After an afternoon in Exeter, we decided to head to The Phoenix to check out the ‘PHONIC FM AT 10’ photographic exhibition which is a collection of images celebrating community radio station Phonic FM in its tenth anniversary year. 

All images were taken by the super talented RHODRI COOPER, an Exeter based photographer who has been active on the live music scene at The Phoenix for some years now, if you’ve ever been to a show and saw a dashing chap donning a chequered shirt and Doc Marten shoes, that’d be Rhod! His work is superb, I for one cannot even understand how he gets some of the shots that he does, but he manages it with ease….. don’t you just hate people like him?

Anyway, here are just some of the stunning portraits that Rhod took of the DJ’s that have worked tirelessly to help put Phonic FM on the map and make it the radio station that it is today.

SKETCH

Phonic FM is a wonderful gift we have been given to Exeter. It’s like the punk rock of radio stations, anybody can get up and give it a go, develop skills and confidence and have some fun along the way.

I play a lot of new music, which gives me the chance to discover new artists and share them with listeners. I also throw classic and little-known tunes from the last four decades into the mix for a little perspective.

DJ PEACHY

Through Phonic FM my ambition is to encourage as many people as possible to go to live gigs, by original artists, and support them in their endeavours. If I can also encourage people to give broadcasting a go and play music by their favourite artists, then all the better.

DAVID TREHARNE

The freedom to play music I love without any constraints of time or someone else’s idea of what makes good programming. It’s what makes good programming. It’s what makes Phonic FM unique. If you don’t like it, something else entirely different will be along in two hours.

HELEN CONNOLE

Phonic FM has offered the chance to express myself, to connect, to entertain, to interact, to mentor and to learn. Perhaps most importantly for me, it has helped me to recover after some difficult life experiences, and to finally find my own voice.

JOHN SEALEY

I grew up in London listening to pirate radio, so I was fully aware of the importance of certain styles of music as a catalyst of music for developing culture.

Of all the arts I think music does best at reflecting diversity: no one expects everyone to be into the same style of music. My show goes from jazz-folk to funk, to spiritual jazz, R&B, underground hip-hop and beat tapes – whatever I like, I play.

For me, broadcasting on Phonic FM is about sharing ideas through music; a philosophy of sound.

To enjoy the images in all their glory (and the rest from the exhibition), you really need to get along to The Phoenix to check them out for yourself, it would be a bit like looking at the Mona Lisa in a book instead of going to Paris to see the real deal.....well, sort of!

The exhibition runs until Sunday 1st July and best of all, it’s 100% free! Why not make an afternoon of it and have a few drinks at the bar and indulge in some of the fabulous food that the kitchen can rustle up for you?

Exeter’s PHONIC FM is available on 106.8FM and the full schedule of shows can be found HERE.

For a full list of the events taking place at The Phoenix, click HERE

Rhodri Cooper is available for corporate, commercial and live music work, if you're interested and want to know more, just get in touch with him, full contact details can be found on his WEBSITE