Continuing the saga of Griff FM, we come to the final two hours of the Electric Hour, an electronic music show that had a very short but exciting life on the Griff FM station earlier this year. I was delighted to host these hours of noise pollution. Numbers 3 and 4 were particularly special — I had the pleasure of interviewing two innovators in the Irish music scene. I spoke to Jula, a DJ from the Dublin based drum & bass collective, Springfield Crew Massive. From the front seat of his car he spoke to me about DJing in Ireland, the collective itself, and his own history with the scene. In the final show I had Welfare on the line; one half of the Irish vinyl label Rua Sound, and long time jungle producer/face melter. On either side of these interviews are some quality tunes, as well as some minor technical issues which I think add a lot of character to the show. The final moments of the show, number 4, were also the final moments of the entire Griff FM 2017 broadcast — it was wonderful to be the one to close it off, and I chose one of my favourite tunes to do this. Turn up your speakers, scroll down, and tune in to the Electric Hour.

4 February, Electric Hour #3. Mood: Searching for gremlins in the sound desk

I was a bit downhearted going into the studio on this weekend, because I knew the experience was coming to an end and I was really getting into the swing of things. But this was also a nice feeling. It was in this show that I battled with invisible gremlins in the machine, and also introduced Griff FM and its listener(s) to Springfield Crew Massive, in an interview with one of its main music mad-men, Jula.

Some highlights:

3:14. This is when pressed play for Ed Solo & DJ Deekline, and everything disappeared. This is the radio equivalent of forgetting your lines on stage.

At 19:54 we have Bad Bones. I read about this producer the previous year, and I admired her for how she spoke about her experiences in the music industry, her musical skill, and for her not-really-giving-a-fuck style.

23:16 is when Jula joins me on air.

At 24:49 he describes how it feels to bring everyone together at the gigs SCM host, and how united everyone is. He says “It’s an amazing feeling…you feel united… You’re working Monday to Friday, you need to pay bills…then you leave everything behind and have a good time’’.

When I asked him about travelling on the job: (29:47) “That’s the nice part. If you work…You follow your dream and then this is like payback’’.

“In general, the drum & bass crowd over here [Ireland] is very nice… It’s getting bigger and bigger. People are really passionate about drum & bass over here’’ (30:50).

32:40. His favourite artist is DJ Aphrodite ❤

34:40. Turns out, Jula began learning his skills from DJ Beaty, a woman based in the Czech Republic.

37:15 is where The Black Madonna graces the airwaves. TUNE.

5 February, Electric Hour #4. Mood: There’s a bottle of red wine in my bag

This was the final hour of Griff FM, and of the Electric Hour. I was sad to say goodbye, and I had brought a bottle of wine with me for the occasion. Obviously the tunes kept coming, and I had a great chat with Welfare, someone who I’d known already from Galway. I remember interviewing him in 2015 where we spoke about the label, which at the time was at its very early stages of being set up. It’s fair to say he also popped my interviewing cherry that year, being the first ever person to allow me to sit down with them and pick their brain. I also play a Bangface promo mix of his. A time for firsts; this is the first time the Electric Hour #4 has ever been shared online.

Some highlights:

The very beginning. This is the mandatory Blockhead song. He’s one of my most loved producers and trip-hop artists. It had to played first.

7:49. I get a tingle down my spine at this part of the remix. It’s John Kennedy remixing Bonobo’s ‘Dinosaurs’.

21:05 is when I bring Welfare onto the show.

23:04. He says the label is where he’s going to focus his energies, and “ a few other side projects to the main label… Developing the artists we have on there and bringing some new people on board’’.

24:40. I ask him how it feels to see the label become a recognised name. “It’s good… it was hard to get started up, being kind of on the peripheries in Ireland — most of the scene is in the UK and continental Europe… A lot of work’s gone into it. It’s really down to the talent of the artist’s that’s on the label, but there’s a lot of logistical stuff going on in the background’’.

“Every label has an identity, but the kinds of sounds that myself and Rob feel ourselves, are kind of a mish-mash between a few different genres on the bass spectrum. Jungle, grime, footwork, dubstep, drum & bass’’… “We try and keep our ear to the ground’’ (27:47).

29:35. We say ‘hi’ to Rob DC, the other half of Rua Sound and long time friend of Welfare.

36:23. Welfare describes the house and techno nights he went to when he was living in Dublin, and the more “personal’’ vibes you get in smaller spaces.

Shout out to Galway at 39:03!

BANGFACE at 45:25.

And that was it for Griff FM. I signed off, the wine was drank, and 107.8 fell silent.

Part 3: What happened during the week — The Late Late Breakfast Show, coming soon.