Radio Ga Ga

Tris Kayo (right) interviewing Lee Scratch Perry. The Essential Guide is on Radio Monaco, Friday nights, 10-11pm. www.radio-monaco.com

It was five years ago that Kayo swapped his West London stomping ground for the French Riviera. By this time, he was an established club DJ and, like many, he associated the region with celebrity hangouts and glamorous parties. On landing, he got booked to play some of the biggest venues from Monaco to Saint-Tropez and he was surprised at what he found: "I flipped out. There had been a revolution in club music but here it was like I'd stepped into a time warp where Depeche Mode and tacky house music from the 90s was still cool."

Realising that the super clubs were not where he’d find a cutting-edge scene, he explored the dives and dingy bars in Vieux Nice and finally uncovered the places locals were hanging out in. That's when he hit on the idea for an English-language radio show. "I could see that there was a huge gap in communication," he explains. "I would hear a lot of 20 to 40-somethings in the Anglophone community moaning that nothing exciting happens here but that isn't the case, it simply takes effort and the right knowledge. I saw that a lot of people were missing great events because they were not aware that they existed in the first place."

An essential guide in English

He initially took his idea for The Essential Guide - a show mixing new dance music with a what's-on club guide - to Riviera Radio. He turned up at the station’s annual open day and introduced himself to the director, Paul Kavanagh. "I walked up and told him that I was a DJ with a concept for a show. He said OK and we arranged a meeting."

Kavanagh was enthusiastic about the project and Kayo was confident that it would happen. However, this early promise quickly fizzled into frustration. "It wasn’t a no but it wasn’t a yes either. I think ultimately, he [Kavanagh] was worried that my style wouldn't suit his average listener. I get that but, at the same time, I wasn't asking for his prime time slots. I wanted two hours between 10pm and midnight or 12 and 2am, these were times when the station wasn't doing anything and I could have created new revenue."

Tuning in to Radio Monaco

After six months of discussions, Kayo decided to take the idea elsewhere: "The Radio Monaco headquarters was just around the corner from Rivera Radio so I thought ‘why not?’". Again just walking in, he made his pitch. They said yes on the spot and told him to start the following week. There was, however, one problem. The show he was proposing was in English and Radio Monaco is a French language station; they asked him to make the linguistic switch. "Presenting in French was quite tricky at first, and daunting," he admits, "but I got into it quickly. I’ve got a knack for languages and you either learn to communicate or you don't".

Now a year and a half on, Kayo loves his job. The station, owned by Gildo Pastor, puts no constraints on him and he fills his hour with a mix of music and information and one interview with a musician or DJ thrown in per week. He doesn’t talk much because it's all about the music 'innit. This he sources mostly from the UK.

Although he is more than happy doing French-language radio, he still dreams of doing a show in English. "It was designed with the Anglophone community in mind because I kept hearing the same complaints from them: that they didn't know where to go." He believes that one day in the not too distant future it is going to happen because “there is no one else in the region doing what I am and there is a demand." HM