A sound clash is a musical competition where crew members from opposing

sound systems In physics, sound is a vibration that propagates as an acoustic wave, through a transmission medium such as a gas, liquid or solid. In human physiology and psychology, sound is the ''reception'' of such waves and their ''perception'' by the ...

pit their skills against each other. Sound clashes take place in a variety of venues, both indoors and outdoors, and primarily feature

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...

and

dancehall 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.Barrow, Steve & Dalton, Peter (2004) "The Rou ...

music. The object is to beat or "kill" their competitors. In

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

, sound clashes, with their "violently martial ethos", 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 Tivoli Gardens, also known simply as Tivoli, is an amusement park and pleasure garden in Copenhagen, Denmark. The park opened on 15 August 1843 and is the third-oldest operating amusement park in the world, after Dyrehavsbakken in nearby Klam ...

) neighborhood of Kingston. Sometimes these clashes turned violent, with one system destroying the other system's equipment. The first reported clash was between Tom the Great Sebastian and Count Nick in 1952. Although sound clashes are perhaps most commonly associated with Jamaica, they also form an integral part of

Black British Black British people are a multi-ethnic group of British citizens of either African or Afro-Caribbean descent.Gadsby, Meredith (2006), ''Sucking Salt: Caribbean Women Writers, Migration, and Survival'', University of Missouri Press, pp. 76–7 ...

culture in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, with early proponents such as

Jah Shaka 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 t ...

running sound systems and engaging in sound clashes as early as the 1970s.

Franco Rosso Franco Rosso (29 August 1941 – 9 December 2016)Bill Douglas Centre"Franco Rosso 1942-2016" ''Babylon'', 27 December 2016.Martin Stellman"Franco Rosso obituary" ''The Guardian'', 2 January 2017. was an Italian-born film producer and director ...

's 1980 cult movie ''

Babylon ''Bābili(m)'' * sux, 𒆍𒀭𒊏𒆠 * arc, 𐡁𐡁𐡋 ''Bāḇel'' * syc, ܒܒܠ ''Bāḇel'' * grc-gre, Βαβυλών ''Babylṓn'' * he, בָּבֶל ''Bāvel'' * peo, 𐎲𐎠𐎲𐎡𐎽𐎢 ''Bābiru'' * elx, 𒀸𒁀𒉿𒇷 ''Babi ...

'' offered a look into London's sound system and sound clash culture, focusing on the

Deptford Deptford is an area on the south bank of the River Thames in southeast London, within the London Borough of Lewisham. It is named after a ford of the River Ravensbourne. From the mid 16th century to the late 19th it was home to Deptford Dock ...

and

Brixton Brixton is a district in south London, part of the London Borough of Lambeth, England. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. Brixton experienced a rapid rise in population during the 19th ce ...

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 The music of Jamaica includes Jamaican folk music and many popular genres, such as mento, ska, rocksteady, reggae, dub music, dancehall, reggae fusion and related styles. Reggae is especially popular through the international fame of Bob Marley. ...

from 1950 up to present recorded singles, and often utilize exclusive

dubplate A dubplate is an acetate disc usually of 10 inches diameter, traditionally used by Recording studio, studios to test recordings prior to Audio mastering, mastering for the subsequent pressing of a vinyl record, but pioneered by reggae Reggae sound ...

s. Occasionally, sound systems would go so far as to pay artists to secure exclusive use of dubplates. Appreciation for the dubplates and

riddim Riddim is the Jamaican Patois pronunciation of the English word "rhythm". In the context of reggae and dancehall, it refers to the instrumental accompaniment to a song and is synonymous with the rhythm section. Jamaican music genres that use the ...

s 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.

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". 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.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sound Clash Dancehall Reggae culture Music competitions fr:Clash (rap)