An Audio Gem

We gave you the scoop on the group ZERO 7 and many oth­ers thus far but now we’re ready to blow it wide open (so-to-speak).

We love find­ing great music and rely on cer­tain sources to assist us in this quest. Propelled by pas­sion we have found a few haunts that stim­u­late and ful­fill, but most pleas­ant and per­haps our most beloved is the leg­endary radio sta­tion KCRW in Santa Monica, CA.

This pub­lic radio sta­tion offers the lat­est and most cut­ting edge music out there. Now led by the mas­ter­ful music direc­tor Jason Bentley who is not only an on-air per­son­al­ity but also a renowned pro­ducer and mixer in his own right, KCRW has a pro­gram for any type of music that you want.

Bentley was the man who first caught on to the genius of LCD Soundsystem, before any­one knew that name.  He has an impec­ca­ble ear and the abil­ity to pre­dict where music is headed as swiftly as he is cool…and he is very cool.  His radio voice is deep, smooth and res­o­nant in a way that harkens back to the time when radio was a classy place to be.

Streaming online via their web­site (KCRW.com) or on itunes (radio sta­tions — pub­lic radio), any­one has access to their pro­gram­ming. You can lis­ten to the live on-air chan­nel, a music chan­nel, or their news chan­nel. They have excel­lent app for the iphone that makes them totally portable.

In addi­tion to music, KCRW pro­duces shows devoted to art, archi­tec­ture, food, pol­i­tics, films, and books. Some ter­rific con­certs around the coun­try are spon­sored by KCRW and they are simul­cast on repeaters through­out California. This is truly a wide and long reach­ing station.

The show Morning Becomes Eclectic hosted for­merly by Nic Harcourt and now Jason Bentley has long been an influ­en­tial pro­gram that has new bands scram­bling to get on.

We could con­tinue to gush about this sta­tion but it is time for you to find a bit of it for your­self. Try the Garth Trinidad or Raul Campos shows and see what we mean. You will be immersed in the inno­v­a­tive sounds that make have been inspir­ing the HighStreet Team for some time.

Michael Spurrier. HighStreet. Cincinnati