CKU Who?

6 - 7 p.m. Tuesdays

Sonic Blanket with Seraphine Crowe

WORDS & PHOTO: KEELEY BRAUNSTEIN-BLACK

Stylus: How did you come up with the name?

Seraphine: My initial idea for a show was to play a lot of intense music, maybe not all from the same genre but music that I found really surrounded me when I listened to it. I felt out of my body, and it had a layer that I felt I was wrapped up in, kind of like a big blanket when I heard it. Sonic Blanket is an acute concept in itself, but it goes towards how I feel when I play the music that I am centring the show around.

I also wanted a radio show to show other people the music I listen to because many of the bands I listen to don’t have the biggest following. I wanted to create a space where I felt like I was hanging out with you and showing you the music that I like.

Stylus: There is no theme to the show?

Seraphine: I started out with a set of music in my head that was very intense, with a lot of reverb; it’s very dense. After my first show, I was thinking about it in terms of wanting to talk more. I don’t want to be super personal on the radio, but I feel good about telling a personal story or having a friend on the show to share the music they like. While I started with the theme of the music itself being the blanket, I might want to turn it into a concept of being a warm, comfortable show where people are talking about local shows and things going on in the community.

I like sharing stories. I like talking about music with my friends. That is a big part of it; having good conversations with friends about music and what it means to us. Just because sometimes things sound really good, and it is worth describing. I love being surrounded by a lot more people that are willing to do that with me.

I also want to share local shows. Which I may or may not go to because I don’t go out super often, but I think there is a lot of good music in Winnipeg.

Stylus: How do you feel about Tuesdays 6-7? Is the time slot going to affect your programming?

Seraphine: I don’t think so. I don’t work during the evenings. I have class on Tuesdays and Thursdays, so I am at the U of W anyway. I think it is a good time slot because of the nature of the stuff I want to do on my show. It reminds me of unwinding after a long day. I don’t want to stress people out. I really enjoy that time slot; it’s the end of the day.

Stylus: How many shows have you done?

Seraphine: Only one show.

Stylus: Do you have plans for your next one?

Seraphine: The first one was very centred around punk music. I was focused on a specific subgenre of punk: egg punk. It is the more manic and silly cousin of hardcore and classic punk. It has a lot of influences from the 60s and 70s; I don’t know if you’re into the B-52s. I really like them; they have this very jumping weight to the way that he speaks. A little bit punky but silly, and have a lot going on. Egg punk has a lot of that influence. It’s very absurd, very silly, very jangly, which are all things that I like. I like classic punk and hardcore, but there is something very eclectic about egg punk.

Stylus: What are some examples of things you played on your first show?

Seraphine: There is this band from Minneapolis; they are called Uranium Club. They’ve been around for a while; their more popular record came out in 2016. They are the definition of egg punk to me, even though they are a very recent band. One of their songs, “, “is one of the more popular ones; I don’t even know how to describe it. It is very silly, jumpy, and upbeat, but if you listen to the lyrics, they are very nihilistic and negative. They have created characters of themselves.

One thing about them when listening to live performances, my friends and I were talking about every time I have seen play in recordings, the way that they look is very stiff. They project their voices and do a lot with the guitar, but it seems like they are being forced to play. I think it is part of their act, and it’s kind of funny.

Another band would be Prison Affair from Barcelona. All the songs sound the same in the sense that their lyrics are incomprehensible. They have very garbled vocals and use a lot of the same types of guitar riffs and a drum machine. I wouldn’t listen to it over and over again. Each one of the demos they have is one minute long, about six minutes. Also really silly. I’m sure you are familiar with Charlie Brown; you know how the adults are garbled? I thought about Prison Affair as if the adults in Charlie Brown made a punk band.

Stylus: What’s next?

Seraphine: The plan for my next radio show is not about punk whatsoever. I will eventually circle back to it; there are a lot of punk bands that I do want to play. For my next show, I want to start it off by playing this whole demo album by the lead singer of the Pixies, Frank Black. The album came out long after the Pixies. It’s him and his guitarplaying demo versions of some songs that would go on to be major hits by the Pixies. It was recorded in an apartment building, and at some point, you can hear a buzzer in the background. My mom used to play it when I was a kid; I always loved it. It is recorded in an apartment building, and it is just him singing. It’s isolating and intense. It goes along with the intensity of the stuff I want to play. I am still figuring out the rest.

The big part of doing a radio show for me is coming to terms with being comfortable talking on the air. That is a big struggle for me is talking, especially live. By talking about music and incorporating talking. Another part was wanting to make posters for it. I got my friends to make posters. I made these three, and my friends made a bunch. We put them up around the U of W. Each of them has their own special style.