*****NEWS***** Join us for a free 0860 exhibition in London: Somewhere About Town Astrophonica & Utile present an exhibition of artworks, photography, artefacts and performances celebrating Pirate Radio culture running 15th - 17th November at The Hackney Gallery. The private view is on 15th Nov 7-11pm with a live cassette loop performance of Fracture’s ambient Jungle album ‘SLOW860’ and some very special DJ sets which we’ll announce shortly. It’s free and will be a vibe so it would be...

*****NEWS***** Fracture's new SLOW860 album ⁠⁠here⁠⁠ Join the Astrophonica Discord ⁠⁠here This week, we have the free-thinking grime historian and modern-day UK music icon, Elijah. He’s a writer, DJ, artist manager, and co-founder of the record label Butterz. With a background in pirate radio, he has evolved into a cultural commentator through his Yellow Squares project on Instagram, which you should definitely check out if you haven't already. He uses this project as a canvas to...

*****NEWS***** Preorder Fracture's new SLOW860 album ⁠here⁠ Join the Astrophonica Discord ⁠here Sweetpea is a Producer, DJ, Radio Presenter and Mentor from London who cut her teeth on the legendary Rude FM 88.2 in late '00s. She is another guest on the show that has gone from humble Pirate Radio beginnings to hosting a show on BBC Radio, and someone who has a deep respect for community and the uplifting of others via her work with EQ50 - a mentoring initiative set up to address the...

Welcome to Season 2 of the 0860 Podcast.... *****NEWS****** Preorder Fracture's new SLOW860 album here Join the Astrophonica Discord here DJ Bailey is an important DJ in the history of Jungle and Drum & Bass, a resident at the legendary Metalheadz Blue Note Sessions in the mid 90s, a 10-year BBC 1Xtra DJ in the 00s and of course has a history in Pirate Radio on Energy 87.9 FM. He’s an experienced A&R and label owner with Instasound and the passion for finding and...

On this episode we have the legend that is DJ Krust - an iconic figure the early Jungle and drum and bass scene and part of a wider Bristol collective that has contributed so much to the music including top 10 hits, a mercury music prize and some of the most timeless classic tracks that have defined the genre. We talk about his early days in Pirate Radio and how the DIY and Punk mentality is something that runs through his career right up to the present date. He discusses dub plate culture...

Warlock played on the notorious Pulse FM 90.6 in the early 90s but started his pirate radio career before that by starting his own station from his university halls of residence. The main reason I wanted to talk to him was that he was involved in a studio raid in which the police and DTI broke down the studio door and confiscated his records. He’s an amazing archivist that holds memories close to his heart but is also always looking to the future for the next sound with excitement and...

A conversation with the prolific and ever enthusiastic Tim Reaper. He’s known for his immense work ethic both as an artist and as label owner for futureretrolondon and has regular shows on NTS and Jungletrain. I’ve been wanting to speak to him for some time for many reasons but mainly because he makes incredibly authentic Jungle but comes from a time after the Pirate Radio era. We speak about his understanding of Pirate Radio and the impact it’s had on the music. We discuss the concept of...

Get ready people, we have an amazing episode up next on the 0860 Podcast - The incredible multi-award-winning rave historian - Uncle Dugs. Pirate Radio runs through this man’s veins. From his early days on Conflict in the mid 90s, through to time on Kool London and then with Rinse FM as station manager and now weekly Friday morning show. But, what makes dugs so great is that he comes from a listener background. He was as fascinated and infatuated with Pirate Radio as I was. He still gets...

This episode I have something slightly different in that the guests don’t have a background in Pirate Radio as they were too young at the time but are from the generation that are certainly influenced by it. I think it’s incredibly important to speak with younger people involved in radio and to discuss the legacy and to hear their thoughts. So - I give you the incredible and dynamic duo Naina and Sherelle. Both came through the community station based in Brixton - Reprezent. It’s a great...

Om Unit & Laurent Fintoni ran an early online stream from their front room in Tulse Hill called La Maisonette Electronique from 2010 to 2013. It was a real community hub with artists from all over the world crashing at their flat while on tour and then playing on the stream. It was an incredible time of cross pollination of styles and really helped paved the way for me to make tracks such as Loving Touch and opened my ears to artists outside of my Jungle roots. We went off on a real deep...

Flipping it again slightly this time this guest - the first MC we’ve had on 0860.fm - and none other than the legendary and enigmatic Stamina MC. He’s the voice of the Rinse FM jingles and also has a show as DJ on there, in fact along with Slimzee he is the only original member from the Pirate Era still on the station. He was DJ Flight’s MC on Pressure and then Rinse and is incredibly humble about the whole thing. He’s a real connosure and purist and does music for music’s sake. We talk about...

Very excited to present the next guest in the series - The unstoppable DJ Mantra. At this point she needs little introduction but if you don’t know she - along with partner Double O - is responsible for what has become London’s premier Jungle night - Rupture. They’re actually just about to celebrate their 16th year running. It’s a grass roots event and community and this extends to her work with EQ50 - a collective of women working towards fairer representation within drum and bass. A real...

In this episode I’ll be speaking with Missing aka Sam Gordon. Sam had one of the biggest pirate radio tracks I can remember in 1995 with The Box Reopens on Kemet Records - A remix of a track originally by Noise Factory. Honestly, I heard this track so much on the airwaves back then and it got me thinking, did it get as much play in the clubs and thus did pirate radio offer a space for tracks to grow and gain an audience outside of clubs. This turned out to be a really fascinating...

Wow, what can I say about this guest. This is the guy that sparked this whole project off. The legendary Kool FM founder - Eastman. We talk about founding Kool, some of the different studios and experiences - including using a fishing rod to cast electrical cables from one tower block to another. He's incredibly humble about the whole thing considering how quite how much Kool FM has touched people's lives. I really can’t quite express how grateful I am for what he and Kool FM did for me...

In this episode we have artist and avid Kool FM listener Eddie Peake. As an artist his work includes performance, video, photography, painting, sculpture and installation. Across many of his works he has included Kool London, most recently in his 2018 Show ‘Concrete Pitch’ at the White Cube Gallery where he actually had Kool London set up and broadcast a live stream. His love for Jungle and Kool FM runs deep and he also recently reissued Gappa G and Hypa Hyper’s Information Centre - which was...

Today on 0860.fm we have Dextrous. A proper goosebumps one for me this - his Jungle tracks in the early 90s were always some of my faves. Including Kings Of The Jungle, Selector Roll and Time To Move. We talk about how Pirate Radio gave him insight and exposure to Rare Groove, a genre that he took influence from to create his Jungle tracks that would then go on to get rinsed on Pirate Radio and influence younger generations such as myself. We discuss his relationship with communities from...

This time we have the one and only Scratcha. He’s had a career in radio since 2001 on stations such as De Ja Vu, Rinse and currently NTS. He’s worked extensively with Kode9’s Hyperdub and is now setting trends with his undeniably UK take on Amapiano. We talk about his history on Pirate Radio and how it differs from his current show on NTS. He recounts many funny stories and anecdotes but we also talk about his love for radio and how he still has it on all the time, literally all the time. He...

DJ Flight is an award-winning DJ, broadcaster and radio producer. DJ Residencies have included Metalheadz and Swerve and she’s been a favourite DJ of mine going way back to the end of the 90s. We speak about her journey from Pressure FM and Rinse FM to BBC 1xtra presenter to British Podcast Awards nominee for her amazing Windrush Stories podcast. We explore the common theme of community that ties all her projects together and how she continues to search for music that gives her a unique...

I am extremely honoured to present to you V Recordings owner and Kool FM legend - Bryan Gee. We talk about his time on pirate radio in the 80s, his time on Kool FM in the 90s and his V Recordings podcast that still runs today. As of the date of this new upload, he is back on Kool FM. This man lives and breathes radio and has a deep running passion in sharing music. Come and discuss the episodes and much more on the ⁠Astrophonica Discord Follow Fracture on Instagram, Twitter, Bandcamp,...