The author addresses the role of place in the emergence of Toronto’s reggae subculture between 1979 and 1990 by offering spatial readings of venues such as clubs, private events, and urban streetscapes to demonstrate how sound created bridges for cultural exchange between people of different ethnicities, particularly between Jamaican migrants and white, Canadian hosts. The author lists individuals such as Phil Vassel and Mike Smith, whose relatives owned sound systems which they kept in their basements, where smaller private parties were held in the Jamaican migrant communities in Toronto. See especially chapter 5, “Place and Meaning in Toronto’s Reggae Text.”

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