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Has London (dance) pirate radio got boring?
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Reading Facebook, a pirate radio DJ who is on one of the numerous pirate radio stations mentions that legal radio is now better than pirate for breaking underground dance music.
He said that 1Xtra is better for breaking upfront DnB over Kool FM (a long running pirate which is now an internet station) and Rinse FM (ex Pirate with a CR licence) is better at producing the other underground genres.
His other criticism is the stations are using older music such as UK Garage and old skool jungle/dnb and Hardcore to fill airtime which has left a void where new music can be put on air.
So what has happened? Most pirates now have professional studios mainly in warehouse complexes which take advantage of being able to stream from the internet, which means there's no longer a direct link to the transmitter.
Also the presentation on the remaining pirates is a lot more professional with a lot of generic music or even borderline mainstream.
There are some other pirates who claim to provide a community or religious service, yet has CR and legal radio finally got a hold on the illegal broadcasters in the capital?
He said that 1Xtra is better for breaking upfront DnB over Kool FM (a long running pirate which is now an internet station) and Rinse FM (ex Pirate with a CR licence) is better at producing the other underground genres.
His other criticism is the stations are using older music such as UK Garage and old skool jungle/dnb and Hardcore to fill airtime which has left a void where new music can be put on air.
So what has happened? Most pirates now have professional studios mainly in warehouse complexes which take advantage of being able to stream from the internet, which means there's no longer a direct link to the transmitter.
Also the presentation on the remaining pirates is a lot more professional with a lot of generic music or even borderline mainstream.
There are some other pirates who claim to provide a community or religious service, yet has CR and legal radio finally got a hold on the illegal broadcasters in the capital?
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The usual problem with some DJs tallking at the wrong time , but some very good shows for house lovers.
Select is a classic example of how professional pirate radio has become, but there's nothing there that makes me think that it's any way exciting as a pirate station.
Yet, I'm sure it's target audience of house music fans enjoy the output and if they could go legal, it'd be the next Rinse FM.
On the other hand, I'm bemused by Omega Radio which appears to have custom adverts from the Met. Do they actually get them direct from the police, or nick them from community stations?
Kool's certainly become a lot more eclectic in it's music policy in the last year or so.
The policy seems to be to play all the specialist output during what is the legal radio peak for airtime, then put the upfront DnB (which pays the bills) at night.
I think I heard the German woman you mentioned on Friday afternoon last week, if it's the same DJ, she also had a woman on the phone from Egypt during the uprising, that presenter should be on Resonance.
Other Kool DJ's that spring to mind is Chris Interface's show, he presents his DnB show in the style of a Kiss/1Xtra format which also includes interviews with DJ's, MC's and producers and the other is legendary DJ and producer Billy Bunter who presents a show on Monday afternoons. It's an eclectic mix of upfront styles of music and older underground styles of music. There's also a phone-in with DnB MC Five-O and Diamond which discusses topical issues without Ofcom restrictions on what they can say, yet it all sounds professional.
The old Kool FM in the 90s on the whole did seem to be a group of 16 year olds who were passionate about Jungle having a laugh.
I have a lot of respect for pirate radio and its DJ's as they bring the music forward to us youngens want to hear. No station commercially really touches the underground scene at all and thats where these stations are most needed. There is none in my area
As for the way pirate radio has changed I'd say its sounding more professional now because its another way of staying on air longer, chances are people will tune around and find a pirate and think they are a commercial or community station. I do agree that it kinda takes away the fun element of how it used to sound but I think its an integral part of being able to stay on air. Point Blank 90.2 plays some brilliant house music and that is barely off, maybe here and there but when I locked in via the net they have always had live sets going on. Kool FM used to sound really rough round the edges and gritty thats what made pirate radio sound good because its different from the norm. I have listened recently to Kool and I think they are doing such a great job! they do sound really good. I have always wondered how they have stayed on air for 20 years and not has many raids? it must be run by a millionaire or something how do they keep going?.
10-12 years ago it was just garage clone after garage clone with the odd DnB/house thrown in. Admittedly, a fair few of the current crop are a waste of space but you can't criticise the diversity.
It's interesting that Pirates can fill their schedules with Djs , none of whom seem interested in joining any of the CR stations. There seems to be a lot less politics and a more "we're in it together " attitude on the Pirates, and some better programming.
Its because they really are in it for the music and are passionate about it all. There still is no hard evidence of pirates ever running into emergency streams, maybe the odd one or two irresponsible ones but the majority know how to put on a proper pirate station and make it sound professional. I don't know why the DTI bother chasing them as they always come back on a few hours later anyway there isn't really a way of stopping them anymore.
I'd rather have the diversity than complete domination of the airwaves by companies who are committed to play the same "manufactured" garbage over and over again until it become unbearable!!!
They have the best sounding on line stream.
It sounds better than many community stations.
I'm abig fan of radio3 and Resonance, but Galaxy Radio at the weekend is a lock-especially Herkhuti's "Final Jazzment" on a Friday evening, and the Sunday de-brainwashing show.
Kool repeated an interview with their founder which was originally broadcast on CR station Rinse FM a couple of weeks back. The presenter of that show which is called 'Run Come Follow Friday's' is a former Kool presenter who took his format to legal radio, which is testament to the pirate's legacy.
Some pirates don't play anything new at all any more, and certainly I think Rinse FM is more cutting edge than any pirate out there. I think the pirate audience is getting older. Most younger people - even those into genres which were historically pirate-focused like underground dance - get new music on the web now, not on FM. Point Blank's weekday morning output for example is mostly old 1970s/80s soul. They're not unusual in that. Even Kool play large amounts of 1990s music now. That doesn't make them worse stations, but it does suggest that the dance pirates' days are numbered (although the same problem applies to a lot of legal radio too).
Piracy (other than the Caribbean stations) has been on the decline outside London for some time - I don't think due to enforcement but just a lack of any motive to do it any more now that you can stream live on the internet reliably and cheaply.
In London I suspect it might soon hit the level where the number of frequencies is no longer the limiting factor, and the total number of stations starts to fall.
Has it got 'boring'? Well, maybe - but not nearly as boring as Capital FM.
Yes and the music hasn't changed much... lots of stations playing 90s dance. I think its interesting to compare pirates in London to pirates in Dublin where they sound far more professional. You would be hard pushed to even know they are pirates they way they sound. None of this 'big shout going out' thing and rewinds. I don't really know what went wrong with London pirate radio it all went a bit rubbish after stations like JFM, Solar and Kiss went off. I might even go as far to say the foreigners and foreign culture had a hand in ruining it. These days kids in London can't even talk properly anymore. They talk with that stupid 'street ghetto' talk. White kids trying to be black etc.
Yes, but they keep shouting over the top of Jeremy Vine and the Today programme on R4.They're breaking the law and ruining FM radio for everyone else in North London - I can't even listen to podcasts through my car radio because they bleed all over every available frequency. And its not like its a massive variety of music - jazz, soul, latin, rock, alternative - its just the same autotune crap with a shouty bloke (never a woman) advertising tickets for the latest dance party. Why don't the cops go to these advertised dances and bust them?
I swear, if I miss 'Popmaster' one more time!
Up here we don't have 24/7 operations, just sporadics you come across while tuning the band, but none are dance. There's a Pop one and an Oldies/Rock one or two. Be nice to go to London and hear something other than the usual. I hope they don't talk all over the music like they used to, I never saw the point of them playing any records as the moment it started, they'd give "Shout Outs" to their mates all over it
Why don't they apply for and pay for a broadcasting license like the stations they're ruining my enjoyment of?
Yeah, one of those people who doesn't think its okay to illegally broadcast on the same FM frequency as BBC Radio 2. The most-listened to station in the UK.