UMFM Profile

The UMFM profile is a column that highlights various programming on the University of Manitoba’s campus and community radio station. If you are a host or would like to recommend a show for a profile, contact oxide@mts.net

Analog Wasteland

Marc LaCasse

Host Alucard promises you a good hour of running through the biggest and newest global music, including genres such as house, trance and progressive.

How did you get your start at UMFM, and why do you volunteer?

I volunteer to play music mostly because I love it. And I think it’s a great opportunity to let other people know about the different types of music that are out there.

What’s the format of your show?

Usually I play a tune of mine off of a CD if I’ve had enough time to master the CD in the studio. I usually do this because that’s the most convenient way for me to play new material. I finish off with a 40 to 50-minute live mix using turntables.

Who are some of the Canadian artists who you feel you have to play because of Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission rules? Or do you generally enjoy a lot of Canadian music?

Although the strength of my set comes from playing music by artists from all over the world, there is some great Canadian electronica artists’ music that I like to play. In addition, I like playing some of the newer material that I get on vinyl.

What do you like to do in your free time or do you hang out at the station almost 24-7?

I’m a grad student here finishing up my master’s degree and I’m quite possibly going to enter PhD studies. Other than my schoolwork, I spend a lot of time making music, DJing and working out at the gym. In fact, those four things have become my staples in the last two years. It saves me money, I think. I also spend a lot of time making soundtrack music. I’m currently trying to get involved in doing soundtrack work for video games and/or movies in the future.

Where’s your favourite place to shop to find music for your show and for yourself?

Most of the music I buy I have to obtain from overseas sources and online record stores. Local venues here in Winnipeg do not have a strong supply of the style of music that I like.

What’s the best source to find out more about the kind of music featured on your show?

I would say my website, but it looks like it’s going to take a while before the website gets set up. Enter the word electronica when you do a search online or do a search using the phrases progressive house or progressive trance.

Does the environment you live in decide where you go, eat and party?

I don’t know. Does society mold the people or do the people make society? I just tend to do mostly whatever I feel like.

Do you have any monikers you hide behind or expose yourself with?

I’m known around the electronica scene as Alucard, and I also have had other monikers such as Sonar Methods and Moontribe. Peter McCowan is my real name, but sometimes I’m known as a member of the 49th Line, which is a team effort that involves me and a producer I know from Minneapolis.

What’s your best or greatest experience at UMFM?

Probably almost falling out of the studio chair. The chair’s a bit wonky at times, so I wasn’t really aware of it at the time. (I was off air when it happened.) But I saved myself!

Tune into Analog Wasteland every Friday night between 8 p.m. and 9 p.m