2k Indie didn’t have a name when it started on September 1, 2018, but it did have the same mission: showcasing great new indie music and artists. At the time, my music library was much smaller then it is now and I was way less familiar with the genre. Anyhow, when I was still in the DJ training course I decided that I wanted to make my first playlist the best playlist I could come up with, so I started making this playlist two months before it aired. Since it was put together so particularly I wanted to look back at the playlist and see how much the show has changed and go down memory lane a bit.
‘On Your Mind’ by Jaguar Club was the first song I ever played on air, I absolutely loved, well still do love, this track. The song has played on 2k Indie a few times since, such an amazing track having so little exposure just really makes me want to get it out there. The band hasn’t posted anything new since, at least not that I can find, but they sure dropped a banger two years ago.
Looking back at this playlist I find a lot of other tracks that have made more than one appearance on the show, a lot of these tracks ended up taking spots on my personal playlists as well. The thing that shocks me most looking back is that I didn’t play Cecil Frena during my first shift, their album was the first I ever reviewed for WKNC and to this day it is one of my absolute favorites.
I’m happy that there was a decent amount of variety in this playlist, something I try to be conscious of (especially since I started as Daytime Music Director). ‘What’s so Great, Britain?’ and ‘End of an Era’ are definitely the ‘heaviest’ songs on the playlist. I’ve said it many times, but since ‘indie’ is such a broad and undefinable concept I sometimes test the genre’s limits and see what unique music I can get to fit in. I find a lot of different styles can fit nicely into an indie playlist without standing out too much, punk/grunge is definitely one of them.
It’s also pretty neat seeing so many artists that I play on my segment now/ put in rotation for WKNC, especially considering I didn’t really know many artists back then. Cape Weather’s tantalizing track ‘Never Say’ made the list, and they were also recently put into rotation for the full length record they just released. Modern Diet has also been releasing a lot of new music lately and was the ‘perfect ending’ I had in this playlist. I was really obsessed with starting and finishing this set with two of my favorites, and this habit has definitely stuck since, start strong and finish even stronger. Overall I’ll give this playlist a 7 of 10, and not for the music itself, but because I sent two months making it and a good few of them weren’t as ‘new’ as I aim for on the show. Though I give myself props for that cheesy meme above that I used as the playlist cover.
Until next time, Let’s stay Psyched about Music
– DJ Psyched