Rinse FM is a

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

-based

community radio station Community radio is a radio service offering a third model of radio broadcasting in addition to commercial and public broadcasting. Community stations serve geographic communities and communities of interest. They broadcast content that is popul ...

, licensed for "young people living and/or working within the central, east and south London areas". It plays

garage A garage is a covered structure built for the purpose of parking, storing, protecting, maintaining, and/or repairing vehicles. Specific applications include: *Garage (residential), a building or part of a building for storing one or more vehicl ...

grime Grime may refer to: * Dirt, in the form of black, ingrained dust Music * Grime music, a genre of music * ''Grime'' (album), a 2001 album by Iniquity * "Grime", a 2023 song by Macklemore from ''Ben'' * "Grime", a 2024 song by Kittie from ''Fire ...

dubstep Dubstep is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in South London in the early 2000s. The style emerged as a UK garage offshoot that blended 2-step rhythms and sparse dub production, as well as incorporating elements of broken ...

house A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air c ...

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'' ...

UK funky UK funky (sometimes known as UKF or funky) is a genre of electronic dance music which originated in England that is heavily influenced by soca, soulful house, tribal house, funky house, UK garage, broken beat and grime. Typically, UK funky ...

and other

dance music Dance music is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing. It can be either a whole piece or part of a larger musical arrangement. In terms of performance, the major categories are live dance music and recorded dance musi ...

genres popular in the United Kingdom. The station was founded in 1994 and operated as a

pirate radio station 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 ...

until it was awarded a broadcast licence in June 2010. Rinse FM has been described as London's biggest pirate radio station. It provided first exposure to

artists

Dizzee Rascal Dylan Kwabena Mills (born 18 September 1984), known professionally as Dizzee Rascal, is a British rapper and MC. He is often credited as a pioneer of British hip hop and grime music and was ranked by ''Complex'' as one of the greatest British ...

and

Wiley Wiley may refer to: Locations *Wiley, Colorado, a U.S. town *Wiley, Georgia, an U.S. unincorporated community * Wiley, Pleasants County, West Virginia, U.S. * Wiley-Kaserne, a district of the city of Neu-Ulm, Germany People *Wiley (musician), ...

and later provided a home for dubstep DJs such as

Skream Oliver Dene Jones (born 1 June 1986), known professionally as Skream, is an English electronic music producer based in Croydon. Skream has released records on several British record labels, such as Tempa, Tectonic, and Big Apple Records, and ...

Kode9 Steve Goodman, known as Kode9 (born 1973) is a Scottish electronic music artist, DJ, and founder of the Hyperdub record label. He was one of the founding members of the early dubstep scene with his late collaborator The Spaceape. He has releas ...

, and

DJ Oneman Steven Bishop (born 1986), known professionally as Oneman, is a DJ and producer from Streatham, London. His background is in pirate radio and he is a regular DJ on Rinse FM. Oneman's DJ sets typically blend dubstep, hip hop, grime, UK funky and ...

. DJ Geeneus is the station's head.

History

Early years

Founded by Geeneus and

DJ Slimzee Dean Fullman (born 20 June 1978), best known by his stage name Slimzee, is an English DJ who currently hosts a show on Rinse FM, returning from his previous show on NTS. He is best known for his show on pirate radio station Rinse FM in the earl ...

, Rinse FM's first broadcast was in September 1994. For a three-year period in the early days of the station the Rinse studio was hosted in DJ Slimzee's house. In its early years the station mainly played

with a particular focus on MCs, a direction which set Rinse apart from competing stations. At the time the station broadcast from secret, makeshift locations such as kitchens and bedrooms belonging to friends and DJs, constantly moving between these locations to avoid getting shut down by authorities. Its first broadcast was made from Ingram House in

Tower Hamlets The London Borough of Tower Hamlets is a borough in London, England. Situated on the north bank of the River Thames and immediately east of the City of London, the borough spans much of the traditional East End of London and includes much of ...

, London. This continued to a lesser extent throughout the 16 years during which Rinse was a pirate radio station.

Kool FM Kool FM, also known as Kool London, is a former London pirate radio station that now broadcasts on DAB and online, playing jungle, drum and bass, and old skool. Kool is generally regarded as being instrumental in the development of the jung ...

was the leading pirate radio station within the jungle scene, and it wasn't until Rinse changed its focus to the emerging garage scene around 1998–1999 that it gained a substantial following, thanks to the darker sound that it brought from its jungle days. Into the early 2000s, the station became critical for emergence and development of the genres

and

, and was managed during this time by DJ Uncle Dugs. Rinse broadcast on the frequency of 100.3/100.4FM for the majority of its unlicensed years on air. Radio 1 DJ

John Peel John Robert Parker Ravenscroft (30 August 1939 – 25 October 2004), better known as John Peel, was an English radio presenter and journalist. He was the longest-serving of the original disc jockeys on BBC Radio 1, broadcasting regularly from ...

recommended the station in 2004, stating that: :When I'm in London I listen to the pirates as much as I can. There's a station I like called Rinse FM, which is somewhere in the area banded by .e. between the frequencies of Kiss FM and Classic FM. Sarah "Soulja" Lockhart joined Rinse as their station manager in 2004 and launched their weekly party nights FWD>. In April 2005

Ofcom The Office of Communications, commonly known as Ofcom, is the government-approved regulatory and competition authority for the broadcasting, internet, telecommunications and mail, postal industries of the United Kingdom. Ofcom has wide-rang ...

disconnected a Rinse FM radio transmitter and Dean Fullman, known on air as

, received an ASBO, believed to be the first of its kind, banning him from every rooftop in the borough of

Legal licence

As of August 2007 the station was seeking a legal FM licence. Rinse FM created a petition which received hundreds of supporters within less than a week, including some from countries other than the UK. At the time, the station's owner DJ Geeneus said: "We don't want to be legal to play stupid adverts and make loads of money from advertising. We want to be legal to say: look at our scene, look at what we're doing. We're a business, we're not criminals. We're supplying something that no one else is supplying, and we're professional." Rinse FM was awarded a community FM broadcast licence by Ofcom in June 2010 for frequency 106.8 FM. It commenced broadcasting legally on 7 February 2011. The station is presently managed by Sarah Lockhart. As part of its community broadcasting remit, Rinse FM is engaged in training young people in broadcasting skills who are considered marginalised, even working with children who are in Pupil Referral Units. These are units for persistent truants and people with

special educational needs Special educational needs (SEN), also known as special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) in the United Kingdom refers to the education of children who require different education provision to the mainstream system. Meaning The meaning of S ...

. In October 2015, it joined the London Trial DAB MUX.

DJs and presenters

DJs and presenters to have appeared on Rinse include: * Alexander Nut * Anti Social (Jay 5ive,

Silkie The Silkie, also known as the Silky or Chinese silk chicken, is a Chinese breed of chicken named for its atypically fluffy plumage, which is soft to the touch, like silk or fur. Other unusual qualities include black skin and bones, blue earlob ...

Kromestar Rajpal Singh Kalsi, better known as Kromestar, is a British Sikh dubstep and grime record producer from South London South London is the southern part of Greater London, England, south of the River Thames. The region consists of the District ...

) *

Artwork A work of art, artwork, art piece, piece of art or art object is an artistic creation of aesthetic value. Except for "work of art", which may be used of any work regarded as art in its widest sense, including works from literature ...

* Benga * Ben UFO *

Boy Better Know Boy Better Know, often abbreviated as BBK, is a British grime collective and record label. The collective was founded in North London in 2005 as an independent record label by brothers Jamie and Joseph Adenuga, better known as Jme and Skepta, ...

Caspa Gary McCann, known professionally as Caspa (born 30 May 1982), is a dubstep music producer from West London. Biography McCann's creative involvement in music began after a promising basketball career was cut short by a shoulder injury. Growing ...

dBridge dBridge, also known as Velvit (born Darren White), is an English drum and bass record producer whose career began during the genre's conception in the early 1990s.IMO Records"dBridge Biography", '' IMO Records'', 17 October 2011. Retrieved 27 O ...

* DJ Chef *

DJ Distance Distance (born Greg Sanders) is a British dubstep producer and DJ. He also founded the record label Chestplate, whose sonic direction followed his style, fusing metal influences with dubstep templates. Distance's involvement in Mary Anne Hobbs ...

Fabio Fabio is a given name descended from Latin ''Fabius'' and very popular in Italy and Latin America (due to Italian migration). The name is written without an accent in Italian and Spanish, but is usually accented in Portuguese as ''Fábio'' (with t ...

Grooverider Raymond Bingham (born 16 April 1967 in Streatham, London, England), better known as Grooverider, is a British drum and bass DJ. He and DJ partner Fabio are regarded as "originators" of the scene.

* DJ Flight * DJ Geeneus *

DJ Hatcha Terry Leonard, better known as DJ Hatcha or simply Hatcha, is a South London producer and DJ notable for his seminal work in the musical genre dubstep. He had a regular show on the prominent pirate radio station Rinse FM in the early 2000s, bef ...

DJ Ron Ron Samuels, better known as DJ Ron, is a British jungle and drum and bass DJ, record producer, and film maker. Biography Early life Ron was born in 1967, in London. In the early 1980s, he began his career in music culture starting with hi ...

DJ Spoony John St John Joseph (born 25 June 1970), also known as Johnathan Joseph and professionally as DJ Spoony, is a British DJ, radio and television presenter. He is a member of the UK garage production trio, the Dreem Teem. Spoony also presents ...

DJ Target Darren Joseph, known professionally as DJ Target, is an English DJ and presenter. He is best known for being part of grime collective Roll Deep and presenting on BBC Radio 1Xtra. Career Joseph is a former member of Roll Deep. Joseph began hosti ...

DJ Zinc Benjamin Pettit (born 12 March 1972), known professionally as DJ Zinc, is a British DJ and record producer. Zinc first became known for 1995's "Super Sharp Shooter", a hip hop music, hip hop/jungle music, jungle fusion, notably one of the pione ...

* Elijah And Skilliam (Butterz) * Funk Butcher * Hessle Audio * Icicle *

Ikonika Sara Abdel-Hamid (born 28 November 1989), better known as Ikonika, is an electronic musician, producer, DJ and singer often associated with Hyperdub Records and London's Rinse FM. Their debut 12", "Please/Simulacrum" was released in 2008 on Hy ...

* Jake Demie * Jyoty * Josey Rebelle * Kismet *

Loefah Peter Livingston (born 8 September 1980), known professionally as Loefah, is one of the pioneering founders of dubstep most notable for his releases on one of the genre's founding labels, Digital Mystikz, DMZ. Loefah started off collaborating with ...

Logan Sama Logan Sama is an English Grime DJ and esports commentator from Brentwood, Essex. He has appeared regularly throughout his career on radio stations Rinse, Kiss 100 and BBC Radio 1. He also runs the record labels Adamantium Music, Earth616 an ...

* Marcus Nasty * Maya Jama * Mark Radford *

Newham Generals Newham Generals are a grime duo from East London, currently consisting of MCs D Double E and Footsie. They are best known for their singles "Frontline", "Hard" and "Like It Or Not" as well as their live performances. The group was founded in ...

* N Type * Norwood Soul Patrol *

Oneman Steven Bishop (born 1986), known professionally as Oneman, is a DJ and producer from Streatham, London. His background is in Pirate radio in the United Kingdom, pirate radio and he is a regular DJ on Rinse FM. Oneman's DJ sets typically blend du ...

* Paleface * Pangaea *

Pay As U Go Pay As U Go or Pay As U Go Cartel was a UK garage crew formed in late 1999 and 2000. In 2002, the collective achieved a No. 13 UK hit with " Champagne Dance". After Pay As U Go disbanded, Wiley went on to form the grime crew Roll Deep with fe ...

Pearson Sound David Kennedy (born 1988), professionally known as Pearson Sound, is an electronic dance music producer, mix engineer and DJ based in London. His style is a combination of house, dubstep, UK funky, UK garage and jungle. In October 2024, a review ...

Plastician Chris Reed (born 30 October 1982), also known as Plastician (formerly Plasticman), is an Englishelectronic musician from Thornton Heath in the London Borough of Croydon. History Plastician, real name Chris Reed is a DJ from Croydon in South ...

P Money Paris Joel Moore-Williams (born 8 April 1989), better known by his stage name P Money, is a British grime MC, rapper and songwriter from New Cross, South East London, who is also active in the drum and bass scene. He is best known for his li ...

* Roska *

Royal-T Mark Daniel Taylor, professionally known as Royal-T, is a British UK garage, bassline and grime DJ and music producer from Southampton. He is signed to Butterz and Rinse Recordings. Taylor was spotted in 2010 by Butterz label founders Elijah an ...

Scratcha DVA Scratcha DVA also known as DJ Scratcha, DVA i; Emotions Scratchclart and DVA is a British electronic musician, producer and DJ often associated with DVA Music, Hyperdub and Rinse FM. His debut album, ''Pretty Ugly (Scratcha DVA album), Prett ...

Skepta Joseph Olaitan Adenuga Jr. (born 19 September 1982), known professionally as Skepta, is a British grime MC, rapper, record producer and DJ. Alongside his younger brother Jme, he briefly joined Roll Deep before they became founding members of ...

* SK Vibemaker * Supa D * Shax * Spyro * The Clairvoyants - Shax,SBR, Jason H * The Menendez Brothers *

Stamina MC Linden Reeves, better known as Stamina MC, is an English drum and bass rapper and singer. Biography His earliest experiences of MCing were on pirate radio in 1996; first Pressure FM (inactive), then on to currently active, once-pirate-but-no-l ...

* Uncle Dugs *

* Youngsta

Rinse Recordings

The station first released music under the Rinse Recordings imprint in 2003. Currently, the label releases albums and singles from a roster of signed artists as well as mix CDs from DJs associated with the station. The label first saw chart success when

Katy B Kathleen Anne Brien (born 8 May 1989), known professionally as Katy B, is an English singer. She released her debut studio album, '' On a Mission'', in 2011, which spawned two top five hits, " Katy on a Mission" and " Lights On". In 2014 she re ...

released " Katy on a Mission" on the label in 2010. Currently signed acts include

, Katy B,

Novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living wage, living writing novels and other fiction, while other ...

, Roska and

. DJs who have released mix albums for Rinse Recordings include

and Elijah and Skilliam. With the release of the 23rd mix CD (mixed by Richy Ahmed), Rinse has stated that it broadens the concept to include non-residents of the station. The label went on to release Katy B's chart-topping album '' Little Red'' and Route 94's chart-topping single " My Love" in 2014.

Discography

Mix/compilation albums

* Rinse 01 - Geeneus (2007) * Rinse 02 -

(2007) * Rinse 03 - Supa D (2008) * Rinse 04 -

(2008) * Rinse 05 - Paleface (2008) * Rinse 06 -

(2008) * Rinse 07 - Spyro (2009) * Rinse 08 - Alexander Nut (2009) * Rinse 09 - N Type (2009) * Rinse 10 - Marcus Nasty (2009) * Rinse 11 -

(2010) * Rinse 12 - Kismet (2010) * Rinse 13 - ''no release'' * Rinse 14 - Youngsta (2011) * Rinse 15 - Roska (2011) * Rinse 16 - Ben UFO (2011) * Rinse 17 - Elijah And Skilliam (2011) * Rinse 18 - Mark Radford (2012) * Rinse 19 - Icicle (2012) * Rinse 20 - Uncle Dugs (2012) * Rinse 21 - T.Williams (2012) * Rinse 22 -

(2013) * Rinse 23 - Richy Ahmed (2013) * Various - "Dubstep Drama - OST" (2007) * Various - "I Love Dubstep" (2008) * Various - "I Love Funky" (2010) * Various - "I Love Grime" (2012)

Artists singles/albums

* Geeneus - "Volumes 1" (2008) * Roska - "Roska" (2010) / "Roska 2" (2012) *

- "On A Mission" / "Lights On" (2010) *

- "Presents Royal-T" (2012) * Faze Miyake - Faze Miyake (2015)

Internet radio

Rinse began streaming its shows online in 2006. All shows are available both on the website and

SoundCloud SoundCloud is a German audio streaming service owned and operated by SoundCloud Global Limited & Co. KG. The service enables its users to upload, promote, and share audio. Founded in 2007 by Alexander Ljung and Eric Wahlforss, SoundCloud is ...

Rinse France

In February 2014, Rinse launched Rinse France based in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

Kool FM

In January 2023, Rinse announced that it was taking over management of London

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) ...

station

SWU FM

In April 2023, Rinse announced that it was relaunching the previously closed Bristol-based radio station, SWU FM.

Legacy

The station has been described as London's biggest pirate radio station and "without doubt the world's leading grime station." Writing for ''

FACT A fact is a truth, true data, datum about one or more aspects of a circumstance. Standard reference works are often used to Fact-checking, check facts. Science, Scientific facts are verified by repeatable careful observation or measurement by ...

'' magazine in 2007, Simon Hampson stated: "Without Rinse, Grime and Dubstep would be very different: indeed, it’s fair to say that they might not even exist at all." Rinse celebrated its 20th birthday in 2014.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rinse Fm House music radio stations UK garage radio stations Former pirate radio stations Radio stations in London Radio stations established in 1994 Community radio stations in the United Kingdom Pirate radio stations in the United Kingdom Electronic dance music radio stations in the United Kingdom