A NEW Essex radio station set up by a former Dunmow student is giving unsigned musicians the opportunity to hear their music on the radio.

Chance DAB, the brainchild of Emily Jordan who attended Helena Romanes, had its maiden broadcast earlier this month with the station going digital on January 4.

The thinking behind the radio station was because of Emily’s own struggles as a recording artist when she first decided to pursue a career in music.

“I remember how hard it was to get a chance when I started singing so I want to give people and bands that opportunity,” she told the Broadcast.

Emily’s own music career did eventually take off and in July she was in South Africa singing to millions of football fans at the World Cup. It was in Africa, after meeting so many other musicians, that she had the idea for Chance DAB.

“I applied for my Ofcom licence as soon as I got back from South Africa,” said Emily. “Being a singer I’m always meeting people who can’t get their music any airtime so the idea for the station stems from everyone being in the same boat.

“There is nowhere that plays chart and unsigned music; most stations either dedicate just an hour or have nothing at all.”

She added: “There are so many unsigned acts whose music is just as good as that in the charts, and they spend just as much time and money as the stars spend to record.”

After months of organising and promoting, the station was due to go live on December 2 but Mother Nature had other ideas and the recent snowfall halted the launch.

Then, after a lengthy week waiting for the snow to melt, the Southend headquarters were up and running and Chance DAB celebrated its first show.

The station will feature 120 unsigned bands every month and, with the next four months fully booked, Miss Jordan has been delighted by the reaction.

“The response has been fantastic and we’ve had loads of bands jumping at the chance to get their music played on the radio,” she said.

“We want bands from up and down the country to get in touch. We’re on the internet and the radio so unsigned bands from all over the country can listen in.”