The All New E! FM

E! FM has changed for good. The station took on a whole new look last week with a concept of lifestyle radio. And the station has been tagged as ‘Your Lifestyle Radio’. The much publicized change of E FM came to effect on the 12th September. Prior to that both TV (ETV) and print media along with E FM itself were carrying promotions and trailers about the launch of new E FM.

The all new E FM went on air for the first time at around 7 in the morning along with the commencement of newly set-up Morning show. Almost everything has changed. As you see in the image, a new logo has been made. The logo contains the station name (E FM), city frequency (100.4FM) and the tag line (Your Lifestyle Radio). It looks pretty neat. But I believe the black and yellow logo that they used to have is more recognizable.

A bunch of high-profiled DJ’s from the local entertainment scene have joined with E FM. Several well-known radio personalities have also moved over from other stations. The present line-up includes Mark Kross (YES FM), Lenny G (GOLD FM), Diamon Deen (LITE 89.2), Brad Stevens (YES FM) and a few newbies as well. It was nice to hear from people like Lenny G after a long time.

The station now caters to a larger audience as they intend to play music from the 80’s, 90’s and today. The most talked about Morning show renamed Morning Show Gram is now presented by Mark Kross, the former co-host of YES FM’s morning show and Lenny G, the veteran DJ of Sri Lanka’s only retro station GOLD FM. So listeners will no doubt get to hear some first class music especially in the morning beam. The revamped Drive-time show is called Rush Hour which is hosted by LITE 89.2’s long-time DJ and the former host of Lite Drive Diamon Deen. Brad Stevens who did fairly okay on YES FM’s main request show TRS now handles E!’s newly introduced request show Radio Active which airs on weekdays from 1 to 5pm. It was mentioned that all communication paths- SMS, Call-in, E-mail and Fax will be opened to reach this particular show. The station’s mid-afternoon show Perk @ Work has been replaced with Work Daze with Andy. Wind Down Zone, E FM’s highly popular late-night show has been given a new twist and it is now hosted by one of the sweetest voices on today’s radio none other than Sherone together with Tony Tony putting the finishing touches for the day.

On Friday nights, the station back-tracks tunes from the past with a bit of a weekend flavor on Weekend Warm Up. The all important chart show is called E! Most Wanted and it count downs 30 of the most wanted hits on E FM. Jamming the fattest club beats in town, the Club Connection on Saturday night is the guide for clubbers. On Sundays, E FM mostly plays nothing but the best in chilled-out music, starting with Sunday Chill which gives some perfect music to relax on your way back from church followed by Sentimental Sunday. This special 3 hour show takes you way back in time with the best in oldies and retro music. If you’re hoping to tune in, Sentimental Sunday and Ethnosphere are just a couple of interesting shows that one with a good taste in music should look out for. It is pretty understandable that the priority has been given to the new set of DJ’s. but the station’s long time E-Jays namely Andy, Sherone, Josh and a few others still exist. The bottom line is unlike some of the other stations E FM always had some high quality Deejays.

New Program line-up
Weekdays 5 – 7am: The Early Bird Show (Josh)
7 – 10am: Morning Show Gram (Lenny G / Mark Kross)
10 – 1pm: Work Daze (Andy)
1 – 5pm: Radio Active (Brad Stevens)
5 – 8pm: Rush Hour (Diamon Deen / Shama)
8 – 12mn: Wind Down Zone (Tony Tony / Sherone)
12 – 5am: Drift (Graham)

Saturdays 6 – 10am: The Brad Stevens Show (Brad Stevens)
10 – 1pm: E! Most Wanted – Top 30 Countdown (Diamon Deen)
1 – 5pm: All Request Saturday (Shama)
5 – 8pm: Saturday Drive
8 – 12mn: Club Connection (DJ Alec)

Sunday 7 – 10am: Sunday Chill (Andy)
10 – 1pm: Sentimental Sundays (Lenny G)
1 – 5pm: Sunday Breeze
6 – 8pm: Ethnosphere (Skinny Don)
8 – 12pm: Wind Down Zone (Tony Tony)
12 - 5am: Drift (Graham)

The station has also introduced an array of new promos and competitions. Most of the old promos including the infamous Rick The Rooster have been dropped. The news from the other side is that they plan to bring some international artistes down here. Talking about that, credits should go out to E FM for bringing down the first ever international act to Sri Lanka- Shaggy, back in 2000 which was one of the biggest concerts Sri Lanka has ever seen. E FM was doing extremely well along with other stations during the course of that time. After that the station had to undergo several changes.

The playlist which is the most important thing for a radio station has been given a total makeover. As I mentioned earlier E FM now plays a wide variety of music covering all genres from R&B and Pop to Alternative with a touch of Rock, Adult Contemporary and Gospel to all time favorites. The current playlist contains more soothing and easy-going tunes instead of more upbeat and dance oriented music that the station was known for. Also some amazing Alternative and classical tunes are being air-played. Let me tell you that E FM has never sounded this good! So get the best out of it… They are also giving out CD’s courtesy of M Entertainments.

The frequencies to be locked on are 100.4FM in Colombo, 93.2FM in Kandy and 104.5FM Down South. And you can listen in live from anywhere in the world by simply login onto efm.lk. They have introduced SMS facilities as well. The new SMS number for the studio is 071-8336336. It was a pleasure seeing E FM with this new music format. Because Since of late a lot of people I know were fed up with what is being played on local radio. And more people were craving for a new station to begin operations in the country.

If E FM continues to stay with the present music format, the station will definitely attract new fans. But first they need to focus on their coverage as well. Then the station will have a lot of potential to become one of the best music playing radio stations in the country. The brand-new Website for the re-formatted E FM is now officially up and running. You can become a member of the exclusive lifestyle section Club E! which at the moment allows you to request, rate and personalize the music that the station plays. Go ahead and discover your new lifestyle radio as it is here to stay….

Visit http://www.efm.lk/