U:Music Introduction - In The Coming Weeks...

Cynical types of the UK – put down your iPhones and listen. There’s something new on the airwaves, something distinctive; something that could only be the sound of a world-renowned clothing brand showcasing the best of new music talent on a 24/7 independent radio station.

We’re talking about Clash’s long-standing partner in the furtherance of great music, the Diesel U:Music project. D:U:M (as we will affectionately will be abbreviating it to from now on) is a sensational set of schemes that will be bringing pleasure to your earholes all summer, including a worldwide competition to discover new talent, a world tour of aforementioned talent and, the crowning centrepiece of the D:U:M smorgasbord, the U:Music online radio station.

Not radio in the restricted-playlist/advert-ridden/Chris Moyles sense, but radio in the oh-my-god-we’ve-never-had-it-so-good sense. For six weeks from May 14th to June 24th Diesel will be broadcasting non-stop, mostly from a purpose-built (and rather swanky) studio they’ve set up in Dalston, east London. Nineteen highly trained Diesel engineers will be working round the clock to bring you live sessions and no-holes barred radio programmes.

It’s the third year U:Music has been rocking our world, last year showcasing artists as brilliant as Franz Ferdinand, N*E*R*D, Chaka Khan, De La Soul, MGMT, Klaxons, Beth Ditto, Franz Ferdinand etc (the list goes on… and on). This time around we’re promised the great bands involved will be as abundant once again. Already we’ve got Marina and the Diamonds, Gruff Rhys, DJ Hell and Beyond The Wizard’s Sleeve hanging about the Dalston radio pad, playing exclusive shows and sending out their own DIY broadcasts to what’s expected to be over 1.5 million listeners over six weeks.

The straightforwardly fantastic aside, there are more eclectic shows on offer. How about Big Pink drummer Akiko’s counselling show, called ‘Dump Him, He Doesn’t Love You”, or the Dalston Oxfam show, showcasing the best of found records and tapes from the local charity shop. The whole idea is finished of, in perfect bizarre fashion, by the Carnaby Street Diesel stores being turned into giant radios. Uh huh, yep… take a look at launch day HERE.

Though it’s fairly easy to see at this point why Clash are jumping on the bandwagon, we should explain our part in all of this. As an official partner of the D:U:M project you’ll see us highlighting the very best of the radio output on the Clash site. Regular blog posts (like this one here from me, Jonny) will keep you updated on what Diesel are doing and what we Clash people are liking/trying to mess around with up in Dalston. You’ll see video content of the best band sessions cropping up regularly as well as a track of the day appearing every week along with the Clash inside line on why that song will blow your mind. We might even arrange for you (yes, YOU) to go up to the studio to see some of this awesome stuff unfolding in front of your very eyes.

376 hours of LIVE global broadcasting; 19 highly trained radio staff; 32 live gigs recorded and over 600 guests from a global database of musicians and industry figures – convinced yet?

Want to listen? Then enjoy the radio player embedded in our Diesel:Music:Radio channel or alternatively head to the Diesel site, HERE.

Stay tuned listeners, the best is yet to come.