The Club Asia website: why isn't it organised?

I'm in my online journalism class on a sunny Wednesday afternoon. Of course, a normal human wouldn't want to be stuck inside a classroom full of computers, and blood pumping machines typing away at their busy desks...

But this is essential, I had a deadline in two days! And it is a nerve-racking, hands fumbling and mind boggling approach to submission of carefully considered coursework :)

I know, I know, I am using alliteration... I hope everyone saw that :)

By the way, back to my current topic... Yesterday, I was browsing through Facebook, my university website and the website of Club Asia. I realised that the Club Asia website wasn't functioning properly, and to make matters worse, the listen now tab was in red font which was contrasting with the Club Asia banner (also in red) I was so frustrated that I felt the need of doing something...

But what was I meant to do?

I couldn't start protesting in front of the Club Asia studio in Barking, Essex... that would completely ruin my chances of even becoming a Club Asia presenter!!

And I know I was complaining about the website, but that doesn't mean I fire a complain on Club Asia, because it wasn't a 'SERIOUS' issue, just some font arrangements and a few other changes would make the site alot more... lets say "accessible".

I still didn't have any idea on what to do, so I'm asking YOU (other Club Asia fans) who like me want to see a change on the Club Asia website...

What do you think I should do?

Watch this space :)

Actually, I will be watching this space for your comments :)

The opportunity of a lifetime! Am I dreaming?

The chance to become a Club Asia presenter was in my midst... I had the chance to become a Club Asia presenter!

My inbox was full of email from various people, sites and other "not-helpful" junk...but surrounded in all the mess, was an email from Club Asia! I quickly opened the email thinking it would be about the chance to visit the Club Asia studio...but it wasn't :(

All hope was not at all lost, because it was an email erupting with a volcanic opportunity!

Not disastrous but definitely a mind blowing opportunity... A chance to work with a Club Asia presenter, and could you believe who! SHAK! The Badshah of Nashta (King of Breakfast) himself, as shown below :)

Here is the exact email!

"Your chance to work with Shak...

Ever wanted to work on Radio, but didn't know where to start - Maybe you felt that you didn't have the experience or a good enough CV - Well Shak has now become the Badshah of Jobs - He wants to give Club Asia listeners the chance to work on his show - The successful applicant will be a fully integrated part of the show, helping with production and appearing on air, not just making the tea! This is work experience with a difference! The best thing is, Shak isn't looking for someone with bags of experience - Instead he is looking to give someone with no CV, but with bags of talent, the necessary leg up to kick their career off!

What do you have to do? Send Shak an email detailing in 500 words why you should work with him"

Was I dreaming? I certainly was not, it was almost as if the email was specially written for me! I could just imagine myself in the Club Asia studio working with the King of Breakfast, and not just making the teas either!

But I had to write 500 words to why he should pick me from all those Club Asia fans :( As if I didn't have enough deadlines to struggle with!

But my conquest had begun... to conquer the chance of becoming a Club Asia presenter and nothing - I mean NOTHING could stop me!

Watch this space :)

Gloomy weekend :( doing coursework BUT listening to Club Asia!

This weekend is feeling like it is creeping past me, Saturday is already finished and is going to go in 55 minutes to become Sunday. It's like how the tortoise wins the race, in the tortoise and hare story...

I'm sure you must have heard that story, come on everyone knows that one :)

With a huge weight of deadlines on me, I still managed to have time to listen to Club Asia! I always do my work by listening to the tunes played on Club Asia. Today I was listening to Shak with his evening show starting from 5pm until 8pm.

During my coursework, the thought of visiting the Club Asia studio came to my mind... After getting some "you can do it!" and "you should do it!" and "what have you got to lose" I decided to email Zyleen and see what my luck has in offer for me...

Still haven't got a reply, I'm waiting patiently for her reply! :)

I'll keep everyone informed :)


Watch this space :)

My prayers were heard! The listen live tab was working :)

I checked the listen live tab today and amen! it was working :) I really thought I had to spend another day without listening to Club Asia.

Now that would be too scary :(

Once again, I was listening to some of my favourite tunes! :) Oh happy days!

During the day, my tutor gave me a fantastic idea! She told me to ask the Club Asia team if I could ask for a day pass and take some photos at the studio!

That would be a dream come true :) but surely they wouldn't allow a fan visit the studio without winning a prize visit or something along the lines of that, right?

I was wondering and started to day dream...but woke up to realise it was the end of class!

Throughout the whole day, I was thinking abt it, on my bus journey back home, whilst eating dinner, I even told the idea to my brother :) he told me to go for it!

But it wasn't that easy...right? I'll think about it and then keep you posted on my thoughts.

Watch this space :)

Listen live to Club Asia: What was stopping me from listening to London's hit asian radiostation?

For the past two days, I switched on my computer, typed in Club Asia online in the search box, and clicked on to the listen live tab... To my horror, something was faulty with the sound, I couldn't listen to Club Asia!

I was quite miserable, my day didn't end normally, and nothing felt the same without listening to Club Asia whilst checking my email or looking at my facebook. The link was working, but obviously, there was a fault at Club Asia.

What was I to do?

I had to do something, I couldn't live with the idea of not listening to Club Asia, whilst on my computer. That would be a thought too horrifying, almost as bad as if I were listening to the ghastly sounds in a horror movie...

I had to do some action, two days was such long wait!

Quickly, I emailed the presenter, and told them that I couldn't live without listening to Club Asia online on my computer! That would be impossible! I then also told her to fix the problem soon, and said please twice...

Desperate times calls for desperate measures...

Watch this space :(

Shak and Zyleen: knocked on the door of my blog!

I was in the library, looking through my facebook profile for comments, checking my email inbox, and fixing my blog during my free period at university (I wasn't doing all those things simultaneously, it just sounds like that).

I carried on looking through my inbox. Happily awaiting to be opened, was an email from Zyleen! It was fantastic to see that she had replied, and generously, she gave some good tips with her personal experience on starting a career in radio!

Here's her personal advice:

"My advice is to get some experience first, I started at a community radio station and practiced there. Then I made a demo using the stations equipment. You should have a look and see if there are any community radio stations in your area that you can get involved in.

Think about what goes into a link (when a presenter talks in between songs). There should be a beginning – where you introduce yourself and the station. Perhaps the time and date. The middle – that is the bulk, what are you talking about? An artist, some gossip, or maybe something funny that has happened to you recently. Then there is an end – you might mention songs to come up and any other useful stuff".

Is that helpful or what! I was so chuffed, I instantly replied to her email! As if things couldn't get any better... I had stumbled across a comment on my blog by Shak, another one of my favourite Club Asia presenters.

Shak was saying that I have the potential to become a radio presenter... and also that he is going to talk about my blog in his show Club Asia Breakfast, that is wicked!

My blog has been recognised by the Club Asia presenters, what more can I ask for?

Watch this space :)

A blessing was sent: in the form of an email!

Remember, how I was doing some practise on how to start my own presenting?

Well, I was running around in circles, trying to get some sort of idea and suddenly...bham!

No, I didn't bump into a wall... actually I was looking through my university blackboard, scrolling through some assessment details, when I saw the email address of my tutor!

So, what happened next? I was emailing one particular tutor, because she is a helpful person in every way.

Hold on, I didn't tell you my problem though, did I?

REWIND: I received an email from Club Asia, the head of programming, because I was trying my luck to see if I could become a presenter for them, as they were looking for some new talent. So the person in charge, told me to send a demo disc so that they could hear my voice...

BIG PROBLEM!

Because, I didn't know what a demo disc was, to add to that, I had no idea how to record one! AND on top of that, I hadn't the faintest clue of what to say in the disc!

But help was at hand (or more literally my keyboard) because I emailed my tutor and then she gave me some great tips on what to say in my demo disc... Here's the list of three things:

1. Choose a topic which you LOVE to talk about
   
2. Speak for only ONE minute (do not babble)


3. And finally PROJECT your voice!

She emphasized on the word PROJECT a lot, because she had the misconception that I had a tiny voice (which I do not, I can be loud at times)

So begins my journey, of choosing a topic, speaking for a minute (quite difficult but not impossible) and projecting my voice! I'll post a clip of my voice soon, and you can decide if I have a tiny voice :)

Watch this space :)

Listen to Club Asia Online!

Today I was on my way to my university, and as usual thoughts were crowding my mind, all erupting at once.

At first, I tried to make sense of what I was thinking, but it was hard to put into concrete. So later on, during the day, specifically during my online Journalism class, the idea was made!

By now, you are probably thinking I've lost the plot, but seriously I was thinking quite right, about how to arrange something on my blog. Thanks to my tutor, she helped to form the idea, which has now been placed on my blog.

I was quite satisfied with myself that I had been paying attention in class, so I had managed to make a link to the Club Asia website, and directly to the listen live tab. Perfect!

So people, enjoy listening to Club Asia online. Here, now, live!

Opening statement of a show: How does a DJ begin?

For some time now, I was thinking about how to begin my own show. As I'm trying to become a Radio DJ professionally, I started to look at the way presenters begin their show. I decided to have a look at different radiostations, in order to get a wide range of ideas on how to start my show.

But before doing that, I don't need to go far because my favourite radiostation Club Asia had a handful of presenters to get some good ideas from!

Here is an example of a DJ showing his style:

"Hey, this is your man, Mr Kay. And you are listening to London's hit asian station Club Asia"

Quite short, isn't it? It's almost like he summed himself up into a sentence, now that can't be too difficult, right?

WRONG!

As I later discovered, putting myself into a sentence wasn't quite that simple...

I'll let you on to a little secret... I have a nickname at home, its Pinky (please don't ask how I got it, and PLEASE don't assume that I love the colour pink, actually I like the colour blue)

"Hey, this is your girl Pinkz. And you are listening to London's hit asian station Club Asia"

Or what about this one?

"You are listening to London's hit asian station Club Asia. And DJ Pinkz is in the house!"

Maybe this...

"Welcome to London's hit asian station Club Asia. DJ Pinkz on the show!"

What do you think? I don't think its great but its a start. I'll keep you entertained by a few more ideas in the future...

Watch this space :)

Below: Myself

A DJ's voice and personality: important?

I want to work as a radio DJ in the future so this relates to me alot. I'm in the process of finding out what it takes to be a DJ!

From the DJ's I like listening to, I made some notes about how a radio DJ should present and what more they can offer to their listeners:

1. To have a clear and concise voice
   


2. The listener must be able to hear the t's and n's (do not sound slurred)
   


3. Make your voice exciting and interesting (sound young, fresh and like someone you can relate to)
   


4. Play songs which people enjoy listening to! ( for example Club Asia have the iRadio and also you can request songs via texts, calling in or email)
   


5. Create a blog, so that the listeners can get to know you (the DJ) as a person, and vice versa :) there is a personal feeling between you and the people that listen to you every day
   


6. Enjoy presenting your show! Must be a happy and cheerful person, in order to engage the listeners :)

There it is! My list of 6 things that a DJ presenter must have or do in order to make people listen to them. I was planning to start making my own show or record a clip of my voice and post it :) There's nothing like good old practise on being a DJ!

I'll keep you all posted :) watch this space.

Below: Myself :)

Rep ur Endz.... in other words: Represent the area that you live in..

Above: Zyleen

As usual, I was listening to Club Asia today, and my favourite DJ Zyleen was on air!

She was presenting her daily show "Big Drive Home" and they have started this new competition called 'Rep ur endz', which basically means that the listener has to represent the area that they are from. For example, I'm from Enfield so I would have to call up the Club Asia phone line and represent my area: Enfield.

I wanted to know how each listener would represent their area. Unfortunately, I had to wait until the intellectual adverts finished their desperate attempt, to make the listeners of Club Asia buy the amazing money-worth goods (as if!)

After the break: Two contestants were battling it out by playing a word game, very tricky than it sounds! One contestant said a word e.g. chocolate, then the next contestant had to say a word which relates to that first word e.g. milk as in milk chocolate. Finally the contestant from Harrow won! and she placed her area on the Club Asia map and requested Ride It by Jay Sean...

Great track to listen to, and definately great game to play :)

iPlaylist : advances in radio technology...

I was just busy doing an assignment for my course, and I was enjoying the tracks playing on iPlaylist on Club Asia. A anonymous iRadio listener had put the song "I'm into you" by Chris Brown on their iPlaylist, the song was so romantic and I really enjoyed listening to it.

I was just thinking that it is great for Club Asia to allow a space in their schedule for people who want to hear their favourite tracks, without having to pick up the phone or call in (people are so lazy these days) All you have to do is set up a playlist online (this is great for people who are online 24/7 literally) and also you might listen to something which isn't your "taste" or a type of music that you wouldn't normally listen to.

After it ended, I heard Rukshana's voice and she was presenting the next iPlaylist. A groovy up-beat punjabi track called Jee Karda came on and I found it very difficult to stay still :-)

I wonder what other new things will appear in Radio? For example, to encourage people to tune in and listen to the presenters. You would normally assume that people are not listening to the radio that often these high-fi days, but when I hear different iPlaylists on Club Asia, I disagree with that.

Music stored on my iPod? not at all, actually its stored in my memory :)

Here is a picture of my favourite presenters on Clubasia (left: Zyleen, centre: Shak, right: Mr Kay) this morning's breakfast was accompanied by brilliant hits from Club Asia..

I was so busy enjoying tunes like Beyonce's Single Ladies that I didn't realise the time. Left home about ten minutes late!!

Anyway, throughout the day, and at university, the songs played in my mind like an endless playlist and after returning home, I just switched on the television and tuned into Club Asia (sky channel 0145) found my favourite presenter Zyleen on her show Big Drive Home :)

I was quite pleased to hear my favourite indian tunes, as I am quite interested in bollywood. A special track called Teri Ore was playing for me. It reminded me of sunny Eygpt, with shimmering sands and magnificent pyramids, wish I could just take a flight there...

Now, I really don't know why but I just thought of be careful what you wish for, surely it doesn't relate to my situation, right?

Watch this space :)

Club Asia Online!

Club Asia is the radio station which I enjoy listening to in the mornings, before starting my journey to my university and also when I come home, I switch my PC on and tune into Club Asia online.

My friend interested me to listen to Club Asia, and personally I think it is different to other radio stations. To express in three words, Club Asia would be young, vibrant and energizing!

Here is the website, feel free to listen :)

Visit: www.clubasiaonline.com