Music, Style & Culture

Huw Stephens: Everybody’s A Music Snob

We catch up with "leading Radio 1 DJ", and all round top bloke, Huw Stephens.

A little later this week, Channel 4 and Topman CTRL will launch a brand new music show hosted by leading Radio 1 DJ, and all round top bloke, Huw Stephens.

Each of the six weekly instalments will have an exclusive Controller - the first three being James Buckley (Inbetweeners), Iwan Rheon (Misfits) and Mark Ronson - who will choose their favourite acts to appear, and a shed load of new music.

Not so long ago, we caught up with Huw (in Topshop on Oxford Street, appropriately) to find out what it's all about.

You started at the BBC aged 17 – how did that come about?
It was a lot of freak incidents really. I was doing hospital radio, I managed a band, wrote, reviewed, answered phones at the BBC. Then I met a girl called Bethan who was starting a show on Radio 1 in Wales, and she was looking for a presenter. So she got me in to do pilots and we did the session in Wales together for about seven years in all. It was really weird but it was an incredible opportunity that I grasped and ran with.

So basically, if you want to get into radio, you’ve just got to get lucky?
Luck’s a lot to do with everything I think. Luck, and contacts. Meeting the right people is a part of getting into anything, but especially if it’s media or music related. It’s about going out and doing stuff. Now it’d be blogs and student radio and online podcasts, but back then I was doing hospital radio and writing for fanzines.

Does hospital radio still exist?
It does, yeah, it’s still massively popular. It’s got this weird image of being quite old fashioned, but it’s a great place to learn your craft and make music radio. Student radio’s a great way of getting into it as well, so it’s just about getting on and doing it. Employers look for experience and scout out people who’ve already done it.

Your slot on ‘Introducing’ kind of replaced the late John Peel – how did that feel, stepping into the shoes of one of the world’s most beloved veteran DJs?
It was the saddest day for music when John Peel died. Everybody felt it, and none more so than the specialist DJs at Radio 1. There were obviously hours to fill at Radio 1 and they wanted specialist music shows so myself and Rob da Bank and Ras Kwame were given the opportunity to make these shows. We never for a second tried to replace John Peel 'cause we knew that’d be stupid and impossible. All we wanted to do was bring the music we love to an audience, in different ways and different styles. He was such a legend and an inspiration and a total one-off. I don’t think we’ll ever see another John Peel, he was broadcasting for so long; he saw so many styles of music and trends come and go but he lived throughout them all which is amazing really. 

Peel went on to do a whole bunch of other stuff, like Home Truths on Radio 4. A little embarrassingly, that was how I first got into John Peel – because my mum was a big Radio 4 listener and it’d always be on in the house. Do you ever see yourself moving into something like that or is it always about the music for you?
I’m into all sorts of broadcasting really; I think it’s important in anything you do not to limit yourself to one thing. To survive in terms of jobs you need to be open to new ideas and new ways of doing things. It’s the same with music, I like a lot of different styles like everybody. It’s a healthy thing not to pigeon-hole yourself, it’s true if you’re a broadcaster, or a band, or anyone really. 

Introducing has been going for a fair few years now, hasn’t it? You’re only human, and we all make mistakes – are there any bands you regret introducing the world to?
Oh wow. You know what, honestly? No, none whatsoever.  It’s weird, sometimes you’ll play a band on the radio and they’ll go on to get a major label record deal. My nieces and nephews will be talking about them the following year and love them, go and see them live. Sometimes I’ll play a band and never hear from them again, they’ll split up and form other bands or whatever. I think the great thing about music is that there’s always so much of it being made - a constant stream of creativity - so there’s always plenty to champion and support and play. So no, no regrets at all really. 

What if I turn this recorder off?
Nah… I’ve played a demo by Scouting for Girls - they sent it in, they were gigging, their songs were really strong and I thought "You know what? These are well crafted songs and people would enjoy listening to these." And then obviously, six months later they’ve got a number one album and…

Everybody’s sick of them?
Ha, well you said it. But I still think it’s important to support things that you know other people would like sometimes as well. Everybody’s a music snob, but I also think everybody’s got the best music taste in the world. Nobody’s right and nobody’s wrong in music. Everybody’s there to enjoy it, it’s all about taste and opinion and obviously while it’s brilliant to have opinions and a bit of snobbery, I still think it’s important to open your ears to everything.  Even stuff you don’t like. 

It’s the start of 2011, there’s bound to be a whole host of new bands making their name this year. Any recommendations?
I’m excited to see bands like Yuck and Esben & The Witch really getting a lot of attention this year with their albums. Frankie & The Heartstrings as well, but obviously those three were around last year. I think a lot of new artists like Chad Valley are really exciting. He’s from Oxford, I think his electronica’s really good. Star Slinger as well, he’s a Manchester based broken, hip-hoppy, electronic musician. I think it’s gonna be a really good year for experimental dance thanks to people like James Blake. He’s being tipped everywhere; I think he’s a real talent. By the end of the year we’ll be listening to a lot of artists that we don’t know about now which is especially exciting. Guitar bands too – people go "rock’s dead", but thanks to bands like The Vaccines, and White Lies - who are back with a new album - that seems to be untrue. I think UK hip-hop’s gonna still be strong this year, with people like Maverick Saber, and DELS - DELS has got an amazing album coming out on Big Dada records. There’s also this guy called, umm, I’ve forgotten his name. Something like Shitfizzle.

Shitfizzle?
Umm. Screwfizzle, maybe? Screw Fizz! Eagulls, I’m very excited about too. They’ve got a single coming out on Not Even Records through Moshi Moshi which is really good, they’re a proper band so I’m excited about them. 

Have you ever been tempted to edit your Wikipedia page?
Ummmm. Yeah! 

You’ve done it, haven’t you?
Yeah, I’ve added some stuff on it. I did it years ago, and just added some really boring stuff on there, about my festival in Cardiff, put some dates up for the world to see. Is that bad? 

I think it’s fair enough, as long as you’re not just changing it to suit your ego.
Oh no, I put true fact up there, nothing else. “He’s the most handsome DJ I’ve ever seen.” No, I’ve never written that sort of thing. I dunno quite how it works on Wikipedia. You could go on and edit it couldn’t you? 

Yeah, anyone can.
So you could say "Huw Stephens was the worst interviewee I’ve ever had?"

They tend to change it back pretty quickly, so I think you’re safe for now.
I think that’s important. 

You’re just starting a new TV show on Channel 4, do you feel like it’s a different medium to radio?
Radio and telly are different, but I think the purpose of Topman CTRL MX Show is the same as the radio shows I do – to give music a platform, new as well as slightly more familiar so you’ll have, say, White Lies on there but you’ll also get Sea Of Bees playing their second single as well. I think the more quality music everywhere the better really. 

Do you think you can reach different people through TV?
Yeah I think so, telly’s in your face, and people might be channel hopping and stumble across it. Radio can be a more appointment-to-listen kinda thing. Seeing a band and hearing them can be two totally different things though.  

Do you think being able to see a band is a good thing? Do you ever look at a band and think “What a bunch of pricks. Don’t like the way they’re dressed, not gonna listen to them”?
Oh definitely sometimes, yeah. I guess that’s the good thing about radio. 

Tell me more about the show…
I’m excited about the director, Kieran Evans. He’s a really interesting guy, he made a film about Vashti Bunyan a few years back, and he’s been choosing the bands as well for the show, alongside the guess controller on each episode. We’ve got James Buckley from The Inbetweeners on the first one, and Mark Ronson coming in as well. We can’t cover everything and we can’t give a platform for all the great music being made, but hopefully it’ll be a snapshot of good stuff for six weeks. 

Do people ever walk up to you in public and go “Hey, you’re that guy from the radio!”?
Occasionally. It’s weird, 'cause radio’s brilliant if you wanna be anonymous. I quite like that. Normally when people approach me, it’s in a positive light. They go “Are you the man off the radio, I’m in a band.” Or “I like that, I like this.” Or “Have you met Chris Moyles? What’s he like?” One of the good things about radio is that it’s a very personal medium, and when you get into music scenes it’s about meeting people and talking to them. That’s how I hear about the best music really, personal recommendations. People go “There’s an amazing band who I gigged with last night/that I am in”. 

Positive stuff can come from self-promotion then?
Absolutely. You get handed demos and told about stuff – I put on a monthly night at the Social on Little Portland St, people come to that and give me demos. I listen to them all and it’s a great way of finding new stuff. 

So tell me Huw, what IS Chris Moyles like?
He’s lovely. He’s genuinely lovely, I haven’t got a bad word to say about him. 

Are you planning to be at any festivals this year, curating the Introducing stage? You’ve done Latitude the last couple of years, is that continuing?
I’m definitely doing Latitude in July, I think the Introducing stage is going to some other places, but I can’t really say yet. 

That’s just about everything. One last question: Would you rather have no arms or no legs?
Errrrrmmm. Probably no… legs. 

No legs? I’d go with no legs too I reckon.
Yeah, I think so. I think the arms would be handier. No pun intended.

Topman CTRL MX is on Channel 4 from 10th February. For more info go to http://www.topmanctrl.com.