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Founded in Alexandria, St. Ann, in rural Jamaica, hence the tagline "from way out in the country", Bass Odyssey is one of the few sound systems that maintains the authentic sound system format with huge amplified portable speakers, stacked as columns for a live performance. Founder and owner Keith Walford was involved with music from an early age. After graduating from York Castle High in 1976, young Keith partnered with his father to expand his local mechanic business by working as a vendor and operator of jukeboxes and gaming machines across the island. As both a hobby and small business gig, young Keith would play vinyl and cassettes on his massive component set at small events such as weddings and birthday parties. Simultaneous with his increasing demand was the re-emergence of the sound system era in the Jamaican entertainment scene in the mid-1980s which inspired his path to establish the Bass Odyssey Sound System in 1989. For this reason, many dispute the established date of Bass Odyssey Sound System as 1989 due to the earlier career of Keith as a Dj and selector himself playing at numerous local gigs. Initially, the transition involved Walford, close friend at the time Bunny Hayles, Winston and first official selector Tenor One.
Rise of the Clashing Twins: Squingy and Glamma G
Bass Odyssey quickly gained popularity due to their clashing style which dominated the peak of the modern soundclash era in the early - mid 1990s. Keith transitioned from being a selector and MC and turned over those roles to Tinna-One, who was later joined by Glamma G. Around 1991, Kevin Squingy Bennett, newly graduated from Ferncourt High, joined the team as a drum machine player. Tinna-One took up opportunity and migrated to England, and Glamma G and Squingy quickly rose to stardom as 'the juggling/clashing twins' due to the similar appearance and energetic performance. Around this time (early 1990s), the Bass Odyssey name saw increased recognition and garnered a large following in the Jamaican diaspora in the US, Canada and the UK. With frequent tour dates, the team expanded to include Lenny, a longtime colleague of Glamma G (both had worked together on Amplex Sound System from Spanish Town) and later Dwayne, Worm and Skinny.
Bass Odyssey in the 1990s
As brand grew, so the crew. Some team members such as Hayles, Winston as well as Glamma G and Lenny went on to pursue other businesses or musical ventures. Walford maintained the sound system and built upon it and oversaw its significant growth, giving rise Squingy, Worm, Dj Mark and others who would become the face of the newly commercialized clash arena in the early to mid 2000s.[2]
Kevin Squingy Bennett
Selector Squingy (real name Kevin Bennett[3]) coined himself the "Michael Jordan" of sound clash and is still referred to as such by clash fans around the world. In the late 2000s, Bennett fell ill with a terminal illness and died in November 2009 at the age of 37.[3][4]
Bass Odyssey Now
Bass Odyssey has moved from mainly being a clash sound system to the broader role of a cultural and musical ambassador for Jamaica.[5] In 2011, Dj Mark went on to pursue other career paths after a colourful foundation with Bass Odyssey and handed leadership on to an energetic young team, several of whom worked as protégé under the influence of Squingy up until his death in 2009. Damien Delingy has assumed a leadership role on the sound, as had Worm after Bennett's death. Country Speng has also been handling some of their top-line events in Jamaica and abroad.
Bass Odyssey Sound System Festival
To celebrate its 25th anniversary celebrations, the sound system hosted Jamaica's first ever sound system festival on 8 August 2014 in Richmond, St. Ann. The annual dance has been converted into a landmark event to salute the contribution of sound system to Jamaican culture and highlight an arena that has been overlooked and needs legislative help to survive.[6][7]
Special performances
World Clash 2012 Jamaica [8]David Rodigans birthday bash in 2003[9] and the Riddim Clash 2006, a yearly sound clash sponsored by the German reggae magazine Riddim.[2]
Bass Odyssey have won the 2006, 2007, 2008, 2014 UK Cup Clash Soundclash (it was not held from 2009 to 2013), the New York World Clash[10] and Jamaica World Clash 2005, 2007, and 2012[11][12][citation needed][13]). Most recent clash wins include Guinness Sounds of Greatness 2010[14] and UK Tag Team Cup Clash 2010 alongside David Rodigan and One Love both sound systems out of Europe. In 2011, Keith Walford was elected to the Parliament of Jamaica, representing the St. Ann district for the People's National Party.[1]
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