Artist Statement
Can’t Stop The Pirates is a radio artwork inspired by Greater London’s unlicensed radio ‘pirates,’ who fought for representation on the airwaves, for the love of their music and culture.
My life has been shaped by the sounds I was exposed to growing up on the outskirts of London in the 1990s. Pirate radio was a vivid channel to astonishing music: Hardcore, Jungle, Drum and Bass- experimental, multicultural, utterly new and totally local. At the time I took these riches for granted, with little understanding of the scene’s deeper roots across ocean waves, in Dub Reggae, Ragga, Acid House, Hip-Hop and other diasporan musics.
Multiple FM transmitters broadcast on the same frequency to create a soundscape in constant flux as signals battle to be heard. By moving through the space, and between broadcast signals, participants have the agency to mix their own version (a term rooted in Dub music) weaving the sounds of electromagnetic interference, the breakbeats and sub bass of the hardcore continuum, and the stories and voices of the pirates themselves. Initially installed at Redline Contemporary Arts Center (Denver CO), the project is ongoing and will continue to move and grow.
sample-ography
Here a list of resources for anyone interested in learning more about pirate radio, hardcore/jungle/drum & bass, and all the other related topics touched upon by this project:
Can’t Stop the Pirates Video Playlist:
Listen to an amazing selection of pirate radio tapes from the late 1980s into the 21st century via Take Me Back: Pirate Radio Archives:
Other video (not on youtube)
Stay Sailing, directed by Michael Chandler
Online bibliography
Tortugan tower blocks? Pirate signals from the margins, Alexis Wolton 2010
Rave and jungle on UK pirate radio, Simon Reynolds, 1998
Prometheus Radio Project - Q and A About Pirate Radio
Muzik Magazine Article ‘Ariel Warfare’, Jonty Adderley (aka Jonty Skrufff), July 1995 (p12-14)
CUrrent and former pirates online
Kool London
Rinse FM
Eruption Radio UK
Articles, Audio Documentaries, Research, Ephemera
The Pirate Archive
AM/FM, London Pirate Radio History
Books
Energy Flash: A Journey Through Rave Music and Dance Culture - Simon Reynolds
Sonic Intimacy - Reggae Sound Systems, Jungle Pirate Radio and Grime YouTube Music Videos - Malcolm James
State of Bass - The Origins of Jungle/Drum & Bass, Martin James
All Crew - Journeys Through Jungle/Drum & Bass Culture, Brian Belle-Fortune
Renegade Snares - The Resistance and Resilience of Drum & Bass, Ben Murphy & Carl Loben
DIY Culture - Party and Protest in Nineties Britain, Edited by George McKay
Drum & Bass in Denver
start your own pirate radio station
https://freemedia.blogspot.com/2020/01/how-to-set-up-pirate-radio-station.html
http://destructables.org/destructable/pirate-radio-two-downloadable-manuals
Photo credit: Andy Catlin, from Muzik Magazine, 1995 (link to magazine in bibliography above)