Published
Mon, Feb 7, 2022, 12:40
- The legendary broadcasts ran weekly from 1985 to '99 on KISS FM.
Colin Dale is back on the (digital) airwaves.
The UK DJ has been broadcasting his legendary Abstrakt Dance show via Mixcloud Live every second Thursday at 8 PM GMT. He restarted with sporadic broadcasts in summer 2021 and, since January this year, has now begun archiving the sets on YouTube and maintaining the biweekly schedule.
"The restarting of the show was primarily driven by the Covid-19 lockdown," Dale told Resident Advisor. "After a few months of not doing clubs I thought it was the perfect way to connect with clubbers that themselves were not able to get out. I also have a keen interest in videography so it was also the perfect way to marry the two passions."
Abstrakt Dance ran on London station KISS FM every week from 1985 through '99. The show then moved to Groovetech radio, before returning to KISS for a short stint which ended in 2003. Abstrakt Dance was considered one of the most influential radio shows in UK electronic music, platforming new music, visiting DJs and providing information on events in London.
About the new show, Dale said it's "actually very different from what I presented on Kiss FM with the key word being 'presenting.' On the Kiss FM shows, I'd speak after a lot of the tracks and give some info on them, have interviews with key DJs and producers, competitions, short guest mixes, the occasional phone-in and most importantly a production assistant and the latest equipment on hand. The live broadcast is very different in that this time around it's just me on my own. I love the independence it gives me and there's also something special about broadcasting from home. I'm not trying to make the broadcast look like it has a club setting so it has a much more intimate vibe. But the biggest change is the way I'm able to instantly react to listeners in the message board. I've found that over time there's a real community building up who come back for each show."
Check out the most recent Abstrakt Dance show, and read our Art Of DJing feature with Dale here.
Photo: Guy Clarke