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This short film captures the joyful spirit of the SOUND SYSTEM CULTURE Mini Festival in Huddersfield on Sunday 15 September 2024!

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𝗟𝗘𝗧’𝗦 𝗣𝗟𝗔𝗬 𝗩𝗜𝗡𝗬𝗟 𝗕𝗬 𝗥𝗔𝗦 𝗠𝗬𝗞𝗛𝗔 NEW CHILDREN’S BOOK AVAILABLE IN A LIMITED EDITION

𝗟𝗲𝘁’𝘀 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝘆 𝗩𝗶𝗻𝘆𝗹, written and illustrated by 𝗥𝗮𝘀 𝗠𝘆𝗸𝗵𝗮 — previously the author of the children’s book The Sonar System — explores another facet of music technology, presented in words and pictures that are immediately accessible to young readers.

From the initial concept of the words and melody as an inspiration in the mind of a songwriter, to the final finished disc ready to play on a modest turntable or an authentic sound system, the book follows the creation of the shiny vinyl record through each stage of the production process. The vivid imagery is complemented with a straightforward, no-nonsense text, a combination that will immediately capture the imagination of its youthful audience.

The often-complex roles of producers and sound engineers — and of course the singers and musicians — are outlined in an easy-to-understand narrative, aided by the author’s stunning hand painted illustrations inspired by orthodox Ethiopian art and urban street art. Recording, mixing, and then the actual cutting and manufacturing of a disc, are all clearly described, right up to point where the vinyl is available in record shops.

As with 𝗥𝗮𝘀 𝗠𝘆𝗸𝗵𝗮’s first publication, encouragement for a book as a child’s introduction to the magic of vinyl came through arts organisation Let's Go Yorkshire. 𝗥𝗮𝘀 𝗠𝘆𝗸𝗵𝗮 shared his enthusiasm for the creation and development of the book, stating, “Creating 𝗟𝗲𝘁’𝘀 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝘆 𝗩𝗶𝗻𝘆𝗹 has been an incredible journey. I wanted to craft a book that not only educates but also inspires a new generation of music lovers. Through this book, children can discover the wonders of music production and the timeless charm of vinyl records.”

Aimed at children aged 8-12, the book is available in a limited edition hardback (one of only 300 copies). Priced at £10 plus P&P, please email 𝘀𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝘀𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺𝗰𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲𝘁𝗼𝘂𝗿@𝗴𝗺𝗮𝗶𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺 to place your order.

#LetsPlayVinyl

𝗔𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗮𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗿

𝗥𝗮𝘀 𝗠𝘆𝗸𝗵𝗮 grew up in the French capital Paris, and was already a name on the sound system scene — the collectives of MCs, DJs and musicians whose booming presentations have encapsulated Jamaican culture in the Caribbean, the UK and elsewhere. That background became the inspiration in 2015 for his first book, The Sonar System, in which he set out to introduce children to the ways of the sound system. As he explained at the time, writing a book was akin to writing music and verse: “I’ve done writing for a long time, writing songs and poetry, but it was my first time for a children’s book. Writing a book for a child is very similar to a song: short, simple, effective, like a lot of parables.”

Photos by Laura Mateescu

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Sound System Culture Mini Festival

Sunday 15 September 2024

Review by Gopal Dutta

It’s a rainy September afternoon in the centre of Huddersfield, and I’m on Wood Street for the Sound System Culture Mini Festival, part of the nationwide Heritage Open Days programme.

The street transforms into a vibrant, colourful space where everyone is welcome. Gazebos shelter the Zion Inna-Vision Sound System, alongside several stalls catering to the daytime crowd who have braved the showers. There’s face-painting, vegan food and cakes, cards, and books on offer. Rainbow-coloured bunting flutters in the wind, the whole scene giving me that “festival” vibe despite the poor weather.

In the glowing, cave-like atmosphere of the Northern Quarter bar, a steady stream of people take their seats around the large pull-down screen that has been especially set up, and an air of expectancy pervades the air. “Filling up nicely,” says Professor Julian Henriques, visiting from London to present a programme of documentaries commissioned by his research unit, Sonic Street Technologies, at Goldsmiths University. Every seat is soon occupied, and more attendees line the walls or sit on the steps, eager to share in this collective experience. The distant siren from the outdoor sound system blends into the indoor atmosphere, merging the worlds of film and reality.

Introducing the first film, a fascinating documentary about Gabre Selassie and the formation of the Kingston Dub Club, Julian acknowledges the importance of Huddersfield in reggae history, mentioning the legendary Venn Street nightclub and declaring that “Huddersfield in the 80s was the epicentre of reggae in the UK.”

The film programme is an excellent whistle-stop tour of the current landscape of sound systems around the world, taking in Jamaica, India, Colombia, Brazil, Australia, and finishing, with a poetic circularity, in South Africa. All of the films highlight reggae music’s power as a force for self-empowerment, community building, and as a social safety valve.

Throughout the screening, more people continue to file into the venue. Each time the door opens and closes, you can hear the outdoor sound system and the lively Brazilian drums performance by Grupo de Gringos Percussion.

As the films end to a warm applause from the audience, we are at standing room only, with a diverse mix of young and old, a wide range of races and cultures represented—Huddersfield’s diversity in all its glory.

The scene inside mirrors what’s depicted on screen inside: a dimly lit, atmospheric room with a diverse crowd, food, and drink being served. The team have done a great job recreating the vibe of a dub club.

As the energy from the films flows out into the street, the same heavy bassline fills the air, with people chatting, dancing, laughing, eating, and drinking, with DJ Andi G on the decks and Marshall on mic duties.

Eventually, the sun makes an appearance, and over the next few hours, more people arrive, swaying to reggae bassline. The free entry means many passersby pop in, drawn by the sweet music and vibrant atmosphere. Conversations flow, with strangers bonding over their shared love for the music, their faces lighting up as familiar tracks play. There is a collective cheer as Marshall exclaims, “We don’t want no rain no more,” echoing the crowd’s mood.

Riddim Master from Ras Ambassador Sound System then takes control of the decks, delivering an all-vinyl set that opens with Rod Taylor’s unmistakable "His Imperial Majesty" and the warm crackle of dub. Next up is Bigga Puss from Shakatone Esquire Sound System, warming up the crowd with a seamless selection of ska, rocksteady, and roots. As the familiar tones of “Kunta Kinte Dub” by The Revolutionaries fade in, a moment of recognition sweeps through the crowd. Finally, the legendary Papa Burkey, pioneer of the Earth Rocker Sound System from the 80s, takes over, keeping the energy high as the dancing continues, alongside Ras Sis Highness and Dee Bo General on the mic.

Well done to the event team for creating such a vibrant festival, much-needed entertainment in the heart of Huddersfield.

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SOUND SYSTEM CULTURE MINI FESTIVAL

Let’s Go Yorkshire, in collaboration with Sonic Street Technologies, presents a celebration of reggae sound system culture through film, music and dance!

FILM SCREENINGS 🍿

2 – 4 pm at Northern Quarter, Huddersfield

This special programme of documentaries and shorts celebrates reggae sound system culture from across the globe. Featuring Peoples Sound (UK), Rockers Sound Station: Tales of the Kingston Dub Club (Jamaica), Bass Foundation Roots (India), Word, Sound, Power (Colombia), Street, Gender and Sound (Brazil), Heavy! A Congress of Sound Systems in Melbourne (Australia), and Survival: A Rasta Sound System Gathering (South Africa).

REGGAE STREET PARTY 🎉 4 – 8pm on Wood Street (outside Northern Quarter)

Join us for a family friendly street party featuring Huddersfield’s original selectors Papa Burkey (Earth Rocker Sound System), Bigga Puss (Shakatone Esquire Sound System) and Riddim Master (Ras Ambassador Sound System), spinning a musical selection of ska, rocksteady, reggae and roots. Powered by Zion Inna-Vision Sound System. Plus, live performances by Legacy Steel Band and Grupo de Gringos Percussion.

This event forms part of Kirklees Heritage Open Days. For more info email soundsystemculturetour@gmail.com

#LetsGoYorkshire

#SonicStreetTechnologies

#KirkleesHeritageOpenDays

#NorthernQuarterHuddersfield

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Thanks to everyone who came to our 𝗧𝗢𝗪𝗡𝗦𝗢𝗨𝗡𝗗𝗦 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗲𝘁 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘆 🎉❤️💛💚

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𝗧𝗢𝗪𝗡𝗦𝗢𝗨𝗡𝗗𝗦 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗲𝘁 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘆 Review by Phil Wood

There are many definitions of a good day out, but one must surely be the experience of turning up to something which, on the face of it, seems incongruent and yet – after only a few minutes – feels entirely natural, like slipping on a well-loved shoe.

I needn’t have worried. Mandeep Samra and her Let's Go Yorkshire team already have a track record of doing surprising things in unexpected places, and this #TOWNSOUNDS Street Party took that tradition to a new level. Huddersfield Open Market was taken over and transformed into a music venue, art gallery, food and drinks hall and gigantic bass bin for a deep, rumbling dub reggae party.

Whilst there needn’t be any excuse for throwing a good party, the pretext here was the annual national celebration of Heritage Open Days. Mandeep has already demonstrated in Sound System Culture, Celebrating Huddersfield's Sound Systems - her 2014 book collaboration with Paul Huxtable - that the town has heritage here to rival anywhere outside Jamaica. Whilst the soaring iron trusses and elaborate foliate capitals of the Grade II* listed 1888 market, exude Victorian Huddersfield at the height of its powers.

But what might have seemed a jarring juxtaposition quickly found a close, almost organic harmony. This Victorian functional structure and dub reggae both, in their own ways, have drawn on the latest technologies and materials of their day to produce something timeless and natural. They have taken established forms, stripped them backed to their basics and reassembled them in ways which resonate across the ages and speak to us now in profound and emotional ways. There is nothing inherently organic about a cast iron pillar, a valve amplifier or a stack of elegantly carpentered woofers and tweeters, but in combination they exuded a warmth that drew people in.

And then there’s the music itself: conscious but easy-swaying, reviving mental and muscle memories and – in recognition of the heritage theme – taking us through the progression of ska, rocksteady, reggae, roots and dancehall of the last 60 years. Zion Inna-Vision Sound System furnished the equipment, Marshall D Luvjah Harriott, Positive and Dee Bo General selected the vinyl and Ras Sis Highness MC’ed.

And the crowd were part of the spectacle too. There were sistren and bredren of the Rastafarian community, ex rudeboys, suedeheads, lovers rockers and punks – born again for one night only, alongside freshly arrived international students checking out what their new home town had to offer. And the timing of the event – from 4.00 until 7.00 – encouraged families of all ages to attend, from toddlers to seniors, although I’m sure many would have loved it to have gone on much longer into the night.

Curry goat, plantain, jerk chicken, rice ‘n’ pea served up by OliveMae's Kitchen alongside Danya’s Vegan Kitchen (vegan Jamaican food) plus rum punch from Arcade Beers pop-up bar also considerably enhanced the good vibes of this lovely afternoon.

Being a market with fixed stalls, there was limited but adequate space for the dancers to do their thing, but the organisers made a virtue of the commercial infrastructure too. There were interesting specialist goods on sale, but also a creative flair which transformed many of the stalls into a pop-up art gallery. Let’s Go Yorkshire’s principal activity this year has been the creation of a heart-warming and historically important exhibition, charting the story of Huddersfield’s most important music scenes and genres, through the voices and imagery of their leading protagonists. It was great to see people who might not have encountered the #TOWNSOUNDS exhibition when it was on show in Huddersfield Art Gallery, checking out the photographs. I saw several folks walking past, idly scanning them from a distance, and then drawn into one where they might have seen a 40-year-old image of a friend or even themselves.

I was pleased with the flexibility of the space and multiple uses to which it could be put. It’s openness and permeability worked a treat too. One minute you could be in the throng, close enough to the speaker stack to feel one’s rib cage vibrate. But, on seeing an old friend for the first time in years, you could slip out to the edge or onto pedestrianised Byram Street for an intimate catch-up.

All-in-all, a match between venue, usage and message that seemed made in heaven and left one with the question why no-one had thought of doing this before.

Of course, when two mighty juggernauts as a sound system and cast-iron market come clashing together, there are always likely to be unforeseen consequences. So, when Zion Inna Vision were sound-checking and cranked up the volume, the iron framework began to vibrate so much that decades of dust and desiccated pigeon poo came showering down on the ground. Hopefully market officials will consider this a small price to pay for such a successful event, and that Huddersfield Open Market will be open to more of its ilk in the future.

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Let’s Go Yorkshire in collaboration with Huddersfield Carnival, AXIS VALV-A-TRON and Northern Quarter presents TOWNSOUNDS Street Party!

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Illustration by Peter O’Toole

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Rasta Yoga Musical Satsang powered by 10,000 Lions Sound System in Rishikesh in the foothills of the Himalayas

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SCOOPY illustration by Pablo Macías aka Chek Selectah

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RUDEBOY: THE STORY OF TROJAN RECORDS 2018 – TEASER

Rudeboy is a documentary about how Jamaican music launched a multicultural revolution told through a combination of archive footage, interviews and drama. The film explores the power of music to break down cultural barriers and change lives and the eventual birth of a modern multicultural society.At the heart of this cultural revolution, which first unfolded in the UK’s council estates and dancefloors during the late 60s and early 70s, was of course Trojan Records​, which provided the musical soundtrack that inspired and influenced a new generation of British youth.Directed by Nicolas Jack Davies, the documentary begins with the development of the sound-system culture in Jamaica before exploring the growth of the island’s recording industry that by the early 1960s gave birth to a new sound: ska.Later, the conflicting experiences of newly arrived Afro-Caribbean immigrants in the UK are highlighted before the film focuses upon the launch of Trojan Records and the effect of its music upon Britain’s white, predominantly working-class youths, who would soon be branded ‘skinheads’.As the Trojan story unfolds, its music and influence are further examined, as the company grows from a small independent to a major player on the global music scene. Finally, its sudden and dramatic demise in 1975 and subsequent revival is scrutinised in detail, along with its influence upon music around the globe up to the present day.

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2019 CALENDAR

Check out our 7 x 7 inch wall calendar featuring 13 pages of majestic artwork by Ras Mykha. Limited copies now available for order from PATATE RECORDS. We’re also giving away 5 calendars! For your chance to win this gorgeous GIVEAWAY, simply answer the question below.

Name 1 of the 4 venues where the Let’s Play Vinyl touring exhibition visited.

Winners will be randomly selected by Ras Mykha and notified by 1st October.

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The infographics pictured here visually represent data from feedback surveys and postcards completed by some of our exhibition visitors and workshop participants from the #LetsPlayVinyl tour.

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LET’S PLAY VINYL EXHIBITION

Let's Go Yorkshire presents #LetsPlayVinyl, an exhibition featuring 21 stunning photographs by Elliot Baxter portraying the next generation of reggae sound system operators across the UK. The exhibition runs until 29 June at Bronte Lecture Theatre foyer at the University of Huddersfield.

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LET’S PLAY VINYL ON HERITAGE HIFI

Massive thanks to Marshall (founder of Zion Inna-Vision Sound System) for encouraging visitors to play their fine selection of roots and dub music on #HeritageHiFi

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LET’S TOAST WORKSHOP

Big thanks to Dee Bo General for inspiring participants to compose their own lyrics and invite them to toast on the mic!