10/21/2024
In Chinese, a 知音 is an intimate friend, a soul mate, one who listens closely to your tones and resonates in perfect harmony. Michael Henning, a.k.a. DJ Megasoup on , was that friend for so many of us. I am honored to have been his partner, riding tandem on the same wavelength for ten beautiful years.
Michael first made an impression on me at , when he approached me in the world music section. That was often my haven after crappy days in grad school and maybe he sensed my need for random kindness. We met more properly via mutual friend in 2014, and a few months later, I heard him DJ as and something magical was sparked that eve…
Back then, I was on KALX as the Native Disinformant and serving as DJ training co-director. Before pre-recorded archives, we had to schedule reluctant trainees in graveyard shifts, or cover those shifts ourselves. Between my own scheduled shows and unfilled training shifts, I ended up doing 89 radio shifts that year. Michael was actually the DJ at the board, with me in sleepy but rapt attendance, for about a dozen of those shifts. If he wasn’t in the studio with me, he was out there listening live to nearly every single one of my shows. We never stopped wooing each other by playlists, which, y’know, happened to sound awesome when broadcast for all to share. 💓
In 2017, I became Microtone, and he re-joined KALX as Megasoup, bringing a wealth of experience from his years at Amoeba, as a musician, a sonic traveler and curator, a chattering archive of knowledge. Michael taught me to love with open heart and mind, to engage in community, to listen to the tones between the tones - in music, in sound, in emotional expression and spaces internal. We both came to KALX having done freeform college radio as undergrads, adamant in championing diversity, experimentation, and exploration. He really pushed me to hone the art of DJing, and also supported so many efforts to make our radio station and music communities better.
Michael leaves a legacy that we’ll be processing for generations to come. Please keep your ears open and stay tuned — we will not hear the last of Megasoup for a long, long time.
