsity (Imperial vs. the Medics in various sports over a big competition) which are fun and a good experience to be a part of. If you want to find out more from the technical side email our Technical Manager, Oli, at technical@icradio.com

 

Just a few of the things that we do, there is loads more that I could have included but I don’t want to hit you with a brick wall of text – I know that it is information overload at this time of year.

 

 

 

“So I’m interested in finding out more, what next?”

 

We are going to have our first social event from 7PM on Thursday 14th October, our annual “Beer and Biscuits” night. This is a meet and greet where you can come along and have a chat to our committee and ask us any questions that you have. It’s basically our own version of Fresher’s Fair, just a little bit less hectic and with lots more free beer! (and other drinks)

The event will be held in the Level 8 Physics Common Room in the Blackett Building, a really cool venue with a roof terrace and great views over South Ken (map included as attachment). Make sure that you come along if you can.

 

We are student radio, and so part of the “SRA” – Student Radio Association. On Wednesday 13th October we have the annual SRA Nominations Party where we find out if we have got through to the final SRA Awards in any category. This event is being held in a trendie East London club and is open to any student radio guys – http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=222406121&v=wall&ref=notif&notif_t=share_wall_create#!/event.php?eid=156301691047917.

This is another great chance to come along and meet our committee, especially if you are new to London and haven’t been to the east part yet. We will be meeting up at college and going over together, if you are thinking of coming along  can you please email me (manager@icradio.com) so that I know numbers. It is a guest list event but if you click attending on the facebook link then you’ll be put on it automatically.

 

If you are already convinced that you want to join our amazing society then you need to join on the union’s website – http://www.imperialcollegeunion.org/radio-211/radio-membership/

Once you have done that and paid the little fee (which goes towards equipment etc etc) get in contact with me and we’ll talk about the best way to get you involved. Alternatively, if you want to get doing a radio show asap, email our Head of Programming, Ramy, at programming@icradio.com

 

 

 

Finally, just a personal thanks from me for helping to make another amazingly successful Fresher’s Fair. I didn’t get to speak to everyone but those of you that I did seemed very enthusiastic.

 

Joining radio is something that you won’t regret. I randomly signed up in my first year with absolutely no experience or clue of how anything works, because I thought that DJs were cool and I wanted to be one - 4 years later and I’m here as station manager for the second time in a row.

What I’m trying to say is that university is the best chance you’ll ever have to pick up something new, so why not try radio!

 

 

 

Feel free to email me with any questions that you have

 

Cheers

 

Dan Fowler

 

Station Manager

icradio

www.icradio.com