International radio show ‘The Selector’ launched in Sri Lanka

By Rashika Fazali

As a believer in the power of music, the British Council along with the help of Electric Peacock Festival (EPF), renowned rapper Tinie Tempah and New Young Pony Club launched the exciting international radio show ‘The Selector’ in Sri Lanka, hosted by famous DJ and presenter Goldierocks.

Originally launched in 2001, ‘The Selector’ is a two-hour weekly program that is set on showcasing fresh British music from all genres ranging from dubstep, pop, indie, folk, soul, electro, etc., and also feature interviews, mixes and exclusive live sessions from new and interesting British artistes.

Speaking at the launch, British Council Country Director Tony Reilly stated that since EPF had created a platform for audiences to enjoy and engage in local music alongside international music, the British Council decided to introduce the famous international show to this platform.

He stated: “Music is a universal language, but it is also one of UK’s greatest exports. There has always been a very strong reputation for music, bands, individual artistes, etc., emerging from the UK like the Beatles. ‘The Selector’ isn’t about those who’ve made it big. It’s actually about spotting talent and enabling people to tune into the selector to say ‘I remember listening to that band two or three years ago on the British Council Selector. Look this is what is happening to them now.’”

Currently, the show’s listenership exceeds over three million listeners from 35 countries that include the likes of Rome, Uganda, Bucharest, Mexico, Indonesia, China, etc.

Reilly added: “The aim of launching it here is to create awareness about the program and give them access from Hambantota to Point Pedro – most of South East and West of Sri Lanka, which will encourage audiences to take advantage of what it is about.”

“It’s about democratisation of music actually because we love live music. We love coming to concerts, but in between people are responding to our universal language. They can access music from the internet and radio and they can do this when and where they want. They can also listen to what they want to listen to.”

The radio show has previously featured Tinie Tempah, Gruff Rhys, Foals, Fyfe Dangerfield, Ghostpoet, Sparrow & The Workshop, DELS and Jamie Woon.

At the moment, ‘The Selector’ will only be available online as a podcast. However, the British Council is in discussions with a couple of radio stations to host ‘The Selector’ on their stations. “I think once we build the audience on the platform of the Electric Peacock Festival, we will have a few radio companies coming to us saying, ‘we would like to host this radio program,’” noted Reilly.

‘The Selector’ is produced by the much-respected independent production company based in London, Folded Wing, and put together by experienced producer John Cranmer and assistant producer Andrea Rangecroft. Executive Producer and Folded Wing Director Karen Pearson oversees the show.

‘The Selector’ has won many awards, including ‘Radio Program of the Year’ in Hungary, the Gold award for ‘Best Weekly Music Program’ at the Sony Radio Academy Awards, ‘International Radio Show of the Year’ at the International Radio Festival in Zurich and Bronze for ‘Best Regularly Scheduled Music Program’ at the New York Festivals Awards. The show was also nominated for ‘Best Music Show’ at the BT Digital Music Awards in London.

Many British newspapers have praised the show highly. The UK Sunday Times states it is “more irresistible than the best of John Peel… the country’s coolest radio show,” while The Guardian reported that the show is “more radical in its programming than all music radio in Britain”.