With over 50 shows going live on air on NSR, it takes a certain flair for those that focus on the more traditional format of music to stand out amongst the rest. One of NSR’s most creative shows in this category is Chords and Clues. Taking their passion for music, Elliot and Charlie have built a fun game-show to truly test their knowledge “We play a set of 5 songs each, with something linking each set; and it’s up to the other person to guess the link” explained Charlie.
Inspired by “a segment from BBC Radio 6’s Riley & Coe” as Charlie described, the show has continually kept its audience at its core, as they reflected on how “we tried to adapt it to something that actually engaged listeners…”. Tuning into the show, Chords and Clues ability to stand out on NSR is clear, but I wanted to know what its hosts thought made the show so unique. They both agreed that “Our show is incredibly interactive!”, with Elliot adding “the guessing game making it super unique…”. Charlie expressed “since we have such different tastes in music, you’re almost guaranteed to hear at least one song you enjoy.” Alongside their dedication to audience engagement, their passion for radio is displayed as brightly as their knowledge on music. When I asked Elliot what he felt had inspired the creation of the show he explained “We both really wanted to get involved with being on the radio…”, Charlie supported this by adding “The first time I met Elliot, we decided it would be nice to host a show together.”
Last year, the pair were nominated for ‘NSR Presenters of The Year’ and ‘Show of The Year’ which not only celebrated the hard work behind the show, but seemed to also represent the friendship between the two. “We met each other in the queue for last year’s Freebie Fair. and spent three hours waiting while also discussing the idea of a radio show!”, they both explained. Since that point last year, their friendship has continued to grow both off and on air, taking their skills as hosts to the next level. After having such a successful year, it seems that the only way is up for Chords and Clues. I asked the pair to explain what they hope to achieve this year, of which they both gave answers that could only excite listeners of the show. Elliot discussed “being more prominent online will be a nice change…” with biweekly Instagram posts, this change seems to have brought a new liveliness to the show. Charlie kept his response short with “I’d quite like to beat Elliot (again).”
As their second year of hosting the show is in full swing, both Elliot and Charlie reflected on what the experience has taught them so far. While they explained that most of what they learnt was technical; “It has helped us get to know the studio and what all the sliders do”, they also explained it taught them that “...going with the flow is incredibly important, we now know how to stall and we’ve also learnt to accept that not a lot of people listen to every show and not everything goes to plan all the time.” Despite all the new things the pair had to learn, they have continued to display dedication to their show that represents the very best of NSR.