HOST/PRODUCER: CHRIS MELOCHE

Tuesdays 10PM Eastern Time
P.O. BOX 1403, STN. "A"
LONDON, ONT., CANADA N6A 5M2
wiredforsound@chrismeloche.com

www.chrismeloche.com

In 1984, Herb Bayley and Brian Hannigan founded the radio programme NEW DIRECTIONS. This show spotlighted many forms of music which were out of the mainstream of normal radio programming - avant-garde jazz, contemporary classical music, improvisation etc... In 1990, I was invited to become a regular part of NEW DIRECTIONS. This was due, in part, to my knowledge of contemporary classical and electroacoustic music. It was also because of my profile and involvement in the local and national music scenes.

As a composer of electroacoustic works and a member of the Canadian Electroacoustic Community, Bayley and Hannigan believed that my input could be a valuable asset to their programme. In this role, one of my first projects was a four-part series chronicling the work of Karlheinz Stockhausen.

Contemporary classical and electroacoustic music, however, are only a small part of my general interest in music. I have been a proponent for the exposure of many genres of music which not given adequate exposure on the radio (including avant-garde, improvisation, new jazz, ambient, prog and exotica).

In 1993, both Bayley and Hannigan left CHRW Radio and I was left to take over the Monday evening time slot with my own programme. WIRED FOR SOUND began with the intention of continuing the basic concept of NEW DIRECTIONS and to take it even further.

Since this change, I have continued to correspond with many performers, composers, record labels and international music centres. I presently receive contributions from around the globe including the U.S.A., Finland, Japan, Sweden, Iceland, Britain, Canada, Switzerland, Hungary among others. Contributors have long been supportive of this form of networking.

CHRW-FM is a non-profit / non-commercial radio station with its broadcast facilities located in the heart on the University of Western Ontario. The programming on the station fills a large void which is created by the other commercial stations in the area. Broadcasting with 3,000 watts ERP, CHRW's signal reaches an area inhabited by over half a million people. The station also runs its audio signal over the Internet via RealAudio streaming (www.chrwradio.com). While the audience for a programme such as WIRED FOR SOUND may admittedly be limited compared to rock music shows, there is at least one music professor at UWO who recommends the programme to his students. Programme playlists are also posted the appropriate Usenet Newsgroups on the Internet so that many more music fans around the world will be able to discover the music featured on the programme, too.

In addition to my broadcasting duties, I am also a freelance writer with reviews and columns having appeared in the Metro Times (Detroit) and Scene (London). I am also a contributing writier to the MusicHound Jazz Guide.

I welcome submissions of material on CD or vinyl. WIRED FOR SOUND encompasses contemporary classical music, new jazz, avant-garde, experimental, folk, world, electroacoustic, ambient, '60s & '70s progressive rock, obscure and overlooked music. Musicians, composers, record labels can contact me at the above e-mail or snail-mail addresses.