Can video help this radio star revive Britain’s struggling music industry?

On Radio 1 and MTV, Zane Lowe is a key rainmaker. You can’t curb this Kiwi’s enthusiasm, says Ian Burrell

Zane Lowe is on the toes of his chequered Vans skater shoes, bouncing between a hanging microphone, an Apple Mac laptop loaded with new music, his Pioneer CDJ decks and a “cart wall” screen, which offers sound effects from emergency sirens to bawling babies. In a studio deep in the basement of Radio 1, Lowe’s every move is being filmed by no less than six television cameras, three of which stand robotically in corners of the room, looking like black bowling balls on poles.

This could be the future of radio, a visual medium. “Its radio with pictures, see us in the studio at bbc.co.uk forward slash radio?” shouts the hyper-energetic Lowe to his listeners. In a cupboard of a space nearby, James Cullen, a BBC cameraman more used to working on EastEnders and Blue Peter, is selecting shots, switching from camera to camera on a device called a Sony Anycast. “I can press camera three and zoom in on the microphone,” he says. “That’s my close-up shot.” In the adjoining room, two BBC “sound content producers” are uploading a stream of texted and emailed comments, and posting pictures and biographical information on the artists whose music Lowe is playing.

There is an atmosphere of high anticipation. “Big night for us tonight,” the presenter tells his audience. “At 7.30 on the dot the hottest record in the world? it’s the return of the Arctic Monkeys. Shout out to all the Arctic Monkeys message boards, all the forums, all the fans listening?”

For days, the BBC publicity machine has been busy online, feeding the excitement around Lowe’s exclusive debut airing of the Sheffield band’s new single “Crying Lightning”. Such is the response – a torrent of electronic enthusiasm begins almost before the track has started – that Lowe reloads and plays the tune twice in its entirety (a sackable offence in the old days of Radio 1).

The New Zealand-born presenter occupies a position of key importance in the music industry,  which is why he has been chosen to launch the Monkeys’ comeback record, as well as, later the same week, new releases from Biffy Clyro, The Cribs and Jet.  He is pivotal to Radio 1, the bridge in the schedule between the daytime and specialist output, somehow incorporating a spectrum of music ranging from pulsating rock to electronica and grime, and liberally deploying reverb to blend this smorgasbord of genres into something resembling a seamless mixtape.

This is why Lowe, 35, was chosen to pilot the Radio 1 visual adventure (also being conducted on Radio 4 and Radio 5 Live). He was far from convinced by the idea. And that’s in spite of his considerable television experience, a presenter of the MTV show Gonzo for the past seven years.