If you’ve tried to tune into ABC DiG radio today, you might have noticed something a little strange. Since this morning, the station has been playing different versions of “Express Yourself” on a continuous loop. Your ears aren’t deceiving you, this is a real thing that’s actually happening.
Ahead of the station’s rebranding as Double J, which launches on Wednesday at midday, the station will be playing nothing but the loop of 13 different versions of the song, originated by iconic soul band Charles Wright and the Watts, and brought even further into the mainstream by rap outfit the NWA, on repeat for the 48 hours leading up to Double J’s launch.
This practice is something of a tradition in radio circles, and tends to herald the arrival, or rebranding, of a particular station. It’s a tactic called “stunting” which is used to generate buzz or publicity as the station gears up for major change. In fact earlier this year probably the best stunting effort in the history of radio was pulled off when a San Francisco-area station played Nelly‘s seminal dance floor filling banger “Hot In Here” on repeat for three entire days straight to telegraph their rebranding from a Hispanic network to an English-based contemporary pop station now known as Hot 105.7.
Far from simply playing the one song on repeat, the JJ’s have gone all out for the radio stunt, having enlisted a bunch of mates to record exclusive reinterpretations of the song specifically for this 48 hour period. The Audreys, Wagons, and Darren Hanlon have all contributed recorded reinterpretations of the original classic, whilst Aussie hip hop producer and DJ Katalyst has added a remix of the NWA version to the rotation.
Other pre-existing versions in the 2 day loop include Jack Johnson, Labrinth, The Silencers (featuring Tim Armstrong of Rancid fame), Stretch Arm Strong, and Statik Selecktah.
You can check out the full track-listing along with the station’s explanation for picking the track over here.
And if you’re so inclined, tune into the 48 hour loop here, ahead of Wednesday’s launch, and re-emergence, of the almighty Double J.
