Triple J

Known for constructing fairly complex, full songs, at least by standards of the genre. While their music, as with most late-'90s happy hardcore, is vocal-driven and based around a simple 4/4 time, 180+ bpm kickdrum beat, the bass tracks, stabs, and other secondary aspects are often very intricate, and they make good use of horns in stabs and melody.

History in Brief:
Triple J first began its life on the airwaves as the AM station 2JJ, on 19th January 1975 in Sydney, Australia. In 1977 the station began recording artists and today the 'Live At The Wireless' recordings are hugely popular.

On the 1st August 1980 2JJ moved to FM broadcasting under the new name 2JJJ and nine years later a effort was made to expand the station to play in all capital cities around Australia, as well as Newcastle in New South Wales. This move made 2JJJ the only national youth radio station in Australia.

In 1995 Triple J, as it was now known, (or JJJ for short) expanded its broadcast to 18 rural locations around Australia aiming to eventually reach 46 regional centers of the country. 1996 saw JJJ broadcast to just about anywhere in the nation.

Purpose and aims:
The official JJJ website states:

'triple j strives to be an entertaining, innovative and accessible voice for young Australians, forging a broad musical identity and giving emphasis to new and emerging music and artists. By broadcasting at least 35% Australian music content annually, including live performances, triple j remains one of the loudest supporters of Australian musical and performance artists. Leading and contributing to the expansion of youth culture is the main objective, as well as encouraging freedom of opinion and artistic endeavor, and presenting independent and accurate news and challenging information in a global context.'

Triple J prides itself on following this ethos and in truth is more successful than most youth organizations around today. A large part of this success, I believe, is based in the presenters / DJ's who seem to genuinely enjoy their work and remain fresh and in touch with the listener base.

Features:
Like all radio stations, Triple J runs its daily broadcast of music and news but that isn't all they do. Triple J has long been a staunch supporter of Australian culture and as such puts a lot of effort into promoting festivals, concerts, tours, youth movements and causes. Some of the trademarks of the station are:

• Live At The Wireless - Live recordings of various artists, both concerts and live 'on-air' appearances.
• Unearthed
• Hottest 100
• Super Request - Listener requests determine the content of this program, which takes place every weeknight.
• The J Files - A weekly three hour slot that focuses of a theme / artist / genre / time period, and takes an indepth look at what it is that constitutes the subject at hand.