Page 24 - Zone Magazine Issue 007

How did Power FM Dublin's longest running dance music radio station kick off how did it all start, and who are the original crew that started it, what's its history?
The station was started by Brian Chamberlain and Brian Kehoe sometime in 1992. The story goes that Brain Chamberlain walked into the shop that the other Brian worked in and told him he was going to start a radio station. It began as a small local pirate radio station called Kiss FM and originally broadcast across West Dublin. It evolved into Power FM a short time later and things started to grow from there. Originally the station was based out in Palmerstown but over the last 23 years it’s moved home several times. The studio has been located in Neilstown, Ballyfermot, Nth Great Denmark St, Parnell St, Glasnevin and most recently around the Portobello area. The two lads set it up as they were big into the emerging dance scene and wanted to actively contribute to its growth.
From around 1995 the station quickly grew in size and popularity and attracted DJs from the various underground genres to its roster. From the mid to late 1990's it featured shows from local club DJs including Liam Dollard, Billy Scurry, Warren K, Deasy, Mark Dixon and Johnny Moy. It was also an early supporter of the jungle scene and was the first Dublin station to broadcast a regular jungle show. Over the years it’s tried to cater for dance music tastes that weren't being catered for by the mainstream radio stations. Because of its pirate status it moved around the radio spectrum and experienced a few temporary voluntary
periods off air until eventually ceasing FM Broadcasts in 2003. The station's had a website since 1997 and had already begun broadcasting on the internet in the late nineties but in 2003 it made the switch to a pure online radio station. It did return to the FM band for a brief spell in 2009 when it was granted a temporary licence for a 10 week period.
What's the secret to your continued success?
The stations music policy has always been all-encompassing - house, techno, jungle, reggae, electronic, northern soul, jazz, disco, hip-hop and whatever else you're having. Most of the DJs on the station would also have been playing gigs or promoting their own gigs around the city. When visiting DJs came over to play a club night in Dublin they'd drop into the station with their records and play for a while. Some of those who have guested on the station are Derrick May, Jazzanova, Kevin Saunderson, Suburban Knight, DJ Trace, Mixmaster Morris, Afrika Bambaata and Andy Smith.
It's really incredible to think of all the people who've been involved over the years and I guess that's what keeps it going. It's always existed based on the efforts of a relatively small number of people but with the goodwill and support of so many more. For a lot of people the station was the soundtrack to those early years of Dublin’s burgeoning dance music scene. You have to remember that those were the days before you had instantaneous access to every song ever recorded. I think the fact that it still features real DJs with a love for music is what keeps it relevant – each show has
its own distinct flavour. On lots of other radio stations you only get one flavour – and it’s usually vanilla!
How has the underground scene evolved in Dublin since the hedonistic early days in the early 1990's, and where do you see it now progressing?
Rave and club culture is mostly just another form of entertainment these days. The feeling of having something special outside the mainstream is not as strong. The rate of innovation in the music has slowed up somewhat, there is still new music to be found, but it's not the norm. Many genres were codified in the 90s, and haven't changed all that much. Time was, you could hear a new sound in the club every week. Now it's every couple of years!
Unfortunately Dance music stations have appeared and disappeared over the years in Dublin and around the country, was this attributed to big bulky expensive equipment, legal issues on licensing, heavy handed policing, sour grapes, and how has the internet changed the game?
We wouldn’t say it was the bulky equipment; we would have to go with licensing. You still need about the same amount of equipment to go online and sound good, so licensing and FM costs can be off putting. So some of these things you don’t really have to worry about when you are online.
" Power FM has always stood for musical freedom. They took a chance on Jungle 20 years ago when no-one in Dublin wanted to know, and that trust in the DJs continues to this day. Me and Stacks' show could have Footwork one week and Krautrock the next. Anything can happen! "
DJ Ross Carroll (23 years at Power FM)
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