One of the most common issues for SST cultures around the world is certainly the difficulties to find spaces to play, which affects literally every scene we are researching. This is caused by a combination of reasons, including middle class disdain for street cultures, institutionalised racism against Black music, and widespread urban gentrification. As a result, anti-rave laws […]
ST is always ready acknowledge scholarship exploring black music and technology. As well as well as the work of sound system and other professionals, researchers also have a valuable role to play in helping to give recognition and respect to the creativity that often starts at street level. Dr Monique Charles is an inspiring Black […]
Distant Drums is a mixed-media art installation designed and produced by Whispered Tales. It combines digital animation, music and dance to tell the story of Reggae sound system culture and the importance of music in the fight for racial equality and justice. Distant Drums impressively plays with the different elements which make a sound system […]
Continuing the series drafting the theoretical basis of SST Research (see pt.1 and pt.2), this second part goes into some detail on the nature and characteristics of black knowledge and its production. This identified kinds of knowledge that are situated, embodied and shared. Such ways-of-knowing can be described as vibrational in terms of the standard […]
Second in a series of blogs on SST research (read here the first piece), this article considers different knowledge systems in order to locate, recognise and give value to the ways-of-knowing of audio engineers. Knowledge comes not only from data, information or scientific laws; it is also embodied in the techniques and practices of SST engineering. Appreciating this is one of the major […]
Technology will save us, big tech tells us; others are more sceptical, offering low-tech solutions as less destructive of human life and the planet. Certainly, the technological transformation of substantial sections of humanity needs to be better understood. The claim here it that this understanding is already present amongst us […]