'Fans have been clamouring for a station like this for years'

When did the station first go live?

All Rock started testing last September. After being licensed by the Broadcasting Authority, we had a soft launch on January 2 of this year, playing an uninterrupted mix of rock classics and album tracks. We also gave listeners a taste of our themed unmanned programmes such The Psychedelic Years Revisited, Band/Artist of the Day, Power Cut, Prog Nation, Live & Direct and The Blue Room. We will broadcast officially from Monday, March 14 with a selection of uninterrupted music, unmanned programmes and specialised programmes hosted by disc jockeys.

Do you think rock remains a repressed niche on Maltese radio? If so, why do you think this is?

In the 70s, when rock was the dominant music form in the industry, there were only an hour or two of rock programming on  Rediffusion and Radio Malta. This contrasts with the proliferation of dance/urban oriented stations on the FM band today.

I agree that rock was always a repressed niche on Maltese radio despite having thousands of followers and a vibrant rock/metal scene with numerous interesting bands who are now also venturing abroad to play club gigs and small concerts. If a fraction of the money wasted on the Eurovision were channeled towards the local rock scene, our miniscule music industry would achieve better results. All Rock will now fill the void. Fans have been clamouring for a station like this one for years. Now they have it on DAB+, and we will be playing all rock sub genres including mainstream, metal, progressive, psychedelia, alt/indie, punk/new wave, blues, folk rock, Americana/country-rock and soft rock. We will also give space to local rock talent.

How would you define a good DJ? What qualities should they possess?

A good disc-jockey must have personality, a pleasant voice, the gift of the gab, an ability to communicate, good knowledge of the music being played (this is especially important for the specialised DJs) and must be well read because they have to be trained to absorb information quickly.

On that note, how were the different DJs chosen, and what will be their specialisation?

Some of the deejays were with me at Radio 101. Malcolm Demanuele will host Rocknet with Kevin Drake, who was at 101 in the 90s. Rocknet is a programme which mixes music with a lot of dark black humour and satire. Lito, who was with Capital Radio and Radju Kottoner, will host a programme of mainstream rock System Overload. Nigel Camilleri (who was also with Radio 101) will present Metal Mayhem, a blitzkrieg of hard rock and metal on Friday evenings. Robert Pisani – aka ‘DJ Bob’, who specialises in alternative/indie rock – will host Vindictive Jukebox on Thursday nights. He is a newcomer to radio, but very knowledgeable. I will host the award winning, revamped Snin Tar-Rock n Roll and the evergreen Rockfile2. We are also in the process of training some other DJs.

Given that you’ve had a decent number of years of radio experience, what’s your opinion of the DAB technology, and what do you think it brings to the listening experience?

DAB+ is the future of radio in Europe. It’s already well established in various European countries like the UK and Australia. Some European countries have also announced a switch-off date for FM. In Malta, we have opted for the latest state of the art technology DAB+. The recent BA survey has indicated there are over 19,000 DAB+ sets in Maltese households. Dab+ car stereos are also selling well and renowned car stereo manufacturers will be launching new models on the market. Also, in the near future, new cars will have DAB+ stereos installed. So the future is bright. Local DAB+ brings a crisp and clear sound without any hiss and other noises and offers a wide range of stations. The ALL brand will launch more music stations including oldies, eighties, country and easy listening formats. We are waiting for legislation to be approved by Parliament that will enable multi-ownership of radio stations.