Graphic from Jackal Radio
Launch into Jackal Radio
Jackal Radio, NYU Abu Dhabi’s newest forum for self-expression and musical debauchery, has now produced two weeks of shows ranging from passionate ...
Oct 17, 2015
Jackal Radio, NYU Abu Dhabi’s newest forum for self-expression and musical debauchery, has now produced two weeks of shows ranging from passionate displays of Tottenham-hatred to mildly self-deprecating panels inspired by nothing in particular.
Throughout the first weeks of being on-air, hosts have had different experiences of broadcasting. Miss Ginger Powers, who hosts the Miss Ginger Powers Teen Dream Experience at 11 p.m. every other Wednesday, said that the most surprising element of the radio experience has been the intimidating presence of an anonymous, invisible audience.
“I didn’t know that radio shyness was a thing. So I thought it would be so fun to play this music that people could feel the feels to. And then I heard myself speaking...I was paralyzed. It was awful,” she said.
Plans for a second show are underway but are contingent upon Ginger Powers’ ability to speak on-air.
Other hosts have enjoyed the feeling of talking to an empty void. Senior Abhijai Garg, who hosts (H)indie, said that he is also a fan of talking, and enjoys doing so even when the audience is entirely mysterious.
“I don’t know who’s listening and who’s not. It’s perfect,” said Garg.
Though Jackal Radio has remained quiet on its exact number of listeners, the channel’s co-founder Krishan Mistry assured The Gazelle that either figures were very high or he would continue to tell people that anyway.
The relative freedom of being on-air has allowed students to explore their passions via radio. Senior Eder Munyampenda hosts We Hate Tottenham every Sunday at 7 p.m.
“My show started off as an idea that I could combine hip hop and my love of football, two of my greatest passions...I watch football, I would say, about 10 to 15 hours per week, so I know a lot about it,” he explained.
Munyampenda acknowledges that hip hop and football are not exactly relevant to each other, except for the fact that they are two of the most important things he can think of in this world.
“There’s no greater love than football or hip hop,” Munyampenda said.
Senior Allen Magnusson also hopes to introduce listeners to music that they may not have sampled before through his show, SWEET DREAMZ IN HELL.
“It is a metal show where I hope to expose you to cuts of particularly brutal contemporary and classic metal. I aim to puncture your eardrums through an abyss of sonic onslaught, so just as you’re on the brink of sleep on a Friday night, I rip you back into hell, fingernails dragging,” he said.
As an advocate for the beauty of metal music, Magnusson hopes to acclimatize people to its raw, pounding rhythm in a similar manner to how new freshmen slowly develop coffee addictions during university life.
“What I hope to do by exposing people to a variety of sounds that one could describe as metal is habituate you and make you comfortable listening to things you wouldn’t have been comfortable with before,” he explained.
For those interested in taking on the mantle of a Jackal Radio host, the experience of Rachel Maillet, who hosts Through the Looking Glass at 7 p.m. every Saturday, is instructive.
After having investigated NYU New York’s student radio, Maillet was enthused to find that there was a comparative lack of interest for Jackal Radio, meaning that she would not have to physically fight anyone for a time slot.
Jackal Radio broadcasts online from radio.nyuad.im.
Tessa Ayson is features editor. Email her at feedback@thegazelle.org.
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