Under City Lights on Air: Spotlighting the Magazine Beyond the Page

By Lillie Lenga-Kroma

THIS YEAR, UNDER CITY LIGHTS has stepped beyond the page and taken on the Rare FM radio with its own show. The weekly show was set up as a space to reflect on the work of contrib-utors, explore music journalism, and chat about current industry trends beyond the magazine.

Editors Lillie, Allegra, and Kai spent an hour on the first episode sharing their enthusiasm on the art of writing for Under City Lights, chatting all things music journalism. Over the past year, the magazine published fantastic pieces spanning album deep dives, gig reviews, interviews and photography features.

Genres included electronic dance music, indie pop, hip hop and everything in between. The diversity of styles and voices have been central to the magazine's identity, and the Under City Lights weekly radio show is designed to reflect the same variety.

The show opened by turning towards long-form analysis, focusing on Kai's article exploring Lana Del Rey's Ultraviolence. Discussing what inspired him to write the piece, Kai spoke about being drawn to the album's atmosphere, emotional weight, and cultural legacy.

INSIDE KAI’S ARTICLE ON LANA DEL REY’S ULTRAVIOLENCE

Lillie: Tell us about what inspired you to write this piece.

Kai: At the time, I was listening to that album a lot and I thought there was a lot to say about it. Every single time, I found out something new about the album - I thought it was so interesting! Being able to research whatever you want to do and have it published is what's really special and important about this publication.

Allegra: What drew you to write about Ultravio-lence specifically as opposed to other Lana Del Rey albums?

Kai: For me, it was always between Ultraviolence and Born to Die because they were very important in the creation of her sound, and the aesthetics of the era. Personally, Ultraviolence is my favourite Lana Del Rey album, and I felt that there was so much to say.

Allegra: You explored both the album's imagery and production - is there a particular element you focus on when analysing music and albums?

Kai: Yes, production makes or breaks a song, re-ally. You can't have a good song without good production. I think, arguably, this album is the strongest for me - every single track has something powerful and different.

Throughout Kai's segment, selected tracks from Ultraviolence were played (including "Old Money"), reinforcing how our radio format allows listeners to experience the magazine's journalism auditorally.

We also celebrated visual storytelling within the magazine, with a photography feature by Lea Faivre taking centre stage. Lea's photographs of Magdalena Bay at Outernet captured the band's vivid aesthetic, making the perfect bridge between imagery and sound.

To accompany the discussion, Allegra chose to play "Death & Romance" by Magdalena Bay, grounding the conversation in music that inspired the work in the first place.

From there, the focus of our discussions shifted to writing itself - what drives our editors to write about music, and how personal experiences feed into our work. Allegra spoke about how her writing is shaped by the things she witnesses firsthand: concerts, gigs, and conversations with others.

This naturally led into a deeper dive into Allegra's interview piece with The Backfires. The band, who are from UCL and were preparing to release their debut album while embarking on a US tour, became the subject of an interview.

Allegra reflected on why she reached out to the band in the first place, citing their momentum and the sense that they were at a pivotal moment in their career.

INSIDE ALLEGRA’S INTERVIEW WITH THE BACKFIRES

Kai: Why did you decide to interview The Back-fires?

Allegra: One of their songs, "Blindsided", had gone viral back in 2023, and I kept seeing Instagram reels [describing them] as the next new thing in indie rock. I thought The Backfires were in a really good space from a publicity point of view and thought it was a good chance to interview them. And, I got to go see them live, which was brilliant.

Lillie: What are some key things that stayed with you after the interview?

Allegra: As well as really enjoying hearing them talk about the process of production, the journey they'd been on during the pandemic, and the journey they'd been on as a band, something that really stuck with me is Alex being so candid and honest about the difficulties of the music industry. It is a really tough industry to enter into, but they wanted [to say] we're here, it's been a tough time getting this album together but we're here to stay.

Kai: What advice would you give people who want to do these kinds of interviews?

Allegra: Just not being afraid at all. When I wa s starting off doing these, I was emailing 10 managers and l'd get 1 response - but just never being afraid of a rejection. But a lot of the time, they do say "yes". Take all of the opportunities you have and don't be afraid to do it.

Allegra also introduced us to some of their great hits, including the lead single from their debut album, "Replace It All", and "Blindsided". She also talked about how they bring a fun, lively energy to an indie rock album.

Lillie then ended the episode by reflecting on the values of the magazine, and what she loves to see from people's articles.

LILLIE’S TOP TIPS FOR WRITING

Lillie: What I loved about Kai's article is you can have a big artist but there's always something unique you can write about. With Allegra's, you can connect with other artists and interview people that you would've never had the chance to otherwise. If that's any consolation on why you should get involved with Under City Lights, then I've done my job!

She then went on to spotlight two articles that she loved from the previous year's issue of the magazine - the first one being 'Music, Memory and Me' by Katie Lauren Ward.

Lillie: I absolutely loved how personal it was to her - she spoke about her family history which really influenced her love for music. It was just so uniquely her, and it's such a good example of how you can speak about music in a way that's inspired by you.

The second article she loved from the previous year was by Tom Radcliffe titled 'An Evening at the Lexington.’

Lillie: It's a great example of how you can speak about a venue! It was written in a very clever way - it was so visual and very strong with lots of influences on the sound and instruments. The use of language was great.

Lillie: Looking through the archive of previous articles is a great way to get inspired and to drive the tone of your article in a way that will engage the reader. I would really recommend having a look - they're all fantastic!

The Under City Lights spotlight radio show ultimately feels like a natural extension to what the magazine already does best. It celebrates its contributors past and present, and highlights the many ways that music can be written about.

As a starting point, the show's first episode set a strong foundation, rooted in collaboration and our love for the craft. Stay tuned on the Rare FM website to discover the best of Under City Lights magazine's music journalism.