REGGAE Roots & Bass — a British radio online show — has been growing in listenership since its launch on SoundCloud in September of last year.

To date, the one-hour show which plays ska, dancehall, and dub, has amassed more than 12,000 listeners.

“I started for an hour a week on Leeds Student Radio at university. I noticed our listening figures via SoundCloud and live was growing constantly. I knew I had to have an edge, so I was determined to get guests every week,” said founder, 21-year-old Liam Monaghan.

Monaghan, who is currently studying International Tourism Management at Leeds Beckett University, said he was introduced to ska

which led him to explore the music of Desmond Dekker and old-school reggae.

“I started to read up on studios and the artistes, listened to their music, after researching sound clashing. I fell in love and knew I wanted to be the next generation of bringing reggae music through,” said the Nottingham-born Monaghan.

So far, he has featured several of the genre’s heavyweights on his programme.

“I’ve hosted Protoje, Aswad, Dawn Penn, Morgan Heritage, Big Mountain, Raging Fyah, Prince Allah, The Scientist and a whole range of reggae, dancehall, and drum and Bass artistes,” he said.

According to the student, the area is ‘ripe’ for the offering.

“Leeds has a big West Indian culture and it’s not very well catered for. It’s a niche market. I wanted to introduce the music to my generation of younger people. When people began to come up to me and ask what was that tune? Can I play at a house party? Can I put an event on locally? I knew the show began to make an impact,” he said.

— Cecelia Campbell-Livingston