The J Files Podcast by triple j

12.07.2023

2023: The Year That Was

2023 had moments for huge celebrations - we were gripped by Matildas fever, celebrated the 50th anniversary since hip hop began its ascent to dominance, saw technology make the impossible possible and heard more great albums than we can count. And...

11.30.2023

DJ Shadow

DJ Shadow (Josh Davis) changed the game of instrumental hip hop in the 1990s. An early signee of British label Mo' Wax, his debut album Endtroducing….. blew minds with its fusion of electronic music and hip hop beats and it...

11.23.2023

Olivia Newton-John

Olivia Newton-John is one of the best selling artists of all time. Across a six-decade career that spanned music, stage, screen and health advocacy, she firmly embedded herself in our hearts. Before the huge success of Grease she’d already made her name as...

11.16.2023

Briggs

We’re handing the mic to Yorta Yorta rapper and Double J's Australian Artist of the Year winner Briggs. Adam Briggs has carved out such an important legacy in Australian music. From his early days in Shepparton, supporting artists like MC Reason, Funkoars and The...

11.09.2023

Ron S. Peno

He may not be a household name, but Ron S. Peno had all the makings of a star. From his smalltown regional NSW upbringing to his early glam and punk groups in Brisbane and Sydney, to wowing audiences overseas and being...

11.02.2023

Camp Cope

For eight years Camp Cope shook up the Australian music industry with their fearless anthems, raw punk rock and stand against sexism and harassment. After three albums, countless live shows and a music industry forever changed by their advocacy, Georgia Maq,...

10.12.2023

The Chicks

In the late 90s and early 2000s The Chicks (formerly The Dixie Chicks) were the biggest selling female group in the U.S—selling tens of millions of records and changing the face of country music. The trio weren’t afraid to do things...

10.05.2023

Jamiroquai

Jamiroquai’s blend of soul, funk, rock, house and jazz was an instant hit. Songs like ‘Cosmic Girl’, ‘Little L’, 'Love Foolosophy' and ‘Virtual Insanity’ are still on high rotation across dancefloors around the world. Fronted by charismatic singer Jay Kay, the English group are...

09.28.2023

The Birthday Party

Australian post-punk group The Birthday Party were loud, raucous and genre-defying. Forming in 1973 as The Boys Next Door, they found limited audiences on home turf and in 1980 they jetted overseas for a crack at breaking into the London music scene, changing their name...

09.21.2023

Kylie Minogue

Australia has produced its fair share of pop stars, but few are as cherished as Kylie Minogue. From humble soap star beginnings to worldwide chart domination, moving effortlessly between pop, dance, and indie, she has truly earned her title as Queen...

09.14.2023

System of a Down

System of a Down's blend of thrash metal, alternative rock and politics was like nothing we'd ever heard before. Songs like 'Chop Suey', 'Aerials' and 'Toxicity' introduced new fans to heavy music in the late 90s and early 2000s – and...

08.10.2023

Kendrick Lamar

On the 50th anniversary of hip hop The J Files shines the light on one of the 21st Century's most important voices - Kendrick Lamar. The Compton rapper has had a stratospheric rise since releasing his early mixtapes under the name K.Dot. With five...

08.03.2023

The Panics

Twenty years ago The Panics (Jae Laffer, Drew Wootton, Paul Otway, Jules Douglas and Myles Wootton) released their debut record A House on a Street in a Town I'm From. It was brimming with sun-streaked visions and hazy memories of the people,...

07.27.2023

Angélique Kidjo

Angélique Kidjo's powerful voice, infectious enthusiasm and fusion of African rhythms and dancefloor-ready pop music has had the world grooving for close to four decades. Born in Benin, the singer songwriter and activist moved to Paris in her 20s and is now...

07.20.2023

Women in Hip Hop

From its South Bronx beginnings to being the dominant force in music, the evolution of hip hop has been extraordinary – and incredible women have been there every step of the way. They’ve told their stories, vented their spleens, and brought...

07.13.2023

Courtney Barnett

Courtney Barnett is one of the most important songwriters of a generation. Songs like 'Avant Gardener', 'Depreston' and 'Pedestrian at Best' find joy in the mundane and have taken Courtney's self-deprecation, dry sense of humour, and playful storytelling to an international audience. Courtney...

07.06.2023

No Fixed Address

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander listeners are advised that this program contains voices, names and music of people who have died. When No Fixed Address formed on Kaurna Country in the late 1970s, their fusion of rock and reggae was like nothing we'd...

06.29.2023

Kraftwerk

Kraftwerk were true innovators, blurring the line between human and machine and always on the forefront of musical technology. But how did these self-described musical outsiders from Düsseldorf, who were classically trained, neatly groomed, and softly spoken, go on to...

06.22.2023

De La Soul

Trailblazing trio De La Soul cemented their place in hip hop history with their astonishing debut album 3 Feet High and Rising which blended humour, playful samples and a flower power image that was at odds with gangsta rap ethos of the time. Over...

05.26.2023

Vale Joy McKean

Joy McKean isn't the biggest name in Australian music, but she has every right to be. The first ever Golden Guitar winner, the writer of so many of Australia's most iconic country songs, a workhorse who, along with her husband Slim...

05.18.2023

Depeche Mode

Depeche Mode have been an enduring force of electronic music for over forty years. On The J Files, hear the story of how a bunch of mates from Basildon, UK formed a synth pop band, rehearsed in a spare bedroom, and...

05.11.2023

Yoko Ono

Yoko Ono is a songwriter, a singer, a visual and performance artist, an activist, a feminist, a mother and a widow. She may also be one of the most misunderstood and maligned musicians of the twentieth century. This provocative artist has lead...

05.04.2023

The Cruel Sea

What do you get when you mix a bluesy instrumental surf rock band with one of Australia's most charismatic frontmen? The Cruel Sea. Tex Perkins was working as the band's lighting technician when he was invited to write and sing with...

04.27.2023

The B-52's

The story of how the B-52’s went from being a little dance band from Athens, Georgia to one of the world’s favourite party groups is a wild ride. Formed by five friends (Fred Schneider, Cindy Wilson, Ricky Wilson, Kate Pierson and...

04.20.2023

Ben Lee

From a very early age Ben Lee knew he wanted to be a pop star. He started writing songs in his bedroom as a 10-year-old before fronting the high school rock band Noise Addict at 14. The group drew the attention...

04.13.2023

The Music of David Lynch

Filmmaker David Lynch has been subverting our senses since his feature length debut Eraserhead in 1977. He’s consistently tread a hazy line between dream and reality, comfort and menace, innocence and perversion with television and films like Mulholland Drive, Twin Peaks,...

04.06.2023

Basement Jaxx

UK dance duo Basement Jaxx are responsible for iconic music videos and classic dancefloor tracks like ‘Where’s Your Head At’, ‘Red Alert’, ‘Good Luck’, ‘Romeo’ and ‘Do Your Thing’. Across seven studio albums—from 1999’s debut Remedy, to 2003’s Grammy-winning Kish Kash,...

03.30.2023

Sharon Van Etten

Sharon Van Etten is one of the most revered singer songwriters of our time and her songs make us feel things deeply. From 2009's sparse and delicate Because I Was In Love, to 2022's textured synth epic We've Been Going About This All Wrong, Sharon has...

03.23.2023

Outkast

When Outkast burst onto the scene in the early 90s they quickly shook up the notion of what hip hop could be. Hailing from Atlanta, Georgia the duo put Southern rap on the map and showed the world that the South had something...

03.21.2023

The J Files is back!

Double J’s music doco show The J Files is coming back! Bringing you the stories behind the music you love. We’ll be diving deep into tonnes of iconic bands and artists like Ben Lee, The Cruel Sea, Sharon Van Etten and Outkast. The J Files...

12.01.2022

2022: The Year That Was

When it comes to unforgettable moments in music 2022 did not disappoint.

11.24.2022

The Audreys

The Audreys went from small clubs in Adelaide in the early 2000s, to conquering the world's stages.

11.17.2022

Sunnyboys

When Sunnyboys splashed onto the Sydney music scene in 1980, their impact was immediate.

11.10.2022

A tribute to Archie Roach

Archie Roach was one of Australia's most loved and essential voices.

11.03.2022

Little Birdy

Little Birdy walked an exquisite line between joy and heartbreak.

10.27.2022

Mary J. Blige

Mary J. Blige is the Queen of Hip Hop Soul.

10.20.2022

Kimbra

Kimbra is a uniquely talented singer, producer, multi-instrumentalist, and collaborator.

10.13.2022

Green Day

Green Day have always been up for causing a ruckus.

10.06.2022

David Bowie

David Bowie impacted music in profound ways, well before the world was ready for such changes.

09.29.2022

Eddy Current Suppression Ring

Eddy Current Suppression Ring are one of Australia's finest ever garage rock bands.

09.15.2022

Gillian Welch

Gillian Welch is one of the most fascinating and endearing songwriters in contemporary music.

09.08.2022

D'Angelo

D'Angelo's moody experimentation and smooth voice brought a change to R&B and soul music.

09.01.2022

You Am I

Homegrown heroes You Am I have dominated Australian rock’n’roll for more than 3 decades.

08.25.2022

Cocteau Twins

Cocteau Twins were the blueprint for shoegaze and dream pop bands in the 80s and 90s.

08.18.2022

The Notorious B.I.G.

His time on this earth was tragically cut short, but Biggie's legacy has endured for decades.

07.28.2022

Drums and Drummers

Drumming is an intriguing and individual combination of skill, instinct and physicality.

07.21.2022

Gorillaz

With Damon Albarn's musical flair and Jamie Hewlett's proven record for creating engaging virtual characters, it's no wonder the collaboration has been so fruitful and successful.

07.14.2022

Florence + the Machine

The voice and songs of Florence Welch hit us like a brick from the very beginning. Such an auspicious start is a lot to live up to, but Welch and her band have delivered over and over again. Five albums in...

07.07.2022

Yothu Yindi

Yothu Yindi are one of the most important Australian bands of all time.

06.30.2022

Frenzal Rhomb

No one does rowdy punk rock quite like Frenzal Rhomb. The Sydney band have always stood out with their crude lyrics, on-stage shenanigans and strong sense of social awareness.

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