WYSO has launched a new, all-music channel Novaphonic.FM.
Music Director Juliet Fromholt talked with host Jerry Kenney about the service and how to use it.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Kenney: So we've got some very big news that people may have missed last week. So tell us about it.
Fromholt: Yeah, absolutely. We have just launched Novaphonic.FM. That's a new music service from the team here at WYSO. It broadcasts on WYSO HD 2. So if you have an HD radio in your car, you can access us there. And it also is a stream available most places where you're streaming WYSO as well. But this is going to be a 24/7 music service. It's available now for your music needs.
Kenney: Before we tell people what they can find on the new music channel, this has been a long time coming and not an easy process, I know.
Fromholt: That's right. Yeah. This has been in the ether for a really long time. We started working on it in earnest about two years ago, and we're very fortunate in that we have great music programming on WYSO already to be the foundation for Novaphonic. You know, we have both Evan Miller on Midday Music and our crew of amazing community members who host our specialty shows who have been with us for many years. Rock solid programing there. But then we had to kind of look at the rest of the clock, the rest of the day, and say, 'Wow, what are we going to put here?' And also how from a technical perspective, are we going to make that happen in the building we're in right now, knowing that we're moving to the Union Schoolhouse? That took us a while. There were a lot of technical hurdles to get over to make this happen. A lot of time doing the very boring work of making sure that things in our automation system work correctly. In addition to the really fun work of curating the music and programing.
Kenney: Yeah, so for people like me who need things clarified, you'll be able to get all the music shows that WYSO offers and some additional content as well.
Fromholt: That's right. So on weekdays, for example, in the morning on Novaphonic, you will hear a music mix curated by our team all morning, up until Midday Music with Evan Miller. That is going to be simulcast on both WYSO, as you've always known and loved it, as well as on Novaphonic.FM. Likewise with World Cafe. Now at 4 p.m. on WYSO, we go to All Things Considered with you Jerry. And on Novaphonic, you'll go back to a music mix again, curated right here at WYSO by our team, real people having their hands in this music. And then at 8 p.m. will go to whatever 8 p.m. (music) show airs on WYSO. So Monday nights we'll hear jazz with Dave Barber, on Tuesday nights Tables of Content, etc.
On Saturdays you'll have all music all the time. The one change we've made is that Down Home Bluegrass on Novaphonic is actually going to air on Sundays because we have made Sundays an entire lineup — starting at 6 a.m. with Rise When the Rooster Crows — of specialty shows that mostly focus on Roots and Americana, and then of course shifting as we get into Alpha Rhythms and The Outside later in the day. So that's the one move. But that program is still present on Novaphonic. We just thought it would be fun to put all of that programing together so you can start your morning with Rise When the Rooster Crows and then continue with Down Home Bluegrass.
Kenney: You mentioned that this is curated by the music team, and I know that's a lot of extra work because that team right now consists of you and Evan. So your your daily work habits and operations have changed a little bit.
Fromholt: They have, yeah. Right now, because this is a very new situation, we are really spending a lot of time every day making sure that Novaphonic works properly, No. 1, always important. But No. 2, that it really sounds the way that we want it to, that it sounds like our community — that's of the utmost importance to us. We anticipate that after this thing is more than a week and a half old, that it'll be a little easier to deal with on a daily basis. We have some colleagues at other radio stations who have done this work, and they describe it like having a new baby. So right now it needs a lot of attention. We're also very hopeful that as it grows and expands as we get into 2025, Novaphonic is going to provide us an opportunity to bring more community members on the air to do more specialty shows and serve as hosts. Really excited about that process. Obviously, we want all of the talk and everything else to be good and solid first before we start that process. But we are already looking at sort of what and who can we add to our music offerings. And this provides us with the space to do that.
Kenney: And so for listeners to the terrestrial station at 91.3, there will be no changes whatsoever, will still carry the news. The only thing they might notice is some branding and identification during the music programs, correct?
Fromholt: That's correct, yeah. If you are a regular WYSO listener and you like your experience as is, next to nothing is going to change with you. You're just going to hear some new promos and some new language within the music shows. Instead of just WYSO, you're going to hear WYSO and Novaphonic.FM. But if you want to, as we are fond of saying, explore music together with us, we invite you to tune over to Novaphonic. If you're finding that you're just having a day where you've gotten that news and information and you need something else, you need a little break, we're going to be here for you on WYSO HD 2 and streaming at Novaphonic.FM and on our app.
Kenney: All right. I'm curious about the name Novaphonic. How did you come up with the name for this?
Fromholt: It was a very long process coming up with the name. You know, naming something is a big responsibility. We wanted to honor our area's aviation heritage, and we kind of get there in a roundabout way with Novaphonic. Nova is a type of star. It's a celestial event. So we said, 'Well, what is the next iteration of aviation?' It's space travel. In the same way that Novaphonic is a new iteration of WYSO. Nova also means 'new' and of course, 'phonic' refers to audio and sound. These are new sounds. It's a new sound for WYSO, it's a new sound for Miami Valley Public Media. It's also we want you to be open to new sounds. That's not just new artists, of course, that's new-to-you music. Whether that's something that came out last week or somebody from our community or an artist that you've always heard about, and you should probably know their music but you've never gotten around to it. We hope that you'll come to Novaphonic with open ears and be open to something that might be a little new to you.
Kenney: That's great, and you mentioned the Novaphonic website.
Fromholt: Yeah, it's Novaphonic.FM. and you can also take us wherever you go with our app. Just look for Novaphonic. It's all one word in the Apple App Store or on Google Play.
Kenney: Juliet Fromholt, WYSO's music director. Congratulations. I know this has been a long time coming. A dream come true for the music department. Again, congratulations and thanks so much.
Fromholt: Thank you, Jerry.
