Broadcaster at Radio Campus Paris, Community Manager at JNPPVSM, Jonathan Melgar Cannot Live Without Music

IMAGE: COURTESY RADIO CAMPUS PARIS

1. Can you introduce yourself? Where are you from?

I’m Jonathan Melgar, I’m the Community Manager of JNPPVSM, a great community of music lovers on Facebook. I’m also a music broadcaster at Radio Campus Paris (93.9 FM). Everyday I dig finding the best new albums and bands. These bands just need a little push to start their careers and as far as I can, I try to give them this visibility on the radio. 

I grew up in the northern suburbs of Paris, way too close to CDG airport. I now live in Paris at Menilmontant. 

IMAGE: COURTESY JONATHAN’S WHYD PROFILE

2. What is Radio Campus Paris, what do you do there, and who should listen to your broadcasts? 

Radio Campus Paris is an associative radio based in Paris. Its role is to give a voice to the student community in Paris. You’ll hear all kinds of radio shows on it: cinema, news, art, history, sciences, but mostly MUSIC! 200 people are working hard everyday to give the best experience possible to our audience. 

It’s original, with no advertisements, fresh music, and lovely people. If you are looking for a new way to discover music, just turn on your radio to 93.9 FM in Paris. 

IMAGE: COURTESY JNPPVSM

3. You just started a new adventure as the Community guy at “Je Ne Peux Pas Vivre Sans La Musique” (I can’t live without music) which could be the motto of every music lover on Whyd. What attracted you to the project and what are your goals there?

I was attracted to JNPPVSM because I’ve always had this will to share music as widely as possible. I love to ask people randomly what is the artist or song they love RIGHT NOW and I start digging in my head to find out what could be their next crush in music. Sharing is caring! 

The originality of this community: they post dozens of YouTube videos everyday in order to share them with the rest of the community! 

4. Time to get personal, what type of music makes you move? When did you realize that music would occupy such a large part of your life? 

I think I realized that music was going to be important in my life around 20. It’s kind of late but some people will just never realize what they’re good at, ever! I had first experience in the music industry at this time and I knew I was made to dig and share music. I have to say I’m lucky, working as a music broadcaster on Radio Campus Paris and managing JNPPVSM is so cool and it’s so me! Wouah!

I just made this playlist for Whyd and its community! Hope you’ll like it. 

Thanks Jonathan! Make sure you follow him on Whyd for his latest favorite tracks! 

Interview with Erwan: Co-Founder of Beware!

ALL IMAGES FROM erwanchecman.tumblr.com

It’s a lazy August afternoon when the doorbell to my apartment chimes. The microphone is out and ready to record the interview with one of the co-founders of Beware! a webzine dedicated to culture, fashion, design, architecture, photography, and music. That might seem like a lot of subjects to cover, impossible maybe. It sounds like a project doomed to fail, the result of an over-ambitious web denizen who gets amped up on coffee one morning and decides to change how the world digests culture. But that’s not the case here at all, because Beware! has been publishing original content daily for over four and a half years. 

The man who walks in is young, attentive, excited, and a little nervous. His project has grown to such large levels because of his passion, and the time he invests everyday into improving the quality of the content on Beware! He is also my neighbor, and co-hosted our second AperoMusicTech at Point Éphémère. His name is Erwan Manchec

The publication of this interview is timed with the first Whyd Selection for Beware! that just hit the web today. It is the first in a monthly series featuring the most popular music on Whyd, alternating roughly between electronic and indie. Make sure you check Beware! every second weekend of the month to listen to Whyd’s selection. 

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We sit down to begin the discussion, to hear the story behind Beware! and how they got to where they are today. I tap the microphone, it’s recording. 

TH: Let’s start by talking about the timeline. When did it begin? How did it develop?

EM: For the context, Beware! was created officially on January 1st, 2009. We started with something called Beware Blog, a terrible name that didn’t work very well, so in 2010 we created a new site also with content in English called Beware Mag. Today it’s the 13th of August and we are about 50 contributors. 

Beware! is an urban culture magazine focusing on architecture, fashion, graphics, design, photography, and music. We started with all of the topics at the same time. What we did was organize it so that we had a different category each day of the week; Monday was design, Wednesday was fashion, etc. The idea was really good but it didn’t work because news doesn’t work like that. 

TH: Didn’t people appreciate that? Seems like that is a really interesting format to present your content.

EM: Well to be honest we didn’t really have much of a response at the beginning, so it’s hard to tell, but we weren’t able to cover news quickly because of the structure of the format, and we are always searching for things that are truly exclusive, which is hard to do after the fact. 

TH: What is your favorite category personally?

EM: Photography, because I am a photographer on the side. It’s the category that I understand the most. I appreciate the other categories too, but not as much. 

TH: What type of photography do you do?

EM: Portraits, landscapes, streetscapes. Images talk the most to people I think. 

TH: Did you start Beware! to create inspiration for your own work?

EM: No, I started photography two years after I started Beware! The idea for Beware! was to create something to showcase things that are beautiful. I like things that look nice. Beware! was a way to create a project around those beautiful things. 

TH: So photography for you came after?

EM: Yeah, I was in Copenhagen with the guy who designed our logo and he started to teach me things about talking photos, and when I went to live in London I really fell in love with it, the environments, the light. 

TH: Are there any links between the styles of the content across the different categories of Beware?

EM: We always talked about a lot of things at the same time, so they are not connected, as long as it inspires. It’s photos that emit emotion, that can be transmitted and rejoined in a certain way. 

TH: Now that you are working on this for more than four years, you’ve seen things online change. Is it more difficult now?

EM: In 2009 there were already a lot of blogs. We were able to keep it together for over four years because we found a model that works. We all do this for free, and there are a lot of blogs that just stop, people change jobs or lose interest. We found a way to do this with no cost, lots of time, for sure, but I think that it’s about as complicated today as it was before. We have more ways to promote ourselves but all of these social channels are jammed up.

TH: The average lifespan of a blog is six months. It starts off very well, and then it collapses. How did you keep it going?

EM: I’ve always looked at this like a pleasure, I spend four or five hours per day on this, and I found really cool people to help me who feel the same way. They are people who love to share, and the desire to do this comes naturally from that desire to share. We have also created a good team dynamic. We meet once a month for example.

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TH: What is the music side of Beware?

EM: We started doing different compilations but it was really time-intensive. We started doing podcasts of about 30-40 minute mixes, but we couldn’t keep doing it because one of the guys left, and we couldn’t get someone to replace him. So we definitely want to relaunch the podcasts, and keep doing selections.

TH: What was the podcast?

EM: Nu-disco, a little Frenchie, things that have character, we have all gotten older throughout this whole thing, so the tracklists have become more mature too. We were thinking about things that are designed for moments, like a podcast to work to, etc.

TH: We have a ton of people who listen to Whyd only at work, so we know how that goes. What is your longterm objective? Do you want to continue to do this for fun?

EM: We are always talking about this, do we want to professionalize this stuff? We really want to go more pro, better content, more artistic, more in depth, higher quality really. We need to find our balance, so that our work is to push Beware to maybe become a creative agency, or a resource for creatives, there might be a way to monetize the site and our services. The brand Beware is also important, we have already made T-shirts, and other merchandise. We can’t take all of the routes at the same time. It’s a ton of time to get everything done. You just have to come and see it!  

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Follow Beware! on Facebook, Twitter, and subscribe to them on Whyd.

Interview with Mateo: Musical Explorer at RadioKaosCaribou

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This week’s interview features MoiMateo, a musical explorer from the south of France who is committed to finding and sharing the best of the newest music around: 

I like to say that I am an explorer of sounds. But in reality, I am a music lover who appreciates being able to share what I listen to. I am fed by decibels, and I devour melodies without ever expecting to overdose. I adore taking my musical hits and I am always looking for the smallest novelty on which it seems essential to bet. 

More down to earth: Marseillais (or almost) by origin, having rolled my hump through numerous french cities, I was cradled by two Beatles vinyls, and I am appalled to listen to the abusive mainstream tracks that are broadcast on FM airwaves. Today, I developed my brand for spreading music: MoiMateo - which is a blog that, together with social networks, tries to support the artists that I appreciate by diffusing them massively across the web. 

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1. You seek new sounds your twice-monthly podcast on RadioKC, what is your style and do you have a favorite type of music?

I don’t have a favorite style of music and what’s more, I could never be content with only one style. Instead, I have a preference for a period of music, that of the 60’s and 70’s. It’s a preference without contest for rock in the biggest sense of the word, ranging from hardcore metal to ska and touching on punk, blues, and even trip-hop, etc. Basically, I like the sound of a guitar and particularly the different formations of bass/guitar/drums. On top of that, one could try any sort of experimentation, as long as what is added has a soul, I love it. 

Additionally, I have started to appreciate different rap tracks with lyrics that touch me. Or Brit-pop like sounds that bring me into dreams of voyages without leaving my house. Then there is funk: music that often makes me dance and lose all reason. 

I have less love for jazz, country, classical music, and my electronic music culture is a little limited. 

2. The WebRadio RKC is a collaboration among whom?

RKC - RadioKaosCaribou - is the “voice of the academy of mixture.” A WebRadio (by definition broadcast across the entire world) managed by “The Boss,” an athlete of the discovery of music. RKC today has succeeded in revolving around the music of a passionate team comprised of DJs, selectors, artists from various backgrounds and countries since the web has no geographical limitations. We are a collective with the same objective: open the ears of the biggest number of listeners for both RKC and our personal projects. 

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3. What is your mission with RKC, and do you have objectives for this year?

We try not to strive for yearly objectives or things like that. We are here to share our passion for music, with the desire to promote artists that don’t necessarily appear in major media. We don’t ever know what the next idea we will try. That could easily be organizing an event based around music, either virtually or offline. Everything is possible with passion and madness. 

Thanks Mateo! Make sure to subscribe to him on Whyd, like the MoiMateo Facebook page and RKC’s, and follow RKC on Twitter to stay up-to-date.