In Conversation with Melodic Distraction
Whereabouts are you right now?
Spending our time either plonked behind a laptop at home or doing site visits at our new space. We’ve all got quite good at working and taking meetings from the comfort of our beds in the past year. Can that be classed as a skill on the resumé?
What are you working on?
We’re currently broadcasting our entire programme of radio shows from the host’s own homes rather than our studio. It’s a big undertaking but something we feel like we owe to our listeners. Live radio can be such a good source of entertainment, especially in the lockdown months, so we’ve gotta keep the music playing.
We’re also busy working on plans for our new studio, coffee shop and bar. In December, we ran a Kickstarter to raise £35,000 to help build ourselves a new studio out of shipping containers after we were forced from our old one in the middle of the pandemic. It was a huge undertaking, but working alongside Kingdom Collective and Dr. Martens we managed to raise the funds!
It’s a steep learning curve from here on out, meeting with architects and structural engineers (still not 100% sure what they do…) but we’re feeling great about the project and things are motoring along nicely. We even discovered the other day that the yard we’re converting into our new space is actually built on top of a levelled 19th century church!
Why do you do what you do?
We love music and the city. This place has got a story to tell and we want to be a part of telling that story.
What about Liverpool inspired you to set up Melodic Distraction?
We both moved here as students about 8 years ago and fell in love with the city. It’s true that Liverpool moves to its own rhythm; one guided by a love of music, football and looking out for each other.
We can’t imagine Melodic Distraction starting up in any other place than Liverpool – the warmth of the people who live here and their passion for music and a good natter makes for a city filled with untapped radio talent. We want to do our part to celebrate this!
Has the current situation had an effect on your productivity/creativity?
As they say, ‘necessity breeds creativity’.
It’s been a weird 9 or 10 months hasn’t it! We’ve found ourselves fluctuating between scratching our heads at times and hitting new creative peaks at others. We’ve had to learn a lot, very quickly, about things like PPE and social distancing – stuff we’d never expected at the start of 2020 we’d be having to contemplate. On the flip, we’ve never felt so glad to have the great community hosts, collaborators and friends we have around us. They’ve come forward with a seemingly endless number of creative ideas over the past year and it’s been really affirming to bring these to life in a digital space when we can’t all be together physically.
Our Lockdown Live Lounge was a particular highlight for us – teaching artists to live stream from home, creating a digital mini-gig and giving them that skill for the future was really fun and rewarding.
Do you think the current situation will change how you do what you do?
I think the current situation will definitely broaden our horizons on who we can invite onto the station. Previously, it tended to be a case of coming through the doors to broadcast but with our switch to remote broadcasting, we can begin to invite people from across the globe to play on Melodic Distraction. We’ve had people broadcast live to our website as far away as Medellin, Colombia, this year! Our passion will always lie with showcasing the North West but it’s an exciting prospect as we reach out across the world as well.
What has the current situation made you appreciate?
I think the situation of the past year has made us value the importance of checking in on each other, something that we probably all took for granted a little bit when we could all be together on demand.
Without sounding like a self-help book or the latest meditation mobile app, being more mindful of each other has been the big takeaway for us of 2020.
Bell ya mates, folks!
Who would you most like to perform on Melodic Distraction?
In short, we want to keep reaching out into the city and the North West – telling more stories and celebrating more musical pockets of goodness along the way. Whether it’s the local veterans of the music scene or the new talent breaking through, it’s about extending our arms to all.
What’s something you’re really into right now?
Shipping containers and drainage systems, mostly. All the great new music being produced in Liverpool right now. Oh, and it’s been nice to see Everton not doing shite for once as well.
What are you looking forward to on the other side?
A summer with our new space open for everybody to enjoy – hoping to be surrounded by friends and the extended musical family we’ve made here in Liverpool.
What one album do you recommend?
For us right now we’re most excited about the debut One Glove Records release from local lad, Moon. It’s out in February and is an homage to Liverpool – more specifically, Toxteth. It also features a wicked feature from our man Sticky Dub, who hosts a regular show with us on Melodic Distraction.
Check it out below!