Kool London, also known as Kool FM, is a former London

pirate radio Pirate radio or a pirate radio station is a radio station that broadcasts without a valid license. In some cases, radio stations are considered legal where the signal is transmitted, but illegal where the signals are received—especially ...

station that now broadcasts as an

internet radio Online radio (also web radio, net radio, streaming radio, e-radio, IP radio, Internet radio) is a digital audio service transmitted via the Internet. Broadcasting on the Internet is usually referred to as webcasting since it is not transmitted ...

station, playing

jungle A jungle is land covered with dense forest and tangled vegetation, usually in tropical climates. Application of the term has varied greatly during the past recent century. Etymology The word ''jungle'' originates from the Sanskrit word ''ja� ...

drum and bass Drum and bass (also written as drum & bass or drum'n'bass and commonly abbreviated as D&B, DnB, or D'n'B) is a genre of electronic dance music characterized by fast breakbeats (typically 165–185 beats per minute) with heavy bass and sub- ...

, and old skool. Kool is generally regarded as being instrumental in the development of the jungle music scene.

History

Kool first broadcast on 28 November 1991 on the frequency of 94.5FM, from Hackney, East London. Kool has stated that it was ''"the very first pirate station ever to play hardcore jungle"''.

Simon Reynolds Simon Reynolds (born 19 June 1963) is an English music journalist and author who began his professional career on the staff of ''Melody Maker'' in the mid-1980s. He has since gone on to freelance and publish a number of full-length books on musi ...

would call it ''"London's ruling pirate station"'' in an account of the beginnings of

in his book

Energy Flash ''Energy Flash: A Journey Through Rave Music and Dance Culture'' is a book by English music journalist Simon Reynolds which chronicles the development of dance and rave music from the mid 1980s to the early 2000s. The book was published in the Un ...

, whilst in State of Bass, Martin James would consider it ''"The single most important pirate station in jungle"''.Martin James: ''State of Bass''. Boxtree 1997, , p.50. By late 1992, Kool started to promote its own events, leading to the founding of ''Jungle Fever'' in August 1993. Jungle Fever nights have been held at venues such as the Astoria and

The Edge David Howell Evans (born 8 August 1961), better known as the Edge or simply Edge,McCormick (2006), pp. 21, 23–24 is an English-born Irish musician, singer, and songwriter. He is best known as the lead guitarist, keyboardist, and backing voca ...

. In July 1993, its then-neighbouring station also broadcasting from the

Nightingale Estate The Nightingale Estate is located in the Lower Clapton area of the London Borough of Hackney, next to Hackney Downs. The estate originally consisted of six 22 story tower blocks, but was redeveloped between 2003-2006 and replaced with mostly low- ...

, ''Rush FM'', was subject to a high profile raid by the authorities leading to media accusations of drug dealing at raves promoted by the two stations. In April 1996, Kool was featured in a BBC ''First Sight'' documentary about pirate radio in London, in which its ''Kool Skool'' club night also appeared. In the same year, it branched out by launching a sister station, ''Kool FM Midlands'' based in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the We ...

, which continued until 2002. In May 2007, Kool FM featured in a BBC London News report about pirate radio station interference to the emergency services and their use of the airwaves.

Internet Radio

In August 2010, Kool relaunched as ''Kool London'' and now operates as an internet radio station, providing a live audio stream on its website as well as archived shows.

Later years

Kool was involved in two live broadcasts with the artist

Eddie Peake Eddie Peake (born 1981) is a British artist. His work includes performance, video, photography, painting, sculpture and installation. His art focuses on "implicit drama within relationships between people", and "how things like desire, sexuali ...

. The first in 2013 as part of his graduate final year project at the

Royal Academy of Arts The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly in London. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its pur ...

, and again in 2018 at the

White Cube White Cube is a contemporary art gallery founded by Jay Jopling in London in 1993. The gallery has two branches in London: White Cube Mason's Yard in central London and White Cube Bermondsey in South East London; White Cube Hong Kong, in Centr ...

forming part of his ''Concrete Pitch'' show. The station celebrated its 30th birthday on 28 November 2021, with an event at the

Heaven Heaven or the heavens, is a common religious cosmological or transcendent supernatural place where beings such as deities, angels, souls, saints, or venerated ancestors are said to originate, be enthroned, or reside. According to the belie ...

club.

References

External links

Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kool Fm Radio stations in London Pirate radio stations in the United Kingdom Internet radio stations in the United Kingdom Radio stations established in 1991