Late Junction - to Edinburgh in a twinkle
Post categories: BBC Radio 3, Edinburgh, Late Junction
|16:56 UK Time, Tuesday, 21 August 2012
Kris Drever and his trio members Eamonn Coyne and Megan Henderson Radio 3 producer Georgia Mann-Smith is with the Late Junction team in Edinburgh. It's raining, but as Georgia explains, that's the least of the challenges when radio, TV and interactive production teams are all at it full tilt ...
A band of Mongolian musicians. A Belgian viol consort. Rising stars of the Scottish folk scene – and Gaelic song inspired by a grass weaver from the Outer Hebrides. It could only be Radio 3’s home for the terminally eclectic: Late Junction, and the programme has just landed at the Edinburgh Fringe where we’ll be broadcasting live from the BBC’s sparkly new venue at Potterow. The production team and presenter Verity Sharp are slightly soggy from the Edinburgh August weather, but the clouds were blown away by former BBC Folk Singer of the Year nominee Kris Drever and his trio members Eamonn Coyne and Megan Henderson (banjo, tenor guitar, fiddle and harmonium are covered by those two respectively). They’ve just finished sound checking for tonight’s live programme – with one final request to the sound team for ‘more banjo’, which Eamonn looked slightly surprised about. Niall, Sam and Joanna - our sound team - are being commendably calm about the fairly gargantuan challenge they’ve been set for tonight’s show: having to switch seamlessly from the steppes-inspired Mongolian strains of AnDa Union to the melancholy richness of Ricercar Consort’s viol music, alongside lots of boisterous folk-y energy from Kris Drever and co. And tonight is fairly simple in comparison to Thursday’s show…
I doubt the team will clear the venue tonight before 1.00 am after the show, but our alarm clocks will be set, because tomorrow morning, we’re off to record music from The Musicians of the Imperial Household in Tokyo who’ll be playing Gagaku: music which dates back to 5th century Japan. That’s before we send Verity up Arthur’s Seat – Edinburgh’s landmark hill – while holding a light staff which generates a movement-inspired sound track. So far she seems game, I’ve brought her a lovely kagoule to ensure maximum dryness of light staff. And presenter.
The home of the BBC here at the Fringe is quite a thing to behold. The main space is a giant tent with a black canopy dotted with twinkly lights, which give a slightly surreal Christmassy feel to everything. It’s fair to say that there is a special energy and enjoyment in our work when radio, tv and online teams get together to operate in such close physical proximity.
As I write this Paul Merton and Nicholas Parsons are in conversation on the main stage talking about Just A Minute; CBBC were here this morning and tomorrow everyone from Rory Bremner to Richard Bacon will be taking to the twinkly-ceilinged stage.
As the rain continues to come down on our portacabin, I’m off to find out about the distribution of 300 Mongolian scarves, and to dodge some puddles while seeking out blank CDs. Where’s that kagoule…..?
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