As part of the new look and sound of the Kiss network across London, the South-west and the East of England, Emap have signed internationally renowned DJs Carl Cox and Armin Van Buuren are joining the line-up, as it gears up for relaunch and expansion.
The DJs will be exclusive to the network. Carl Cox will play the best in funky house whilst Armin Van Buuren will pump out his top trance tunes in prime late night/early morning slots across the weekend.
From 06/09/06 Vibe 101 in Bristol and Vibe FM in East Anglia will become Kiss and the whole network will boast a refreshed, re-invigorated sound; new talent; new logo and station identity.
Kiss 101 (the former Vibe 101 in Bristol) and Kiss 105-108 (formerly Vibe in East Anglia) will enjoy the best of London?s new line-up, with some networked shows at the weekends, as well as benefiting from new local shows in the daytime schedule. The stations will also keep the very best of their strong heritage local talent.
New shows on Kiss 100 include Justin Wilkes from 9.00am ? 12.00pm on weekdays. Justin joins from Capital Radio where he hosted weekend dance shows. Toni Philips moves to a new lunchtime slot and Simon Dale and Jez Welham take charge of drive and evenings.
Saturday and Sunday mornings are kick-started by Melvin and Rickie who mix music with their own brand of up-for-it humour. The guys were discovered working behind the scenes at 1Xtra and have joined Kiss for their first on-air break.
Networked shows across Kiss 100, Kiss 101 and Kiss 105-108, include: Kissalicious with Jez Welham; FNK, a Sunday morning chillout show, and late night specialist shows from the likes of Loose Canons, Jay Cunning, Shortee Blit, David Rodigan, John Digweed and Patrick Forge.
New shows shared between Kiss 101 and Kiss 105-108 include James Merritt weekdays 9.00am?12.00pm, Nikki Elise in the lunchtime slot and Wec from 7pm ? 9pm. Stuart Grant presents breakfast at Kiss 105-108 whilst Bristol gets a new breakfast show as local favourites Matt Rogers and Caroline Cooke partner up for the first time. Kiss 101 in Bristol also gets a new drive show with AJ who joins the station from Galaxy. As well as new names and a new schedule, there will be greater emphasis on listener interaction ? with some parts of the schedule opened up to allow the listeners to shape the playlist ? rating tracks and choosing what is played next in real time voting via the Kiss website.
The Kiss website will also become the central hub for listeners to post user generated content ranging from tips on best nightclubs, songs, games and videos. There are also plans to expand opportunities to podcast the best of unsigned talent, as well as content such as DJ-mix masterclasses.
Andy Roberts, group programme director of Kiss, said: ?I want current listeners to love Kiss even more and new listeners to get excited about discovering Kiss on the radio. The new schedule is a really exciting mix between established local talent; excellent new signings and some superstar names.
?It?s exciting to be able to give people their big break – be that their first radio show, or by finding new ways for existing talent to work together. Kiss is now an even more exciting multi-platform experience.
?It?s only natural that the best new talent and the biggest superstars want to sit side-by-side on Kiss.?