Sound clash

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A sound clash is a musical competition where crew members from opposing sound systems pit their skills against each other. Sound clashes take place in a variety of venues, both indoors and outdoors, and primarily feature reggae and dancehall music. The object is to beat or "kill" their competitors.

Contents

In Jamaica, sound clashes, with their "violently martial ethos", [1] date back at least to the 1950s, when systems like Tom the Great Sebastian and Duke Reid's the Trojan clashed in the old Back-O-Wall (now Tivoli Gardens) neighborhood of Kingston. Sometimes these clashes turned violent, with one system destroying the other system's equipment. [2] The first reported clash was between Tom the Great Sebastian and Count Nick in 1952. [3]

Although sound clashes are perhaps most commonly associated with Jamaica, they also form an integral part of Black British culture in London, with early proponents such as Jah Shaka running sound systems and engaging in sound clashes as early as the 1970s. [4] Franco Rosso's 1980 cult movie Babylon offered a look into London's sound system and sound clash culture, focusing on the Deptford and Brixton areas in particular.

Characteristics

In the early days of sound clashes, in Jamaican dancehall culture, sound systems would bring their own sound equipment—heavy bass sounds (that can be heard miles away) are especially important.

Sound clashes typically play Jamaican music from 1950 up to present recorded singles, and often utilize exclusive dubplates. [5] Occasionally, sound systems would go so far as to pay artists to secure exclusive use of dubplates. [6]

Appreciation for the dubplates and riddims played are shown in the form of "forwards", a surge of the crowd towards the front of the dance/towards the DJ booth. In particular, a "deep forward" originates from the back of a dance, where the aficionados (or "heads") typically stand.[ citation needed ]

Rules

The first round is no elimination, each sound system plays a set time. Second round each sound system plays but one sound system being eliminated by poor performance, poor quality or by playing back a song. Elimination continues until two sounds are left, for example Bredda Hype sound vs Sound Trooper. The time interval gets shorter and shorter, with the introduction of television clashes, so when playing returns to one sound again, they may only play a shorter time, 15 minutes. Near the end of the clash they go song on song or "Dub fi dub". [7] [8]

Traditionally, all dubplates must feature the DJ's name, marking it as exclusive for that particular DJ, otherwise the DJ faces instant disqualification. Also, if a DJ were to play a dubplate based on a "riddim" already played during the clash he/she could face disqualification.

Where only two sound systems are playing, winning is based on 10 dub plates in tune for tune, regardless of who leads all night.

Related Research Articles

In Jamaican dancehall music, a riddim is the instrumental accompaniment to a song and is synonymous with the rhythm section. Jamaican music genres that use the term consist of the riddim plus the voicing sung by the deejay. A given riddim, if popular, may be used in dozens—or even hundreds—of songs, not only in recordings but also in live performances.

Dub is an electronic musical style that grew out of reggae in the late 1960s and early 1970s. It is commonly considered a subgenre of reggae, though it has developed to extend beyond that style. Generally, dub consists of remixes of existing recordings created by significantly manipulating the original, usually through the removal of vocal parts, emphasis of the rhythm section, the application of studio effects such as echo and reverb, and the occasional dubbing of vocal or instrumental snippets from the original version or other works.

Dancehall is a genre of Jamaican popular music that originated in the late 1970s. Initially, dancehall was a more sparse version of reggae than the roots style, which had dominated much of the 1970s. In the mid-1980s, digital instrumentation became more prevalent, changing the sound considerably, with digital dancehall becoming increasingly characterized by faster rhythms. Key elements of dancehall music include its extensive use of Jamaican Patois rather than Jamaican standard English and a focus on the track instrumentals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jah Shaka</span> Musical artist

Jah Shaka, also known as the Zulu Warrior, was a Jamaican reggae/dub sound system operator who operated a South East London-based, roots reggae Jamaican sound system since the early 1970s. His name is an amalgamation of the Rastafarian term for God and that of the Zulu king Shaka Zulu.

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In Jamaican popular culture, a sound system is a group of disc jockeys, engineers and MCs playing ska, rocksteady or reggae music. The sound system is an important part of Jamaican culture and history.

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A dubplate is an acetate disc usually of 10 inches diameter, traditionally used by studios to test recordings prior to mastering for the subsequent pressing of a vinyl record, but pioneered by reggae sound systems as a way to play exclusive music. They would later become an important facet of the jungle/drum and bass, UK garage, grime and dubstep music scenes.

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Sleng Teng is the name given to one of the first fully computerized riddims, influential in Jamaican music and beyond. The riddim, which was the result of work by Noel Davey, Ian "Wayne" Smith, and Lloyd "King Jammy" James, was first released with Wayne's vocals under the title "Under Mi Sleng Teng" in early 1985.

The Stalag riddim is a popular reggae riddim, which came to prominence in the 1980s. It was originally written and recorded as "Stalag 17" by Ansel Collins and released by Winston Riley's Techniques record label in 1973. The riddim has been used on hundreds of derivative records.

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Damion Darrel Warren, best known as Teacha Dee, is a Jamaican reggae singer and former educator. He is best known for his hit singles "Smoke and Fly", "Reggae Souljahs" and "Smuggling Weed". He was a full-time employee for the Ministry of Education Youth and Culture in Jamaica when he recorded all three songs. His stage name was derived from the Jamaican creole for "teacher" and a shortening of his childhood nickname "Demus".

Tom the Great Sebastian was an early Jamaican sound system started by Tom Wong in 1950, named for a trapeze performer in Barnum and Bailey's circus. The group has been called "the all-time giant of sound systems" and helped launch several notable artists. Count Matchuki is generally credited as Tom's first deejay, before he joined Coxsone Dodd, and Duke Vin was one of Tom's selectors. The sound was also backed by Prince Buster. It was later known as Metromedia.

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Leighton Paul Walsh, better known by his stage name Walshy Fire, is a Jamaican American DJ, MC and record producer. He is part of the dancehall reggae-influenced group Major Lazer alongside fellow DJs Diplo and Ape Drums. Walshy Fire toured with the Black Chiney sound system beginning in 2004. Black Chiney is cited as a significant influence on the evolution of Major Lazer with its mashups that blend hip hop or R&B rhythms with reggae & R&B artist vocal tracks and its representation of the Jamaican sound system. The subsequent mix tapes that the Black Chiney collective of DJs, engineers and MCs would develop were the training ground for Walshy to become a remix producer.

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References

  1. ↑ Veal, Michael E. (2007). Dub: Soundscapes and Shattered Songs in Jamaican Reggae. Wesleyan University Press. p. 206. ISBN   978-0-8195-6572-3.
  2. ↑ Katz, David (2003). Solid Foundation: An Oral History of Reggae. Bloomsbury. p. 12. ISBN   978-1-58234-143-9.
  3. ↑ Katz (2003). Solid Foundation. Bloomsbury. p. 1. ISBN   978-1-59691-826-9.
  4. ↑ "30 years on: Franco Rosso on why Babylon's burning" . The Independent . 11 November 2010. Archived from the original on 2022-05-24. Retrieved 28 November 2010.
  5. ↑ "Pink Panther Promoter says Bredda Hype sound won War Climate clash - Entertainment - Jamaica Star - March 8, 2014". 2014-08-10. Archived from the original on 10 August 2014. Retrieved 2022-03-14.
  6. ↑ Stolzoff, Norman C. (2000). Wake the Town & Tell the People: Dancehall Culture in Jamaica . Duke University Press. pp.  201. ISBN   978-0-8223-2514-7.
  7. ↑ "The history of sound clash culture". Mixdown Magazine. 2022-03-09. Retrieved 2022-03-14.
  8. ↑ "A Brief History of Jamaica's Iconic Sound Clash Culture". PAPER. 2018-08-24. Retrieved 2022-03-14.
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