DJ SPOTLIGHT SERIES: Hello From Mrs. Robinson of the ONE PLUS ONE SHOW!

WHFR is pleased to feature a new WHFR DJ Spotlight Series for our home page so our DJs can stay connected with you while we're temporarily away from the Studio A chair. You might find music reviews, suggestions for staying active, backstories about how we got into the radio business, and some nice comments to help us all stay connected. Enjoy!

I have been off the air for personal reasons since Summer of 2019 and I really hoped to be back on the air in early 2020 but COVID-19 happened. That hasn't stopped me from listening to lots and lots of music to get me through 2020 (and the end of 2019). I have discovered music through Bandcamp, record review write ups and just expanding on an artist's catalogue.

Like many of you, sleep has been rough and I have found these artists and albums have help me through some sleepless nights: MAX RICHTER – SLEEP (over 8 hours of music); the WINDY & CARL catalogue including their new release ALLEGIANCE & CONVICTION; HILDUR GUDNADOTTIR (CHERNOBYL soundtrack and SECOND CHILDHOOD with BJ Nilsen & Stilluppsteypa), WILLIAM BASINSKI'S DISINTEGRATION LOOPS, and VALENTINA GONCHOROVA (Ukrainian violin experimentalist). This mix of classical, soundtracks, ambient, and experimental music has made sleep issues almost a thing of the past (almost).

One of the strangest discoveries was from a Facebook Page called “The Same Video of Shaq & His Family Dancing to Various Songs” and you guested it – people post various songs set to same video of Shaq & his family dancing in the kitchen. It was on this page I heard “Sudno (Boris Ryzhy)” by MOLCHAT DOMA. This Belarussian synthpop band has made me excited about some non-soundtrack, classical, ambient music for a change. MOLCHAT DOMA's two releases – ETAZHI and S KRISH NASHIH DOMOV while original released in 2018 & 2017 respectively was just released in the United States early 2020! This lead me to searching out other synth-pop and indie rock from Ukraine, Russia and the surrounding areas (PLOHO, DAKH DAUGHTERS, and GIL'OTINA).

Indie Rock is a still a love of mine and I cannot believe it took me this long to listen to HABIBI properly. They are female band mixing indie, garage and Persian music from New York with links to Dearborn-Detroit. Another indie band I have been digging is the “supergroup” KIDBUG featuring members of Eerie Wanda, Best Coast, the Swans and their self-titled released is referred to as “cuddlebug sludge”, and I would add some shoegaze.

Reissues are great as well and I have loved listening to P.J. HARVEY's DRY and the newly released DRY DEMOS and JOY DIVISION's 40th Anniversary of CLOSER.

I have many more records to listen to and I hope that in sometime in 2020 I will be able to share some of this music with the WHFR Listeners!