SSO#10 Frames and Frequencies

Sound System Outernational (SSO) in association with Sonic Street Technologies (SST) and the 8th Global Reggae Conference proudly presents:

SSO#10 Frames and Frequencies:
Films on Sound System Cultures Worldwide

SSO#10 Frames and Frequencies is a one-day film festival premiering sound system films from six continents. Taking place on Thursday 15th February 2024, as a contribution to the 8th Global Reggae Conference, SSO and SST present 13 films showcasing an amazing range of sound systems and their musical and cultural scenes.

Documentaries from Jamaica explore the island’s rich sound system heritage and its future, while shorts from India, South Africa and the UK show the international diaspora of reggae sound systems. Films on Brazil, Colombia and Dominican Republic feature pícos, aparelhagens, customised sound system vans and other unique scenes and technologies that have grown up independently from Jamaican influence.

This is the first ever event to highlight both the variety of sound system types and the common cause of providing musical entertainment out on the street.

Many of the films have been made by the sound systems themselves, as commissioned by the SST European Research Council project. This is a way of recognising the talent and knowledge of those already embedded in the sound system communities.

The SST-commissioned films include Survival: A Rasta Sound System Gathering with Kebra Ethiopia sound system (South Africa); Fear Not by 10,000 Lions (India); Bass Foundation Roots by BFR sound system (India); Spiritual Bass by Monkey Sound System; Street, Gender and Sound by Feminine Hi-Fi (Brazil); Heavy Congress by Francesco Vicenzi (Australia) and Life Together: Sydney’s First Women-led Sound System by Honey Trap sound system (Australia); and Sonando Con Proposito [Playing with Purpose] with Urabá Sound System Collective.

In addition to premiering SST-commissioned films, SSO#10 platforms existing exceptional work submitted to our open call. We’re excited to screen Zimmers of Southall by Hark1karan (UK), Más Fuerte by Sean Frank (USA and Dominican Republic) and Darien Lamen’s Now We Are Here: A Brief History of An Amazonian Sound System (Brazil).

In the evening, there will be a special screening of SST’s Jamaica documentaries, Sounds of the Future: A Jamaican Sound System Industry Reasoning Session and Rockers Sound Station: Tales of the Kingston Dub Club.

Sound system practitioners and filmmakers from around the world will be online for a Q&A after the screenings.

Join us on Thursday 15 February 2024 for this is a free-to-attend, hybrid event taking place both on Zoom and in-person at the University of the West Indies Mona campus in Kingston, Jamaica.

The SSO#10 screening programme forms part of the 8^th Global Reggae Conference. Running from 14-17 February, the conference will be packed with engaging presentations and panel discussions on the theme of A Century of Sound: Technology, Culture and Performance. More information is available here: https://www.mona.uwi.edu/events/8th-global-reggae-conference

Provisional schedule – Thursday 15 February 2024

Please note that this schedule may be subject to changes on the day

9:30am Jamaica time – Doors
9:50am – Welcome and introduction
10:00am – Survival: A Rasta Sound System Gathering (10 minutes) South Africa
10:10am – Bass Foundation Roots (10 minutes) India
10:20am – Fear Not (10 minutes) India
10:30am – Spiritual Bass: The Monkey Sound System Story (10 minutes) India
10:40am – Q&A

11:40am – Zimmers of Southall (8 minutes) UK
11:50am – Más Fuerte (15 minutes) USA and Dominican Republic
12:05pm – Today We Are Here: A Brief History of an Amazonian Sound System (20 minutes) Brazil
12:15pm – Q&A
1:30pm – Lunch

2:30pm – Doors re-open
2:50pm – Street, Gender and Sound: The Feminine Hi-Fi Experience (10 minutes) Brazil
3:00pm – Life Together: Sydney’s First Women-Led Sound System (10 minutes) Australia
3:10pm – Heavy Congress (10 minutes) Australia
3:20pm – Sonando con Proposito [Playing with Purpose] (40 minutes) Colombia
4:00pm – Q&A
5:30pm – Break

6:30pm – Doors reopen for special screening
6:50pm – Sounds of the Future: A Jamaican Sound System Industry Reasoning Session (48 minutes) Jamaica
7:40pm – Rockers Sound Station: Tales of the Kingston Dub Club (38 minutes) Jamaica
8:20pm – Q&A
9:30pm – Closing remarks and extra time
10:00pm – End