The supporting of new music is a strange and sometimes frustrating road to travel but occasionally you stumble across a great moment.

Last year Amazing Radio invited me to be the first new voice on their national station.

This year I embark on a new show for Playdio who are adding shows to Spotify, the piece of software that has made listening to music a simple and beautiful pleasure.

For example as I type this I’m listening to Jackie Leven’s ‘Forbidden Songs of the Dying West’. It’s a great slab of Celtic rock but something I would never have owned due to lack of funds.

My CD collection is not as extensive as you might imagine, most of it will have stickers from second-hand shops and it’s currently in storage thanks to Spotify.

The good news is that many of the South coast’s musicians are on there too: Birdpen, Dlugokecki, Broken Links, The Moulettes and Band of Skulls.

The new show is called ‘Xan Phillips presents…” will not only feature acts like them but also top names visiting the area. The first show has an interview with Badly Drawn Boy from the 2010 Eastleigh Music Festival

There is no denying a pure south coast show would be fantastic but new bands need new listeners and the bigger the name the bigger the exposure.

So following the BDB interview will be Andrew Foster, Lou Brown and Haunted Stereo.

It’s a great opportunity to get their music heard on a wider platform and once again promote the great song writing scene we have in the south. Visit www.playdio.com

First published 8th Agust 2010 in the Southern Daily Echo