This week Kyle and Producer Frankie from The Afternoon Show have been getting to grips with the Liverpool music scene.

Hi everyone, Producer Frankie at your service!

We’ve had a cracking week in Liverpool this week. Predictably, the people have been lovely and the music has been fantastic. All in all, we’ve not been let down!

Of course, it wouldn’t be a Region of the Week if our lovely contributors hadn’t been involved, so here’s a little bit about each and every one of them.

On Monday we spoke to Liverpool based music journalist Jamie Bowman. As a writer with 15 years experience of the area, he provided a fabulous overview of the Liverpool scene for us.

Ragz

On Tuesday we spoke to Ragz, a singer songwriter who’d managed to stand out on the Liverpool scene with her quirky, ambient/acoustic stylings. We also played her track Hold Her Down.

Wednesday welcomed the guest appearance of guitarist Matt Smith of established Liverpool punk rock outfit Hot Club de Paris.

On Thursday I spoke to Dave Johns from the Cavern Club, an internationally renowned venue, best known for helping The Beatles on their way to musical super-stardom.

Today we’ll be waving goodbye to Liverpool, but thanks to everyone who has made our musical exploration so ruddy enjoyable!

Hear Kyle and Frankie talking Region of the Week on The Afternoon Show, every weekday from 3 ’til 6pm.

They bring you the best uploads from amazingtunes.com each week, but who are the people behind the shows you hear on Amazing Radio? In a series of articles, we’ll be making it our mission to find out more about the owners of the infamous on air voices you know and love.

This time we’re talking to Amazing Beats DJ and Amazing Folk Roots Show producer Mark Ryan.

Mark Ryan

Hello! Who are you?

I am Mark Ryan from Amazing Radio surprisingly…

I am the Producer of Aaron Phillips’ epic Rock Show, the quite hilarious Saturday Show with Colin and Matt, the self titled show from the face of Northern new music Jim Gellatly, and the delectable and diverse Amazing Folk Roots Show with Frankie Ward.

Despite this, you might know me better as the purveyor of beats and host of the underground dance and electronica show, Amazing Beats.

How did you find out about Amazing Radio?

I got a phone call from an ex lecturer.  The rest, as they say, is history.

Before we plucked you from relative obscurity and plonked you on the Amazing airwaves, what did you do?

I was spitting my one liners on Community radio in the North trying to develop my brands of Too Broad A Church on 107 Spark Fm and Everything’s Electric on NE1 FM. I also just graduated from a Masters in Radio Production and Management at the University of Sunderland and was working flat out for a very big music retailer called His Masters Voice.

Tell us about your show please!

Amazing Beats is a mix of dance music that covers House/ Breaks/ Techno/ Dubstep/ Drum & Bass/ Hip Hop/ Garage/ Grime/ Soul/ Funk/ Jazz and stripped down Electronica. Basically if it’s got Beats and it feels Underground then it’s in.

The show is 5 hours on a Friday from 7pm – 12am. The first hour is designed to wind you into the weekend then from 8pm we go deep dark and dirty. We are more expressive about the sounds and artists and really get under the skin of New dance music.

Within my show I have some features: my Track of the Week, Peoples Choice and the Amazing Guest Mix; a 30 minute open slot for anybody to spin their favourite tracks from Amazingtunes.com. In the later part of the show I play 4 tracks back too back; less chat more music! Also along the show’s way we talk to people from the movement about the movement.

All in all I am hitting you up with the freshest beats on the radio on a Friday. We truly are the left field attempt at the big boys.

Mark 'Backyard' Ryan

Why should we listen?

Because its pretty sweet: Who else has the freedom or the nerve to do what we do? The BBC have had it too plush for too long. ATTACK!

Aside from your own fabulous show, have you got any other favourite Amazing Radio shows?

I really like Colin and Matt on the Saturday Show, (but don’t tell them). I also really like Trevor Dann’s It’s Amazing – especially when I’m on…

Finally, what makes Amazing so, well, amazing!?

Nobody does what we do! Nobody Could!

Every Thursday The Afternoon Show likes to give Amazing Radio fans a treat in the form of Freebie of the Week, a feature that highlights one of the best free downloads amazingtunes.com has to offer.

This week Kyle and Producer Frankie were so enamored with their Freebie of the Week act Ajimal that they got the band to come in and play live!

Producer Frankie meets the Ajimal boys

As well as playing a live version of Freebie of the Week track Neon, the guys treated us to an exclusive performance of new song I’d. They also agreed to sit down on the Amazing Radio sofa and treat us to yet another fabulous performance, followed by a little chat with an ecstatic Producer Frankie.

Better still, all of Ajimal’s tracks can be downloaded here for free. Surely one cannot think of a better way of proving how much we love you!

Hear Ajimal‘s Freebie of the Week session on The Afternoon Show from 3pm today, on Amazing Radio.

They bring you the best uploads from amazingtunes.com each week, but who are the people behind the shows you hear on Amazing Radio? In a series of articles, we’ll be making it our mission to find out more about the owners of the infamous on air voices you know and love.

Our next ‘victim’ in the Amazing hot seat is Miss Frankie Ward, aka Producer Frankie.

Frankie Ward

Hello! Who are you?

I’m Frankie Ward, presenter of the Amazing Folk Roots Show and producer of The Afternoon Show.

How did you find out about Amazing Radio?

I read a passionate blog about BBC Introducing by Amazing founder Paul Campbell and left a comment. Paul got in touch shortly after…

Before we plucked you from relative obscurity and plonked you on the Amazing airwaves, what did you do?

I was a student at the University of Birmingham so I presented my old Amazing Acoustic Show in my bedroom for six months whilst studying! I also wrote for a multitude of culture blogs, gigged with my own music and managed a student radio station. According to my friends, I pretty much did everything.

Tell us about your show please!

It’s an eclectic mix of traditional and progressive folk, blues, jazz, country, roots, world and bluegrass music. We play a huge variety of genres and feature a poet in residence per show which keeps things rather interesting! I’m also told that the show is the perfect accompaniment to cooking.

Why should we listen?

Because you might learn something new… And you might love it too.

Frankie Ward in the great outdoors

Aside from your own show, have you got any other favourite Amazing Radio shows?

Definitely! I love the Amazing Radio playlist so anything mainstream is right up my street. Amazing Breakfast is class – Georgie’s got a fab presenting style and a gorgeous voice.

I’m a huge fan of Jim Gellatly’s show, love Audition and the Amazing Chart Show too (both fronted by the wonderful Charlie Ashcroft.) I can’t truly pick a favourite!

Finally, what makes Amazing Radio so, well, amazing!?

We’re different, we’re genuine and we’re doing something for other people. The idea of Amazing is to encourage people to grow, whilst nurturing what makes them so individual in the first place. We’re aware that not every recording we play is an expensive studio effort – some acts such as Cadets have produced fantastic DIY tracks from their own bedroom. I love that.

Hear Frankie presenting the Amazing Folk Roots Show from 7pm Sundays and 6pm Wednesdays. You can hear The Afternoon Show between 3 and 6pm every weekday.

Wednesdays are rockin’ on Amazing Radio.That’s because it’s Are You More Rock and Read? time on The Afternoon Show!

This week our brand new Amazing Breakfast show host Georgie Rogers is taking to the virtual rock and roll arena. She’s an experienced roving music reporter and is pretty certain she’s got the tales to take down the K-Train.

Georgie Rogers

Although the K-Train has reigned supreme at the top of the rock and roll charts for the past eight weeks, he’s feeling more than a little wobbly about his forthcoming battle with the delectable Miss Rogers.

And he’s right to be scared. Georgie tells us that she’s got not one, but two stories up her fashionable sleeves. Not only promising to deliver on quantity, Georgie’s promised some big names to give her rock and roll tales a star quality boost too.

Still, one should never expect Mr K-Train to run and hide in the face of almost certain defeat. Oh no. Kev’s determined to take this week in his stride and deliver the rock and roll winning goods we know and respect him for.

Hear Georgie Rogers take on Kevin Read today from 3pm, on Amazing Radio.

They bring you the best uploads from amazingtunes.com each week, but who are the people behind the shows you hear on Amazing Radio? In a series of articles, we’ll be making it our mission to find out more about the owners of the infamous on air voices you know and love.

Our first subject(s) are the boys behind The Greg & Burtt Show; Greg Porter and James Burtt.

Greg & Burtt

Hello! Who are you?

We’re Greg & Burtt – the nation’s best loved breakfast/mid-morning double act… well apart from Colin and Matt [of the Saturday Show]!

How did you find out about Amazing Radio?

Burtt actually heard Amazing hitting the DAB airwaves whilst scanning through the digital dial in an attempt to make his monotonous office job a little more bearable. He loved the idea, was instantly hooked by the music and turned the whole office on to it too – forcing them to listen all day, every day!

Before we plucked you from relative obscurity and plonked you on the Amazing airwaves, what did you do?

Well, before being plucked from obscurity (thanks again for that by the way!) we worked together in a 9-5 capacity and had spent the majority of our ‘working’ hours day dreaming about leaving the rat race, getting a show and taking over the world. So, after much deliberation, we headed to a little community station in London and pleaded for a show. Surprisingly they said yes and that’s where the brilliantly titled Greg and Burtt show began!

Tell us about your show please!

Much like Frosties, it’s Great! We have three hours of the very best new and emerging music from across the UK and around the world! (if you listen to the show you’ll get that reference…) We like to litter the show with little segments that highlight tracks from amazingtunes.com such as HipHop O’Clock, North vs South, Flavour of the Month, Cup of Tea Track and The Gig Track. We really do try to include something for everyone whether you are a indie cool kid, love a bit of cheesy pop or even vibe the Donk scene.

Aside from your own fabulous show, have you got any other favourite Amazing Radio shows?

Anything that involves the chocolatey voice of Charlie Ashcroft – we love him. We are also very fond of the genius of Colin and Matt, (football scores predicted by a Hamster called Rabbit… that is brilliant!) We love Jim Gellatly‘s show because he’s so knowledgeable about music and passionate about the artists that he plays. Also, Amazing Beats on a Friday with Mark Ryan is also absolute class. (In essence we love it all… but maybe Ashcroft just a little bit more!)

Finally, what makes Amazing so, well, amazing!?

Everything! We know that sounds cheesy but it’s true. We, (we use the collective ‘we’ loosely there), are single-handedly changing the way that radio and new music works; we are giving, unknown artists a chance to showcase their music to a national audience, grow their fan base and get their music out to a huge number of people. ‘We’ are changing the way that people listen to new and emerging talent; in most cases we are showing the audience a whole new musical world that they never knew existed. When the charts are filled with bands you heard first on Amazing Radio and all the airwaves are filled with genuine talent, not just bands with cash behind them, people will know that it started here.

Viva Amazing, Viva La Revolution!

Tune in to Amazing Radio between 9 – 12 every Sunday morning to catch Greg & Burtt in action!

Every Tuesday The Afternoon Show finds a new musical love for one lucky listener. This week’s Matchmaker candidate is Neil Durrant.

This Tuesday Amazing Radio‘s very own dance guru Mark Ryan will be making his Matchmaking debut on The Afternoon Show. He’ll be joining music man Tom Cotton in the Amazing Radio studio to make Neil Durrant fall in unsigned melodious love.

Mark Ryan

Neil got in touch to tell us about his affection for New Order, Daft Punk and Tiga. Tom Cotton picked him an Amazing Radio staple in the form of LFP‘s Workaholic. He thinks that it’s perfect because it “sounds like Daft Punk, with a healthy slice of Justice. Plus Sound Producer Neil found it and essentially he’s right about everything.” (Sounds like we should be getting Producer Neil into the studio Tom!)

Amazing Beats presenter Mark Ryan went for something a tad more leftfield in the form of Rich James‘ track I Swoon.  He told us that the track was perfect for Neil because it ‘had the rolling drum patterns of New Order and the spacey electronica stylings shared by Daft Punk.’

Get in touch if you fall in musical love Neil!

Hear Tom and Mark matching Neil from 3pm today, on Amazing Radio.

After months of speculation we can finally confirm… There’s a new girl on the Amazing Radio block!

If you thought your breakfast was ever so slightly sweeter this morning, that’s probably because you were tuned into Amazing Breakfast, our brand new Amazing Radio show!

The show is presented by the ever-lovely Georgie Rogers, a Londoner with a voice like honey and a taste for unsigned music.

Georgie Rogers: Making breakfast beautiful!

Every day this week you can hear Georgie chatting to the show’s featured Artist of the Week, Tyneside’s Brilliant Mind. We loved their quirky indie-pop stylings so much that we simply had to get them on not just one show, but every show this week!

Singer Calum signs the Amazing Radio board of fame!

Yes, every day until the weekend dawns, we’ll be chatting to Brilliant Mind. So if you want to find out what singer Calum Lyn’s fascination with industrial estates is all about (yes you read that correctly - industrial estates!), as well as more top trivia from the weird and wonderful world of Brilliant Mind. Be sure to tune in!

You can hear Georgie Rogers presenting the all new Amazing Breakfast show every weekday morning from 7 ’til 10.

Every Sunday, Charlie Ashcroft counts down the Amazing Radio Chart. Here he gives us the lowdown on this week’s movers and shakers from amazingtunes.com.

Change at the top! Feels Like Summer by The Stereo Shutdown has risen to the summit of the Amazing Radio Chart, bringing an end to a fortnight of Spider rule.

The Guildford 4-piece have climbed for five weeks in a row, and have finally battled to the top spot after a closely-fought week. Congratulations to them, and of course to Tom & The Tides, whose arachnid-themed record stays in contention at Number 2 this week.

Nipping at their heels, Devil Show from Let’s Buy Happiness and Dirty Hands by Napoleon In Rags stick at Numbers 3 and 4 this week, while Scottish electro combo Futuristic Retro Champions are newcomers to the Top 5 this week, with May The Forth climbing three places from last week’s Number 8.

Elsewhere in the Chart this week, there are big climbs for Miracle by Ukrainian bubbly lovers Champagne Morning (up from 15 to 9) and for Glasgow folk balladeers Julia & The Doogans, who’ve risen to Number 10 from last week’s 16.

New entries-wise, congratulations to Sunday’s It’s Amazing winners Tantrums – they’re the highest-placed newbies on the countdown with If I Don’t Try at Number 13, ahead of Scottish rockers Q Without U, who arrive at 17 and North-East ‘no-step’ duo Absorb vs Sequel, who debut at 19.

Check out the full Top 20 rundown here and catch the show again in full, over at Amazing Rewind.

Catch the Amazing Radio Chart every Sunday from 5pm, and again on Mondays from 12pm.

Every Monday The Afternoon Show crowns a new Website of the Week and invites the editor of the site to tell us a bit more about it. This week’s winner is online culture magazine God is in the TV Zine. In this exclusive blog editor Bill Cummings tells us more.

Hi my name is Bill Cummings and I’m the editor of God Is in the TV Zine (GIITTV), an independent music and cultural webzine based in the Cardiff but covering the entire UK music scene. The site was launched in 2003 by the writer Alex Worsnip and I as a place for us to post our journalistic musings.

Since then GIITTV has grown and expanded massively in the last five years; we now cover a wide range of music including unsigned, independent and major releases. The site is currently staffed by a range of professional and amateur music journalists. We’ve always allowed our writers a creative and editorial freedom to express themselves on site, reviewing and dissecting the latest releases, and championing acts that they love.

God is in the TV Zine

Since its formation the site has undergone various design evolutions, we now allow users to submit their bands, gigs and comment on articles. Because we are mostly free of commercial constraints we feel that GIITTV can be a voice for acts that often ignored or under appreciated in the mainstream media. We’ve always stuck to our core ethos that regardless of genre, position or hype we will give music fans, writers and bands and independent platform online. Indeed some of the acts that we have covered early in their development on demo recordings and on stage include Arctic Monkeys, Los Campesinos, The Long Blondes and hundreds more.

GIITTV has also been a platform for performances and releases. We have promoted gigs in London and Cardiff under the GIITTV zine banner. In 2005 GIITTV put on an event in London’s Pleasure compilation CD, it included bands like 1984 (who went on to become Reverend and the Makers). Since then we have promoted nights featuring exciting acts like Frightened Rabbit, Screaming Tea Party and many more.

GIITTV also offers invaluable experience in the music business for its writers as well as musicians and artists.  In November 2009, GIITTV’s singles sub editor Simon Catling won the Record Of The Day’s Student Music Journalist Of The Year Award. Other writers for the site have gone on to work for the NME, Clash Magazine, The Guardian and Drowned In Sound amongst others.

Expanding upon our commitment to showcase new artists, GIITTV recently launched introducing the band a feature that not only collects new acts that are catching our ears in a link tape, but also gives one selected act the floor of GIITTV for a month. In that month they will receive an interview, features, and share their play list with our readers, we feel that in a music world of hype and fast turnover the ability to really focus on an act that is worthy of attention in detail and over a month gives you greater insight into their music.

I should end by thanking everyone that has been involved in GIITTV down the years. Here’s to more years of fun, and enlightenment, if you’re reading this why not get involved yourself!

Hear Bill chatting about God is in the TV Zine from 3pm today on The Afternoon Show.