Produced out of a studio at UBC’s student union building, the CiTR radio station (101.9FM) was created as an outlet for students to discuss life on campus and local news around the university. Today, the CiTR hosts over 90 diverse music and talk programs that represent different voices in the community.
According to Brenda Grunau, station manager at the CiTR, the station has a mandate to provide alternative radio programming with a local focus. In addition, their mandate is to empower UBC students and community members through training and participation in broadcasting since the CiTR relies on student volunteers as well as staff members to operate.
With respect to the type of programs they decide to broadcast, Grunau says that they can help anyone produce their show as long as the programming is in line with their mandate and does not replicate any other commercial radio programs. Although the station is based out of UBC, you do not need to be a student to get involved with CiTR.
Grunau says that the CiTR has only two to three ads per day since they are very picky about ads.
“We want our ads to align with the interests of our listeners and our mandate, “ says Grunau. “ We do a lot of sponsorships to promote local festivals but those are not paid.”
RhythmsIndia
Originally from Bombay, India, Nalini Bhui speaks eight different languages (Kannada, Marathi, Gujarati, Tamil,
Nalini Bhui, host of RhythmsIndia,
a radio program that showcases
the diversity of music in India. | Photo courtesy of Nalini Bhui
Bengali, Malayalam, Telugu, Hindi and Punjabi), five of which she learned through her mother’s singing. With such diverse linguistic knowledge, Bhui tries to incorporate music from at least two to three different Indian languages in her show, RhythmsIndia.
Bhui explains that in India, the culture, food and music vary from province to province and even festivals such as Diwahli are celebrated differently due to the differences in climate and geography. From Hindusthani music (classical music from Northern India) to Bhangra music (traditional folk music and dance from Punjab region), Bhui strives to provide a taste of the music from different regions of India.
“The rhythms of India are so diverse that you can discover which village a washerwoman is from by the way [rhythm] she hits her clothes with the washing stick,” says Bhui, who is also a public speaker.
Bhui also brings local and international artists and players of traditional Indian instruments such as the sitar, dhol or tabla, to perform live on her show. Sometimes the music will focus on a specific instrument or an upcoming Indian festival. Besides just playing music, she also encourages listeners to get up and dance or exercise to the music as well.
You can catch RyhthmsIndia every other Sunday from 8–9 p.m.
Asian Wave 101
Steve Zhang, host of Asian Wave 101, had not always envisioned himself as a radio show host. After encouragement from friends and family members, he participated in a DJ selection competition and eventually started Asian Wave 101 in May 2014.
“My intention was to bring Chinese and Korean pop music to people who may not have heard it before or had heard very little,” says Zhang, who is a history student at UBC.
Zhang says he mostly plays Mandarin and Korean pop songs with an occasional Japanese or Cantonese song thrown into the mix. He explains that Asia is growing prominently as a world entertainment scene and Korean pop music and Chinese cinema have also gained international attention in recent years.
“The rising prominence of Asian pop culture where I’m from [China] has inspired me to share it in a way that other people can enjoy and connect through music appreciation,” says Zhang.
Zhang hopes to be able to faze in a co-host and start a segment to discuss Asian music with guests who are not familiar with it.
Asian Wave 101 is on the air every Wednesday from 4–5 p.m.
All shows on the CiTR are available as a podcast. To see a full show schedule, please visit www.citr.ca/index.php/schedule/shows/.
