Image Courtesy of DelScorchoSauce/Flickr

For the past month, an Aussie accent has been conspicuously missing from the morning airwaves of Los Angeles’s radio station 89.9 FM.

As of December 1, Nic Harcourt vacated his post as the host of Santa Monica-based independent radio station KCRW’s pivotal daytime show, “Morning Becomes Eclectic,” and left his position as the legendary station’s music director.

In his place as the new host of “Morning” and as music director, is Jason Bentley’s smooth baritone. Bentley started at KCRW as a phone volunteer over 20 year ago, and hosted the weeknight show, “Metropolis.”

Bentley has been a mainstay in the dance music scene in Los Angeles, but his resumé extends far beyond the 1’s and 2’s. He was the music supervisor for The Matrix trilogy, an avid music producer and remixer, as well as a promoter of local music and art events. He recently became the first DJ ever to play the post-Academy Awards Governor’s Ball. He also headlined the Obama campaign’s official Los Angeles celebration on election night.

Now he takes on the daunting task of running KCRW, one of the last true vestiges of independent music on the airwaves. With the help of podcasting and Internet radio, KCRW and “Morning Becomes Eclectic,” have gained prominence throughout the world. Maintaining the status that previous music directors carefully cultivated is no small task, but Bentley has a thoughtful approach to his new digs.

P+P had a chance to speak with him on the phone and ask him a few questions about the KCRW legacy, as well as what he plans on doing different now that he is in the driver’s seat.

What’s your impression of outgoing music director Nic Harcourt’s legacy at KCRW?

I think he’s really taken the brand experience of KCRW and given it more of an international profile, by really taking KCRW.com on his back and putting that out there—The KCRW Presents” and “KCRW.com Presents” that we do in places like San Fran, New York, and Chicago. It’s a funny thing because KCRW is strong because it’s rooted in a community and it’s uniquely Los Angeles. But it has grown far beyond LA. “Act locally, think globally,” I believe, is the expression. He’s kind of been the international ambassador for us. He’s also strengthened the importance of live music…I think Nic took it to a whole other level—things like broadcasting live from South by Southwest in Austin and other big music conferences around the country. I think in certain ways he’s really helped to build the station’s influence and profile nationally and internationally. I think we’re fortunately positioned because LA is the entertainment capital and we’re sort of feeding the other media outlets. They’re either listening to us or hiring our DJ’s as consultants.

How do you plan on making the show your own while still embodying the spirit of ‘Morning Becomes Eclectic’?

I have a high regard for the music directors that we’ve had. I hope to take measured doses of each—the sum of the strengths. I want to break the show down in terms of what you’d expect. It’s been pretty rigid so far and I want to make it a little more unexpected. I want to give people the sense that it’s beyond music, which is the anchor, but I’d like to welcome people by.

We’ve had a lot of success with this guest DJ project. I think it opens up an interesting angle in the broadcast component. I’d like to bring that same success to the airwaves and maybe bridge to online using on-air teasers.

As far as my dance music roots, I can’t deny my own identity, I owe a lot to the scene, and it’s part of who I am. There will be that. It’s just that I won’t launch into the 30/40 minutes of minimal German techno.

I want to cast it as sophisticated and cosmopolitan international music. I think I can present dance music as international culture and it will make more sense in the context of ‘Morning Becomes Eclectic.’

You’re quoted in the press release announcing your move to host of MBE, talking about the “hypnotic pulse of the night” vibe for’ Metropolis’ versus the  “optimism of the morning” for ‘Morning Becomes Eclectic.’ Can you elaborate on these metaphors?

I kinda feel like there’s a responsibility to be optimistic, to a certain extent, in the morning. I think a lot of the success of morning radio has to do with listeners in the stereotypical urban zoo; the escapism it offers them. You don’t want to worry about the traffic or the day ahead, it’s just something where people can check out a little bit. I don’t want to bring the darkness, the feel of the night, to that point in people’s days.

Garth Trinidad and ‘Chocolate City’ are going weekly to fill your Metropolis timeslot from 8 – 10; Why did you pick them?

I needed to fill that, and after looking at a few different scenarios, I just felt like Garth really still has some room to grow and something to offer. I think that his program has suffered a little bit after becoming a once a week thing. I think he can be even better-suited playing more often. I think it gives him more time to explore new music and I think he has an appreciation of that challenge.

I’ve always been a fan and we’ve been friends since he first came to the station. Communication is essential to having a better continuity in the station. Sometimes in an organization, there’s too much dysfunction. I needed someone that I could jive with. There’s no doubt that he’s a confident person and he has a voice. You can’t just be looking at it as a paycheck and you have to understand your role as a community servant, and I think he broadens that community for KCRW.

A friend who works at Artist Direct said that music director at KCRW is one of the top five jobs in the world (music nerd or not)z—What do you think about that?

I didn’t fully appreciate the influence of this position until the announcement. My inbox flooded. You’re sort of the commander of this fleet of incoming ships. You gotta navigate and keep track of all of these movements. You’re really trying to connect the dots with the bands that are trying to emerge and make a difference.

I was definitely humbled in the first week with the kind of attention. Not only does it drive home just how strongly that people feel about MBE and the station, but real difference that you can make in the lives of a band. Presenting a show in the LA market. Helping them find a spot to play at a showcase that we’re sponsoring at SxSW or CMJ. All of these little things make a difference for bands trying to get out there. I knew all of this on the periphery, but it’s been interesting and eye-opening to see the type of responsibility that I have.

What is your process for planning out so many sets throughout the course of a week and still keeping it fresh?

One thing I’ve noticed from doing the nighttime slot for so long is that it’s kind of a constant. Imagine you’re kind of refining your sets and your acts all the time. You have this idea of what you’re playing generally. You’re the one listening the closest so you kind of have this overall sense of whether you’re burning stuff out or you need to work something else in, or you have to challenge yourself.

I think it’d be more difficult to do one show a week than doing it consistently because it’s almost like you’re picking up right where you left off for five days. There’s no perfect show, but you’re going to keep working on your skill like a martial art.

“Morning Becomes Eclectic” airs weekdays from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. on 89.9 FM and can also be streamed and podcast at www.kcrw.com. Check out the site’s announcement about Jason’s new job here.