2SER Presenter Profiles: Trevor El Chino (Departure Lounge)

A selectors selector, Trevor “The Captain” El Chino has been mixing and matching sounds as a DJ and radio host since the early 90s. His cult Saturday afternoon program The Departure Lounge is a weekly in-flight soundtrack through Saturday afternoons, making old music sound like new music through records lovingly gathered from across continents. Alongside featuring some of the best in the world of soul, jazz and world music, The Departure Lounge has also been a soft landing for countless budding collectors to share their fins for the for the first time on radio, thanks to Trevor’s always welcoming “just get them on” philosophy. 

Trevor, for those who don’t know, tell us all there is to know about your radio show, the Departure Lounge and how it got started here on 2SER?

I started my radio career, on a classic music station, that had
alternative music programming after midnight , this was in the early
2000s. The name of my first radio show was ‘Jungle Beatbox’ where I had
the opportunity to play some of my vinyl records , ranging from jazz,
hip hop, electronica, broken beat, new wave and afrobrasiliana
rhythms. During this time I met Simon Caldwell, who was an, avid
listener and collector, I invited him to co-host the radio show.

I had a few guest appearances on Back to Funk and Mothership Connection,
then we both got our own All Funked Up show on 2SER, which was
named after our regular residency at the Bentley Bar.

Departure Lounge, started when I started flying solo, the name came
about because domestic and international guests would come through
with their hand luggage and connect with their music and stories and
then fly out again.

You have many different segments that feature on your show. What are some of those and what are your inspirations behind creating them?

There have been various segments on the show, Astral Planes (Sasha
So) and Yearly Rewind (Mr Webster), Co-Pilot Selectors, Afrobrasiliana
Crew, Endnotes Collective, Left Field DJs and DJ Maxxyttt, all
showcasing new and old vinyl releases.

Currently, Stewardess Sophie, will host her own weekly segment, using
her archaeological skills to look for new and old releases.

I love the concept of the six degrees of separation, that’s how the
Friends As DJ segment came about, is a way for DJs and musicians, to
share there music and influences with frequent flyers and it gave me an
opportunity to hear music I haven’t heard before and it also help
support the local music and promote their releases and the gigs.

You are commonly known as El Chino, where did you get the name from?

The name El Chino derived from while I was digging for records in
Barcelona , I went into this store and asked the owner if there were and
spots in town I could DJ at, they invited me to their little club and he
asked if I had a DJ name, so they billed me as Elchino (meaning “the
chinese” in Spanish).

Who are some of your favourite guests who have joined you in the studio and do you have any bucket list guests you want to have on?

So many frequent flyers have booked into the Departure Lounge,
interviews with Allysha Joy, Ella Thompson Ella Haber ,Cinta, Emma
Jean Thackrey, Yazmin Lacey, Nubia Garcia, Jazzanova, Gilles
Peterson,Marcos Valle,, just to mention a few..each guest has left a DL
promo sting, leaving an everlasting souvenir of their visit.

You received a Hall Of Fame award from 2SER for 12 years of dedication supporting unreleased music. What does that mean to you, and how has your show grown since then?

Will pass on my Hall Of Fame Award to 2SER Jumping the Gap, host and
presenter, Paris Groovescooter, and inspiration, mentor, and DJ Buddy.

You can book a flight with El Chino and the flight crew every Saturday afternoon on 2SER. Assemble at Gate 107.3FM at 3pm for boarding