Roots Archives Forum

leggo rocker wrote:Sound System means Vinyl.

it means sound! so no matter if it's vinyl or cd...
I also saw many mp3 guys really good at djing!...

daCensoredOne, you once said to me "you can't call yourself a DJ for playing MP3s on the radio"

Actually I was playing my vinyl recorded to MP3 but that's hair splitting.

A Sound System traditionally has a certain structure.

Equipment:

A single record turntable
A set of amps, pre-amps and FX machines
Lots of banks of speakers

Staff:
An engineer (spends all session at the controls)
A selector (selects and swaps over records)
One or more 'Toasters' to chat on top of the sound.

This makes for a visually very exciting line up. And that is part of the thrill of going to a Sound System, seeing these guys at work flipping vinyl etc is awesome.

If a guy sits behind two decks, CD player, or whatever, then it's a DJ set up. Not a sound system.

Which is why I call my act Leggo Rocker's Hi-Fi. Because it ain't no Sound System.

Maybe times are changing, but I think this is how I, and the vast majority of reggae fans who witnessed Sound Systems in the flesh in the 70s and 80s, would think of it.

Precisely. I actually love reggae music, not the format it is released on. the most important thing for me is to be able to buy new music and participate in economic transations that benefit the producers and artists.

I must say, I'm pretty disappointed by the discussion here. To get caught up hoary old falsehoods such as reggae apparently being worse now than it ever was before, the (totally wrongheaded) view that "real" Jamaican music died as soon as Jammy drew for the Sleng Teng, and to take the stubborn, short-sighted Luddite stance of refusing to accept that new technologies have changed, and will continue to change the way that reggae is distributed and consumed, is to ignore the real issues.

Technologies do shift and music is always new at some point or other. For heaven's sake, history is littered with old guys clinging on to the past. People said exactly the same thing as you lot when soundsystem dances overtook live band shows, about King Tubby's dub experiments — in fact, every single development in Jamaican music (come to that, in music, period). Were they right? Of course they weren't and the fact that people from all over the world congregate on forums such as this to discuss, trade and love reggae proves that. Saying you don't care about new music is about as good as saying that you don't care about music at all. Reggae isn't just a history, but a living culture and it needs to be supported as such.

The reggae industry is going through a transitional period vital to its future. My piece merely made people aware of current market trends and the problems faced by various people in the industry. I did not wish to write anything detrimental to reggae nor anything that could potentially damage its future. I dealt with solid facts.

I'll say it once again: I love Jamaican music from the bottom of my heart and want to see it survive for generations to come. If you don't believe that, then think about it like this: As a journalist who predominantly writes about reggae. I have a vested interest in the music's continued success. After all, the more Jamaican artists who achieve global recognition, the more newspaper articles I get to write and the better I eat.

However, under present circumstances this is looking less and less likely to continue. The best thing about reggae has always been that it is not obscure underground music. It's the world's finest pop music. It's the soundtrack to millions of Jamaican people's everyday lives, and available to anyone in the world who wants to embrace it. What other music has reggae's reach? None.

That is the way it should be, but sticking doggedly to redundant tenchologies and rigid, unchanging ideas of what reggae is won't help matters. Make no mistake, I love vinyl and own a vast amount of the stuff. To be successful, though, music needs to be heard and distributed in forms that people can use.

As far less people in the world now own turntables and cassette recorders than have access to CD players and computers, blindly sticking with vinyl at the expenso of any other form is a suicidal move. Also, as filesharing and pirate websites have already had a massive effect on the sale of new reggae, producers need to embrace the internet and make it their friend, rather than the thing that will put them out of business. And, even if you don't like contemporary reggae, anyone with the slightest interest in Jamaican music, should care about what the future holds for the culture. Saying you "don't care" about new music is extremely thoughtless.

Like Cocoa Tea said, Reggae is the only music that all people can understand. Whether its the music or the words it has a special appeal.

Who is saying we have to stick 100% to vinyl? Not me. I'm part of a reggae band that has solely distributed it's work via CD and MP3, vinyl being un-economic to produce in such small runs.

The medium is a matter of choice. It's just that many have a preference, sometimes that can be quite marked.

All I have said, and others, is that we *prefer* vinyl. Sometimes, but not always, because we grew up with it and are most comfortable with it.

Using the word Luddite is ridiculous because many of us vinyl lovers have spent money getting the very latest technology to play the vinyl properly and to its best. Phono stages, modern cartridges, modern hi-tech speakers, hi-tech isolation.

Vinyl can be very much a hobby thing. What's wrong with vinyl as a hobby?

As for the point about the quality of reggae after the intro of digital music, again, that's a personal thing. And, given that this website is dedicated to pre-digital reggae why should anyone be surprised to find so many people here who take that particular view?

As for caring or not caring for the direction of reggae music. Well, perhaps it is at a natural end. Or, more accurately, has mutated to another beast. Just as many, or all, musical genres have done.

Blues changed from foot stomp, un-amplified vocals and anacoustic guitar to electric amps and drum kits. Some Blues fans won't listen to anything not recorded on the porch of some shack in Louisiana and that's their choice. Why should they be forced to change their tastes?

Saying "we don't care for the modern output" isn't the same as we don't care for the culture or the people. it means we don't like the music and we've lost interest in the people producing it as a result.

You seem to be arguing from a point of "it's new, you have to get used to it". But we don't have to. We can stay stuck in the past if that's what is most comfortable to us.

Like motorcycles for instance. Modern bikes can be easily argued to be far superior to their 'classic' counterparts. Faster, better brakes, more reliability and, at today's prices, generally cheaper. But ask any classic bike fan why he won't sell his old Rudge Ulster and replace it with a YZF R1 and he'll give you a very valid, if entirely personal answer.

Just for the record. I am not a digital format hater outright. I have a decent collection of post 1984 reggae but nothing after about 1995 because I've never heard anything that grabbed me from the modern era. Am I wrong for that? No! I am just me with my personal taste, that's all.

dacensoredone,

what region of the world do you live? I know in South Florida, you can see exactly what Leggo is talking about...and let's not forget Jamaica itself. So I would say "Museums".

I have also seen DJs using IPODS or CDs as well. They said it was to cut down on how much weight they had to lug around....when it came to the music.

I meant to add a ? after museums

England still has LOADS of genuine old skool Sound Systems, loads of them. But then England has long been very strong for reggae music outside Jamaica.

Gee wrote:dacensoredone,
I have also seen DJs using IPODS or CDs as well. They said it was to cut down on how much weight they had to lug around....when it came to the music.

I said it was quite rare... I'd say a ratio from 1 to 10... but it's only based on my small experience...

Proper Sound System might be rare in Italy maybe.

But in the English clubs I have been to lately if the sound man turned up WITHOUT vinyl he's be booed off stage right away - seriously!

Right or wrong Dj-ing without vinyl is still considered 'cheating' in this country. Although the DJ Traktor thing is very slowly taking hold in dance music.