{{Use British English, date=April 2014 ''The Breezeblock'' was a weekly radio programme on BBC Radio 1 that premiered on 17 February 1997 and focused on electronic music. The show's earliest broadcasts were

unmixed ''Unmixed'' is the second album by house production duo Freemasons. It was released on 29 October 2007, with the lead single "Uninvited" being released one week earlier. The album is unique, as unlike most DJ/Producers, the tracks are all unmi ...

and featured individual songs, some of which were recordings of live sessions from BBC's Maida Vale Studio. Soon, however, its format shifted to setlists mixed by a variety of electronic acts, both mainstream and

underground Underground most commonly refers to: * Subterranea (geography), the regions beneath the surface of the Earth Underground may also refer to: Places * The Underground (Boston), a music club in the Allston neighborhood of Boston * The Underground (S ...

. This change reflected the show's increasingly eclectic musical sensibility as it equally embraced the populist and the avant-garde. The style of music featured on ''The Breezeblock'' was consistently wide-ranging, and included (among others) alt-country, chillout, acid jazz, hip-hop, techno,

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African Americans in the m ...

, and reggae—with selections coming from all eras. Still, the show's ostensible focus was on experimental (or " leftfield") electronic music. As such, it was common to hear songs from more exotic genres like IDM, drum & bass,

post-rock Post-rock is a form of experimental rock characterized by a focus on exploring textures and timbre over traditional rock song structures, chords, or riffs. Post-rock artists are often instrumental, typically combining rock instrumentation with ...

, glitch, and turntablism on many broadcasts. The show was also influential in promoting grime and dubstep, two subgenres—then little known—that arose from the London music scene in the late 1990s and early 2000s. The show was hosted by

Mary Anne Hobbs Mary Anne Hobbs (born 16 May 1964) is an English DJ and music journalist from Lancashire, England. She currently hosts the BBC Radio 6 Music weekday mid-morning show, Monday to Friday, 10:30am1pm, and her ''6 Music Recommends'' show, Wednesday ...

throughout its history, with occasional fill-ins by other BBC Radio 1 personalities. Highlights of the show's long run include ambitious sets by Jason Pierce of Spiritualized, DJ Shadow, and The Bug, and also special presentations that introduced listeners to specific topics—for example, the genre oldschool jungle or the urban music culture of Berlin. Notably, the tribute to

Aphex Twin Richard David James (born 18 August 1971), best known as Aphex Twin, is an Irish-born British musician, composer and DJ. He is known for his idiosyncratic work in electronic music, electronic styles such as techno, ambient music, ambient, and jun ...

(an alias of Richard D. James) that aired on 7 December 2005 is also well-received despite the fact that James was not personally involved with the set. In 2000 Radio 1 listeners voted for Jon Carter as the Breezeblock Mix of 1999 at the NME Premier Awards, co-hosted by Mary Ann

On 25 September 2006 the ''Breezeblock'' moniker was dropped and the show renamed to ''Mary Anne Hobbs: BBC Radio 1's Experimental Show''. Though accompanied by a time slot change, the show's format, purpose, and breadth of genre have remained very similar. The last live ''Breezeblock/Experimental Show'' aired 2 September 2010, two repeats (''Dubstep Wars'' from 10/01/2006 and ''Sonar 2010 Special'' from 24/06/2010) were aired on 9 September 2010. *''The Breezeblock'' is named after the breeze block (cinder block) in the sense that the show was seen as a promotional foundation for emerging forms of electronic music. *The show briefly featured the comedy double act of

Ricky Gervais Ricky Dene Gervais ( ; born 25 June 1961) is an English comedian, actor, writer, and director. He co-created, co-wrote, and acted in the British television sitcoms ''The Office'' (2001–2003), '' Extras'' (2005–2007), and '' An Idiot Abroad' ...

and his mate

Steve ''yes'Steve is a masculine given name, usually a short form (hypocorism) of Steven or Stephen Notable people with the name include: steve jops * Steve Abbott (disambiguation), several people * Steve Adams (disambiguation), several people * Steve ...

in a short comedy segment each show wherein they would appraise the latest goings on in the alternative music scene.

External links

''The Breezeblock'' setlistsBreezeblock Tracklists ArchiveMary Anne Hobbs Tracklistings and Downloads
Breezeblock, The

See also

External links