Matthew’s First Day of Work Experience

My name is Matthew, and I’m a Year 10 student at Dulwich High School of Visual Arts and Design. My interests and hobbies include writing, watching movies, as well as listening to and playing music.

I’ve chosen to spend my first week of work experience at Eastside Radio due to my lifelong love of and appreciation for music and the arts. Music played a huge part in my upbringing, with my early life soundtracked by my father’s piano in the next room over and my mother’s 80s compilation CDs, instilling a love of music in me at a young age. I’m also interested in the technical and managerial aspects of working at a radio station, and hope to learn more about work behind the scenes at Eastside.

I’ve been exposed to a diverse range of music throughout my childhood and teenage years – my mother introduced me to legendary R&B artists such as Stevie Wonder and Prince early in my childhood, while my father acquainted me with jazz, with Ornette Coleman’s The Shape of Jazz to Come, John Zorn’s avant-jazz group Naked City, and the extended improvisations on John Coltrane’s legendary final live recording all influencing my current taste in music.

Lately, I’ve been listening to Mulatu Astatke’s ethio-jazz compositions featured on the Éthiopiques compilations (particularly the track ‘Dewel‘), Bob Dylan’s early 70s bluegrass albums (including the underrated Self Portrait and Planet Waves,) and Angelo Badalamenti’s soundtrack to the film Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me. 

I look forward to the rest of my week working at Eastside Radio FM and to learning more about the inner workings of the entertainment industry.