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

pirate radio Pirate radio is a radio station that broadcasts without a valid license, whether an invalid license or no license at all. In some cases, radio stations are considered legal where the signal is transmitted, but illegal where the signals are rec ...

station that now broadcasts on DAB and

online In computer technology and telecommunications, online indicates a state of connectivity, and offline indicates a disconnected state. In modern terminology, this usually refers to an Internet connection, but (especially when expressed as "on lin ...

, playing

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

drum and bass Drum and bass (commonly abbreviated as DnB, D&B, or D'n'B) is a genre of electronic dance music characterised by fast Break (music)#Breakbeat (element of music), breakbeats (typically 165–185 Tempo, beats per minute) with heavy Bass (music) ...

, 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 Clapton, North 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 career at ''Melody Maker'' in the mid-1980s. He subsequently worked as a freelancer and published a number of books on music and popular culture. Reynold ...

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

in his book Energy Flash, whilst in State of Bass, Martin James would consider it ''"The single most important pirate station in jungle"''. 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 a British-Irish musician, singer, and songwriter. He is best known as the lead guitarist, keyboardist, and backing vocalist o ...

. In July 1993, its then-neighbouring station also broadcasting from the Nightingale Estate, ''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 The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

''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 status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

, 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.

Kool London and online radio

In August 2010, Kool relaunched as ''Kool London'', operating as an online radio station, providing a live audio stream, archived shows, and a popular chatroom. It continued to promote events at venues such as Mass, the Coronet, and Electric Brixton.

Legacy

DJs and MCs to appear on Kool have included key figures in jungle and drum and bass music, including Brockie, Det, DJ Ron, MC Navigator, Bryan Gee, MC 5-O, Moose, Andy C, Mampi Swift,

DJ Dextrous Errol Francis, better known as DJ Dextrous, is a British Disc jockey, DJ, record producer and songwriter.Watts, Janet (2002)Jailhouse rock, rap and reggae, ''The Observer'', 15 December 2002. Retrieved 10 February 2013 Personal life Dextrous wa ...

, Devious D, Ragga Twins, Flirt, Skibadee, Shabba D, Nicky Blackmarket, Tonic, Stevie Hyper D, and Crissy Criss. Kool has been involved in two live broadcasts with the artist Eddie Peake. 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 in Piccadilly London, England. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its ...

, 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 Centra ...

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 cosmology, religious cosmological or supernatural place where beings such as deity, deities, angels, souls, saints, or Veneration of the dead, venerated ancestors are said to originate, be throne, ...

club.

Rinse FM management and return to Kool FM

On 1 January 2023, original co-founder Eastman retired from running of the station. It was announced on 30 January, that

Rinse FM Rinse FM is a London-based community radio station, licensed for "young people living and/or working within the central, east and south London areas". It plays garage, grime, dubstep, house, jungle, UK funky and other dance music genres po ...

would be taking over management of the station and re-launching back as Kool FM and with a revised line-up. Having announced details of the updated line-up, Kool returned on 23 April 2023 broadcasting on Rinse's FM and DAB frequencies, as well as a dedicated channel.

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 Electronic dance music radio stations in the United Kingdom Jungle music