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

Riddim is the Jamaican Patois pronunciation of the English word "rhythm". In the context of reggae, dancehall and séga music, it refers to 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. The resulting song structure is distinctive in many ways. A given riddim, if popular, may be used in dozens—or even hundreds—of songs, not only in recordings but also in live performances.

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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 is a Jamaican reggae/dub sound system operator who has been operating 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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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dubplate</span> Acetate recording disc

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sleng Teng</span> 1985 single by Wayne Smith

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wayne Smith (musician)</span> Jamaican reggae and dancehall musician

Wayne Smith was a Jamaican reggae and dancehall musician best known for his 1985 hit "Under Me Sleng Teng", which is regarded as the track which initiated the digital era of reggae.

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Black Chiney is a Jamaican sound system based in Miami, Florida. It consists of four Chinese Jamaicans: Supa Dups, Bobby Chin, Willy Chin and Walshy Fire. The Caribbean slang "Black Chiney" refers to this racial mix.

Founded in the summer of 1969, Killamanjaro is a Jamaican sound system best known for their clashes and large amount of classic reggae dubplates.

Sentinel is a reggae and dancehall sound system from Stuttgart, Germany, best known for winning the 2005 World Clash in Brooklyn, New York.

Reggae is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. Australia has several bands and sound systems that play reggae music in a style faithful to its expression in Jamaica. Australia has a relatively small Jamaican community, but reggae penetrated local consciousness via the popularity of reggae among the non-Jamaican population of England in the 1960s and 1970s. Many indigenous musicians have embraced reggae, both for its musical qualities and its ethos of resistance. Examples include Mantaka, No Fixed Address, Zennith and Coloured Stone.

Subatomic Sound System, founded in 1999 by Emch and Noah Shachtman, is an American record label and collective hosting musicians, producers, DJs and visual artists from a variety of backgrounds and traditions. In late 2008, Subatomic Sound System garnered international attention for a limited edition vinyl 12" featuring their collaboration with Vienna's Dubblestandart and dub inventor Lee "Scratch" Perry, releasing the first songs from Perry in the dubstep genre, one of the first recorded examples of a tangible connection between the popular UK based electronic genre that emerged in the begin of the first decade of the 21st century and the Jamaican dub from the 1970s where dubstep's origins were rooted and which had been primarily originated by Perry himself. Beginning in 2008, Subatomic Sound System started hosting weekly radio shows on 91.5fm, Radio New York and webcast on Brooklyn Radio. In 2011 Subatomic Sound System began performing as Lee "Scratch" Perry's backing band with a hybrid of electronics and live instruments. In 2013 they performed together at Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival and afterwards became Perry's exclusive touring band in North America. In 2017, Subatomic Sound System released their first full-length album with Perry entitled 'Super Ape Returns To Conquer' which debuted No. 5 on the Billboard reggae chart and No. 2 on iTunes US reggae album chart and reached No. 1 on North America World music NACC charts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Teacha Dee</span> Musical artist

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Walshy Fire</span> Jamaican-American DJ

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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Erik Weiss better known by his stage name Liondub, is an American DJ, producer, and Record Label owner who specializes in jungle, drum and bass, reggae, dancehall, hip hop and dubstep.

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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. p. 1.
  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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