FEATURE:
Station to Station
Part Nineteen: Anne Frankenstein (Jazz FM)
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WHILST there is another connection…
with BBC Radio 6 Music (I have spotlighted many broadcasters from the station through the weeks, including Matt Everitt in the last instalment), Anne Frankenstein is primarily associated with Jazz FM. At the moment, she is filing in for Chris Hawkins on the early-breakfast/morning slot at BBC Radio 6 Music (he is covering the early-afternoon show until Craig Charles takes over). I have been loving her work on BBC Radio 6 Music! I would not be surprised if she were to be given her own show down the line. There is a good recent interview that I want to bring in. Before that, here is some biography from Frankenstein’s website:
“At the heart of the best DJs craft is a commitment to digging – dusty-fingered dives in dingy basements and obsessively combing through every corner of the bargain bins. Anne Frankenstein’s restless search for the perfect beat enables her to interlace the most mind-blowing tracks to move people physically, emotionally and spiritually. At this point Anne’s breadth of knowledge and arsenal of secret weapons ranks her in the upper echelons of headsy selectors operating out of London, but it’s the vibe she creates in the mix that makes her so effective at bringing a get-down to life.
Whether on air to nearly 200,000 listeners a day or playing a heavyweight club session, Anne knows what she likes – her palette is broad but focused, with an emphasis on foundational disco, P-funk and soul, and the natural bedfellows of 80s boogie and early rap. The narrative she deftly weaves between those genres is as buttery smooth as the tunes themselves, and she’ll as likely drop a well-timed classic as a private press holy grail when the moment calls for it.
Growing up in Dublin, Anne was buying records from an early age and started DJing when she was just 15. Her career has been a consistent pursuit of exciting opportunities to share her favourite records with a crowd ready to get down. She’s spun at major festivals (Field Day, Green Man, Love Supreme) and sizzling hot club nights in NYC, and been called upon by MGMT and Beth Ditto to play after-parties for people who take their party music very seriously. She holds down residencies at vaunted London venues The Jazz Café, Spiritland, and The Social. Beyond her commitment to the club, she’s also a prolific broadcaster on Jazz FM, where she hosts a hugely popular daily lunchtime slot and the deep-cuts oriented evening show The Late Lab, featuring guest selectors like Stewart Lee and Nitin Sawhney.
Such an active life in music means Anne is always pushing herself forwards, discovering fresh sounds that fit into her formidable repertoire. It also means her selecting is imperiously tuned up and tuned in, drawing on a life immersed in digging culture to deliver unforgettable experiences where heart and soul, funk and groove move in perfect harmony across the floor.
Alongside her club and radio work, Anne has been part of the judging committee for the Brit Awards and hosted and compered many industry panels and events.
You might also hear Anne’s earthy Irish tones introducing programmes on BBC TV - she’s been part of the voiceover team there since 2019”.
It is a fascinating story and background. One can tell the passion Frankenstein has for music – and not just Jazz records. I have not listened to Jazz FM regularly, though I have made discoveries (of new and older music) because of her. Jazz, Funk, Soul, Disco and so much more, she has been such a helpful guide and excellent digger of the coolest and best music! Frankenstein does midmornings during the week (10-2), in addition to The Late Lab on Fridays (at midnight). Listening to her BBC Radio 6 Music show, one can hear the passion and drive she has! The excitement of playing great music, knowing that it is reaching a large audience. It would be nice, even if it was a weekend evening show, for Anne Frankenstein to get more of a foothold and residence on the station. I am thinking of a show similar to that of the one Gilles Peterson does. Frankenstein would be a big asset and welcomed addition! That said, she is pretty busy at the moment! In April, Occhimag profiled her. We got to find out where Frankenstein’s love of digging began:
“Thank you for agreeing to catch up with Occhi Magazine. You’re originally from Ireland, a proud Dubliner no doubt, but what’s the history behind the German associated name?
People ask me all the time if it’s my real name, and it has become my real name to some extent, especially after Nile Rodgers told me it was ‘the coolest name on the planet.’ It’s more of a nickname really. And what can I say, the name Frankenstein somehow seems to suit me!
How and when did you first fall in love with music and digging?
Going way back, I give credit to my grandad who died on the day I was born. He was a sax player and a jazz lover who traveled across America playing music, settling in New Orleans for a while before going back to Dublin. Even though we never met I feel like my love of music started with him. I was always obsessed, always singing, always wanting to listen to the radio no matter what I was doing. Then I started taping songs off the radio and making tapes for the car, and then there was no stopping me. Loving music was one thing, forcing the music I loved onto other people felt like my true calling! I always wanted to explore older music and find weird or unfamiliar stuff to play, and growing up without the internet really the main resource for older music was record stores, so I started digging and collecting, which lead to DJing which I started doing when I was about 15. I was pretty useless in school but the music was the one subject I could commit to, I was a keen singer and guitarist too. After school, I came to London to study music at uni and I’ve been here ever since.
You’ve constantly performed at major music festivals and venues such as London’s Jazz café, and Spiritland. What is your most memorable gig and why?
There have been so many great ones – playing with Gossip and MGMT at Somerset House, playing in New York at Soul in the Horn for a room full of professional dancers, Friday at night at Love Supreme Festival is always fun too. But the most memorable ones are where you feel the greatest connection to the audience – that could be a mellow afternoon at Spiritland where everyone in the room just gets it, or the basement of a tiny sweaty pub playing New Orleans soul to a bunch of drunken students, or Jazz Café on a Saturday night when everyone loves the music as much as you do.
In contrast, are they any particular gigs you’re not proud of or would prefer to forget?
I was heading towards burnout before lockdown happened, playing 4-5 late-night gigs a week while broadcasting on Jazz FM every morning. That period is a bit of a fuzz but I definitely wasn’t enjoying playing very much and I lost my love for it slightly during that time.
I’m an avid listener of your Jazz FM slots (albeit via catch up half the time!) What made you decide to become a radio host?
In contrast to DJing in clubs, a radio show is your own little corner of musical airspace where you can do what you want and invite people to join you. You can share your love of the music, explain why you picked each track rather than shoulder the responsibility of keeping the vibe in the room going. I wanted my own little patch of musical earth, so I started presenting a show on this tiny community station, broadcasting from the basement of a pub to maybe ten listeners at a time. I was dreadful at chatting on the mic, it didn’t come naturally to me so I knew the only way to get better was to keep doing it. Any time anyone would compliment me I’d write their words down in a notebook to encourage myself. Eventually, I moved up to bigger and bigger stations until Jazz FM kindly gave me a shot.
The way we consume music has changed dramatically over the last decade, particularly with streaming channels and alternative methods of buying music. What are some of the challenges facing radio stations today?
I might have answered this question differently 18 months ago, but radio is in such a healthy state right now. Firstly, in a world where we’re so saturated with access to music, it’s important to have some curation, someone to introduce you to new things and pick out old favorites you might have forgotten about and having that shared experience of enjoyment, or maybe learning something new about what you’re listening to. Secondly, radio is a friend – it’s such an intimate source of company and entertainment, far more than TV. If I play a track I love and I’m trying to explain why I love it, I genuinely do feel like I’m speaking to just one person and connecting with them over the music. I think lockdown has really re-established radio’s important place in the world”.
You can go and follow Anne Frankenstein on Instagram. She has a little time left in her BBC Radio 6 Music position. You can feel how much of a good time she is having! Playing a perfect, eclectic selection on her midmorning show over on Jazz FM, it is the sort of music that gives you a lift and boost as you get into the day. As I say, I have discovered some great artists and tunes thanks to Anne Frankenstein. She is a warm, informative, knowledgeable and brilliant broadcaster who is among the very best around. Although she has her regular show on Jazz FM, let’s hope that BBC Radio 6 Music…
INVITE her back soon for more.