Radio: It still matters… it’s still important. Step up!

Radio?? How…. 20th century! Well… maybe, but radio is not only important for providing [fill in: information, news, music, social connections, etc., etc. …], it’s now scientifically established that radio makes you feel better!  (Thanks to Mediazoic for the Twitter tip!) You’ll actually feel better than if you spend your time surfing the Net. And it’s also a great social experience. But, it is also, as always, an immediate source of that information/news/music mentioned above. And, if your interests, tastes, viewpoints on those areas, are not well-served (I hope not!) by “mainstream radio”, if Internet streams and radio stations provide little, if any, information about … Continue reading

CIUT FM: 25th Anniversary Open House and party: Jan. 15

Given the precarious state of community and other non-commercial radio, this Sunday marks a remarkable event: 25 years since CIUT began broadcasting on the FM dial. So the station is inviting all listeners & supporters to a 25 anniversary celebration: Sunday, Jan 15, 1-6pm Music Room, Hart House, University of Toronto (Map) CIUT hosts, staff, alumni and others will be there, along with live performances by Donné Roberts Los Caballers del Son Memoryhouse Barry Livingston & Darren Moore Canadian Space Opera Company See this page for more goodies & details. The station’s history actually goes back much further, to the … Continue reading

Benefit concert for John Collins with Afrafranto: Dec. 11: Updated Dec 10

One of the greatest archivists and collectors of West African music, Professor John Collins of Ghana last month experienced a severe flood and mudslide, which damaaged and destroyed much of the material he has been assembling since the 1970’s. His home is in the same premises, and his family narrowly escapted drowning. The Bokoor African Popular Music Archives Foundation (BAPMAF) is a Ghanaian NGO established in 1990. BAPMAF’s function is to preserve African popular & traditional performance and provide a resource centre for arts projects in Ghana and the international community. BAPMAF archival holdings include 700 photographs, 700 publications, as … Continue reading

Afrofest replay: audio & video

A strange bout of flu made me miss my first Afrofest in years, but whether you were there or not, you can catch some of its performances. CIUT FM, as always, broadcast most of the two day festival, and has archived all the performances it broadcast. Listen here I talked to many people who were at Afrofest, and the one performance everybody raved about was the Canadian debut of South African Dizu Plaatjies and Ibuyambo.  While I listened to their concert on CIUT, I missed out on the visual impact of their show, something everyone commented on. Fortunately, Peter Mykusz … Continue reading

Toronto Radio: the importance of CIUT & CKLN

This week (April 11-17) marks the semi-annual fundraising for CIUT FM, 104.5, If you’re reading this, then the kind of music you’re interested in would be much less available (on radio and live) in Toronto without strong, independent voices like CIUT or CKLN… and they wouldn’t exist at all without supporters helping to pay the bills. So, please, if you care about this music, consider contributing something to keep those voices alive. CKLN, 88.1, Toronto’s first community radio station is still under threat from a CRTC decsion but is reorganizing and revitalizing. Check its website for updates; it can also … Continue reading