To us, Flo Dill needs no introductions. At Footpatrol, we’re avid listeners of the amazing NTS radio station and Flo Dill’s Breakfast Show is a big part of office life.

Having been a part of NTS since 2017 with her ‘World In Flo Motion’ show, Flo has now taken on the mammoth task of hosting the breakfast show, Monday to Wednesday, 9AM till 11AM. Taking listeners on a journey of genres, Flo kick starts a lot of peoples days with her fun and engaging show that brings all the good feels for your day.

When we sat down with Flo, she describe this latest mix as “Spring-appropriate sweet soul and reggae to make dinner to.” so with that said, hit the play button below and get cooking!

Footpatrol: Firstly, huge thank you for joining us at Footpatrol. Been a massive fan of World in Flo Motion and your NTS Breakfast show for what seems like an eternity now! Let’s kick things off, how have you been?

Flo Dill: Ah thank you very much – I’m pleased to hear you’re enjoying!

I’ve been good: I’ve had a really good start to the year, actually. I’ve managed to shift some other work I was previously doing at NTS to focus more on the show, and get cracking on some other creative projects I was hoping to do this year. It’s really nice to be able to have a little bit more headspace. 

FP: Talking of the NTS Breakfast Show, can you run us through how you set yourself up for the morning slot? Three times a week, 9am till 11am, from an outside point of view, it seems a daunting challenge to constantly find new music to keep things fresh, or is that something you enjoy?

FD: It really varies! Some weeks I’ve got a million things to play, or say, and I’m really in the zone – other weeks it’s a bit trickier. I try and constantly keep my ears out for music that would work for the show, and set aside hours every day to find new things to play, whether that’s new releases or stuff that is just new to me. But you have to just take each show as it comes, I’m finding. At the end of the day, as long as you’re playing some decent tunes and getting people in a positive mood or hearing something new, you’re doing ok! 

In terms of a morning routine – that totally depends too. Sometimes I’m running so late and I do the show unshowered and on an empty stomach, other days I’m up hours ahead of time and cooking an elaborate breakfast! 

FP: Do you find it’s completely different setting up for a radio show than playing a live set? 

FD: Yes, I think so. For radio at 9am, I’m generally trying to keep it relaxed tonally and a mixed bag genre wise. I think a breakfast show on a diverse station should try and showcase a little bit of everything that the station has to offer, as well as an outlet for my own taste: it’s a bit like a primer for the rest of the specialist shows that come later in the day. Whereas if I’m DJing out, the process for selecting and sequencing tunes is totally different. If I’m playing out, usually you’re trying to make people dance, or at least not sit down – whereas radio is more about music discovery, and perhaps a bit less functional. I can play a much wider range of music on the radio than I would in a club I think. 

FP: Where did your love of music begin? Do you have a stand out memory growing up? I always remember getting it from my dad. Growing up, he was always in Blues bands so always went to gigs to watch him play. I’ll always remember when my mum got angry at him for bringing home a second Hammond Organ and Leslie amp… 

FD: ah that’s wicked! I would have loved that I think. I was always really into music from a young age: I would sing in bands and stuff at primary school, and getting an iPod was a massive deal for me. Music was always on in my house: my mum loves Motown and disco, and my dad loves guitar music and bands – Talking Heads, Ry Cooder etc. Then as a teenager growing up in London I would go out a lot, which is where I got into DJing, and dance music. 

FP: One thing at Frequent Players is we try not to be bound by one genre which is something we love about your shows and many others on NTS for that matter. It must be a great environment to bounce off fellow hosts and learn new artists, genres?

FD: It’s been totally formative for me. More so than any of my teenage or childhood experiences, I think. When I first came to NTS I was 21, and was volunteering at the station during university in London. I was an avid house and disco fan – it was what I played out, and what I was primarily listening to: but when I came to NTS, I got a proper music education about all the stuff that surrounded the dance music that I was listening to. I was introduced to and then properly immersed in genres like industrial music, post punk, bossa nova, soul music – it was really an amazing place to come into as a music enthusiast. I never left, and I have learnt more about music from the staff and hosts here than anywhere else. It’s an unbelievable resource for music discovery; I can’t really think of another station that comes close to it in terms of breadth and output – and the people behind the scenes and who put together the shows are total music nerds that really taught me everything I know about non commercial music. 

FP: Apologies, slightly side tracked as I recently rewatched Bob and Pauls fishing show… Any progress on getting Bob on as a guest? Goal of 2023?

FD: that is never going to happen. I have been in touch with his agent who is lovely but politely declined. I will keep knocking at the door because it’s good to dream big, but – never gonna happen!

FP: Tape Deck, CD’s or Vinyls, what came first for you? Mine was a tape version of Jamiroquai, Deeper Underground! Can’t forget it haha.

FD: I love Jamiroquai. Feel like I shouldn’t put that in writing but I do! For me I had a tape player of course as a kid – I was born in 1993 – and then I was an avid mix CD maker, but all my good stuff really came during the digital era when I could download things onto my beloved iPod. Vinyl was something that came much later in life for me: now it’s my only form of physical music ownership. 

FP: When we talk about latest pick ups at Footpatrol, we’re normally referring to sneakers but let’s talk records, have you picked up anything recently?

FD: Last thing I bought was a 12” of Trevor Walters – There’s no Way, a reggae single. I only buy stuff on Discogs now, and it’s usually after I find it online. I do most of my music research for the show online, then I’ll buy it on vinyl if it’s really good or if I just can’t find it anywhere. I used to be in record shops every week, but now I think because I do so much of the show digitally I’m in them less. I miss them a lot – I need to make time to go properly.

FP: Talking of records, classic quickfire Q, you can only listen to 5 tracks for the rest of your life, what’s made the cut?

FD: I just can’t do this. I am really prone to hyperbole so have proclaimed about 500 songs to be my desert island discs – but I could never actually choose. I’d just pick three – Hold my Hand by Hootie and the Blowfish because it reminds me so much of my dad, Ain’t No Mountain High Enough for my mum, and This is the Day by The The for my sister. But really, if I could only listen to 5 songs for the rest of my life, I would certainly choose silence. 

FP: I think that’s it from us! Thanks again for joining us, we’re looking forward to checking out your mix. Is there anything upcoming you’d like to share with our audience? This is that time to drop any plugs haha.

FD: Thank you for having me. Hmm.. I will be in Australia in April, which is really exciting, DJing at Inner Varnika festival and in Melbourne. I am hoping to launch this other audio project this year, but I will not say too much on that yet – and then I suppose just the show! Which is Monday-Wednesday, 9-11am, NTS.live. Thanks!