New and sometimes relatively unknown music can at times be difficult to find in music stores. It can be even more difficult to find non-mainstream music on the radio.

According to DJs Andrew Eklund and Benjamin Toht, St. Olaf's radio station, KSTO, provides a place for these groups to be heard. Toht says, "College radio is a good base for independent music and small groups to come out. It's a good way to give them a voice. Here at St. Olaf it is almost like we are living in a bubble. We don't have much contact with what is going on in the world of music. The focus of KSTO isn't to play music of bands who have already made a million dollars. Rather the station focuses on bands who have yet to make their millions and are playing for the enjoyment of making music."

Every Tuesday night from 8pm to 10pm., Eklund and Toht dedicate two hours of their time to promote these independent and small music groups such as Modest Mouse, Bjork, Fugazhi, Joan of Arc, and many others. The desire to promote independent music is what drives Eklund and Toht to work at the station. Toht states, "There is a lot of cool music I otherwise wouldn't be able to hear if I was just sitting in my room not doing a radio show. I really like the music. It's a pretty sweet deal."

Eklund adds, "It's nice to have two hours when all you have to do is listen to music. If I was in my room I would be working on homework. Instead I can come to the radio station, listen to music and relax."

Both in their second years at KSTO, Eklund and Toht are Alternative Directors for the station. This title allows them to speak with promotion officers about promoting newly-released music. After being sent the CDs by the promotion directors, Eklund and Toht plug the new CDs into the Denon, a product that allows the station to store CDs in a computer. Format shows are then supposed to pick music out of the denon to play on air. As Toht sums it up, "They send us free CDs. We play them on the air and then hopefully people will go out and buy the CD."

In comparison to their radio show last year, both DJs feel that this year has improved. "This year is much better than last year. We don't talk much except to tell the listeners what we are playing. We mostly just try to play lots of music," says Eklund. Toht continues by adding, "The radio show itself isn't our big focus. This year is just more of a good way to listen to the music we get in."