Photograph by Kevin A. Roberts
Carlos Jove, one of the linchpin DJs of KDHX, has been a programmer on the community station since 2002. He started with a Saturday-afternoon show, Alma Latina, then transitioned to Latin Hemispheres, an all-genres show that takes listeners from the activity of Saturday night into the tranquility of Sunday morning.
Latin Hemispheres is a good example of the peaks and valleys of overnight programming, following the conscious, melodic hip-hop of Wil Wander’s Elevated Rhymestate and then segueing into the Native American show Earthsongs, hosted by Sara Finke. Jove says he spins “all Latin music: There’s rock, jazz, traditional, and fusion. It does cover a nice range of styles, I suppose.”
Though a core of groups serve as the backbone of Jove’s show, the influence of the Nortec Collective can’t be understated. “They really opened up the genre of Mexican music, taking Norteño and fusing it with electronica,” he says. “It was a group in the early 2000s, a bunch of musicians who were also producers and who wanted to take their music to a new level.”
“I don’t play much salsa,” he says. “I want to expose listeners to fusion, to traditional stuff and contemporary electronic music… Latin music doesn’t stop at salsa and son. There’s punk rock and rap and all of that. I’m wanting to expand their tastes, let them know there’s more to Latin music than Carlos Santana.”
Electronic music’s become a staple of the show for other reasons, including an impulse to create a soundtrack appropriate to the show’s time slot. As folks are making their way home from the clubs, between 1 and 3 a.m., they’re looking for sounds that match their mood. “Doing daytime,” Jove says, “you have more traditionalists, wanting to hear salsa or Cuban son music. I think the more you go into the evening, it becomes a younger crowd. They want more bumping music, stuff that’s more contemporary.”
An avid digger into the massive walls of CDs that line the KDHX studio, as well as Bandcamp and SoundCloud, Jove’s constantly on the lookout for more music. “They’re convenient and easy way to find underground music,” he says of online treasuries, “folks who are just starting out and spreading their music for free. I try to look for new stuff, and what I generally do is have an accumulation of music.”
From there, he refines certain selections into a folder, which may become a playlist for the show. But the show may be fluid, too; listeners play their role, calling in requests. Ultimately what Jove strives to do is present the whole spectrum of Latin music.
“I don’t play much salsa,” he says. “I want to expose listeners to fusion, to traditional stuff and contemporary electronic music… Latin music doesn’t stop at salsa and son. There’s punk rock and rap and all of that. I’m wanting to expand their tastes, let them know there’s more to Latin music than Carlos Santana.”
FYI: Hear Latin Hemispheres on analog radio at 88.1 FM or stream it at kdhx.org.
Pick Three
KDHX shines in show-to-show diversity, but the overnight slots are where you find the biggest collisions of styles and genres:
In the Middle of the Night with Kevin Lawrence, 3–5 a.m. Mondays: Playing the absolute best in classic jazz, this longtime show is hosted by a fellow who boasts one of the best voices on the St. Louis airwaves.
C-Sides with Rick Comello, 1–3 a.m. Tuesdays: Progressive rock fans get a pinch of their favorite music from KSHE, but Comello goes further, with sprawling prog cuts from all over the world and from every decade.
The Night Shift with Mr. Roots, Glenda, and Mattie Dread, 1–3 a.m. Wednesdays: Roots and Company bring some the golden-age tracks to life but really hang their tams on the reggae of the 2000s, always highlighting bands that have made tour stops here.
