The only good system…
The Jamaican soundsystem—which took over from live bands in the late 1940s as the preferred form of entertainment among lower class black Jamaicans—is comprised of customized audio reproduction equipment, a group of people to operate it, a special selection of music that reflects the ‘vibe’ of the owners and operators as well as that of the fans who follow the soundsystem from event to event and place to place. Over the years soundsystems have been hailed as ‘cultural laboratories’, important sources of national identity, the ‘talking Gleaner’ (referencing Jamaica’s oldest newspaper and alluding to the civic role) and, to use the name of Jamaican soundsystem and ska pioneer, Prince Buster’s second generation soundsystem, ‘the voice of the people’. Lloyd Bradley, in his book Bass Culture, says the soundsystem is “more than simply somewhere to be”. It is, he says, “the community’s heartbeat”.
Indeed, the good system, is a soundsystem!
