In the second instalment of the Musical Youth blog series we saw how, from the 1950s to the early 1990s, reggae sound systems provided a refuge for first and second generation African Caribbean communities in the UK who were facing racism and persecution in wider society. After a hiatus during the rise in electronic music, […]
Sonics, long neglected as a sensory realm, has gained increasing attention over the past few decades — both in academia, with the rise of sound studies, and in the arts world. This renewed interest has opened up new ways of thinking about how we experience and engage with sound beyond the purely auditory. In this […]
With this first blog of 2025, the SST Goldsmiths team reflects on the achievements and challenges of the past year. Research-wise, we find ourselves in a strong position, having accomplished many objectives and successfully completed numerous tasks. This progress is largely thanks to the enthusiasm and hard work of our global team of researchers and […]
The intergenerational transmission of knowledge is crucial to the survival of any culture. Within the realm of sonic street technologies, this transmission occurs in the household, at sound system sessions, in workshop settings—or in record shops. Practitioners have consistently highlighted the significance of passing knowledge from elders to younger generations, as seen during the UK […]
On Sunday, September the 15th, some of the SST research films were screened at the ????? ?????? ??????? ???? ???????? in Huddersfield, Yorkshire, UK. The event was organised by Let’s Go Yorkshire in collaboration with Sonic Street Technologies and with support from Zion Inna-Vision sound system. SST long-standing collaborator Gopal Dutta reports on this inspiring […]
SST is very happy to preview Sound System Culture Mini Festival, a live screening programme and street party in Huddersfield, UK, on Sunday 15th September, details here. There’re several reasons for why we’re so pleased to be associated with Let’s Go Yorkshire for this event. One is simply that it is a little-known fact that […]
The bespoke, hand-made speaker box is an iconic feature of reggae sound systems. Since the scoop bass bin replaced the quad speaker box in the 1960s there has been comparatively little change in speaker box design. Amplifying however, has gone through several technological revolutions from valves in the early days to the highly efficient and […]
SST is pleased to report on a ground-breaking exhibition at the British Library in London. In recent years Black music culture has received more curatorial attention than ever before. This exhibition is a welcome contribution to that trend. Though the show does not focus on sound systems in particular, it provides a uniquely valuable story […]
Sonic street technologies’ relationship with music is organic and two-folded. The music can go from the street sessions and the house parties to the charts, and back again. The case of lovers’ rock is particularly representative. A homegrown British subgenre of reggae infused with soulful melodies and romantic lyrics, since the mid-1970s lovers’ rock found […]
This week’s blog continues the series on the intergenerational dimension of sound system culture in the UK by guest author Becca Leathlean. After writing on her own journey in reggae, from being a solitary record collector to selectress and broadcaster in this previous blog, it’s now the turn of the older generation to give their perspective on the current state of […]
The Reggae sound system diaspora Continuing the annual report with an account of the main research activities for the SST project in 2023, this week’s blog focuses on the reggae sound system and its technological diaspora. As a fact, whether playing dancehall, dub or revival, there are sound systems operating literally in every continent. This makes […]
The Jah Shaka Memorial Event is scheduled for next Sunday the 22nd of October. It will provide one more chance to the UK and international sound system community to gather in honour of the late great Jah Shaka, who passed away on April 12, 2023, and whose Nine Night celebration was held at Goldsmiths. Part […]
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 […]
The SST project has always been concerned with intergenerational knowledge transmission and exchange as this is absolutely essential for the street and popular culture to stand the test of time. We are glad to introduce a series of blogs by guest author, selectress Becca Leathlean who will report on issues such as young people involvement in reggae sound systems in […]
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 […]
Once again SST was proud to support a successful Sound System Outernational gathering, the SSO#9 premiere screening of UK Generation 2 Generation research documentary. This was based on the SSO#8 event, UK Sound System Reasoning Session, which took place at Goldsmiths in November 2022. That full day brought together different generations of British-based sound system practitioners […]
Bringing the practitioners’ voice to the fore, acknowledging their own understanding of what they do, and giving value to their own lived experience are important ways to ensure that the research is respectful of the grassroots scenes within which the knowledge is originated. As part of the non-extractive research ethos, filming research interviews opens up […]
Sound System Outernational #9: Premiere of UK Generation 2 Generation documentary film 6pm, Saturday 6th May 2023, Goldsmiths, University of London SST is proud to support Sound System Outernational #9, to be held at Goldsmiths University, London on Saturday 6th May 2023. SSO#9 will premiere the UK Generation 2 Generation documentary film, a compelling account […]
by Julian Henriques “For me Shaka was doing something different to the other DJ’s: his dancing and creative performance throughout the night. I was drawn to Shaka’s sound because of his individuality and that he didn’t isolate himself from his audience, always performing on the same floor level, as a part of the crowd. He […]
“It came to a time which you would have known as the black consciousness era, people like Angela Davis were going around giving speeches, Martin Luther King, George Jackson, all those people. Well, the sound, Shaka sound, developed then. Because of our history and knowing that a main part of communication and unity is to […]
Sound moves. It moves you – to feel and to dance. Sound itself moves – ‘cos its on wheels – as with roller skaters with sound system back packs. They qualify as sonic street technologies. This is a helpful prompt to broaden our thinking about mobile music machines in the way that it emphasises the […]
In the spirit of outernationalism for Sound System Outernational #8 SST asked for a report on the event we sponsored from Marcus Ramusyo Brasil, one of our Brazilian research collaborotors. This day long marathan session – from 10.30 am to 10.00 pm – was very well attended with about 150 participants, more than thirty of […]
Starting back in the 1980s, Lewisham People’s Day is a family-friendly, community free festival that brings together all ages, creeds and colours to celebrate the borough’s people and their creativity, vitality and imagination through music, art and culture. After a few years of forced stop caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, the event has returned to […]
Huddersfield is a town in Yorkshire in the north of England where the Caribbean diaspora has a long-standing presence. For a brief period in the 1980s, it has unexpectedly developed into one of the key centres of sound system cultures in the UK. Our research agents in the area, Mandeep Samra and Gopal Dutta conducted […]
‘Dance a yard before you dance abroad’ refers to the notion of conquering your own territory before trying to conquer someone else’s. It’s a term heard in the lyrics of reggae songs, a DJ’s diss to another, or a demeaning phrase (cuss) used to put someone in their place. Basically, know yourself! However, the essence of […]
Intergenerational links in the SST scenes and the archiving of the culture by practitioners are two areas of pivotal interest for the SST research. Both themes reverberate strongly in the movie ‘In A Vanguard Style: A Documentary on Iration Steppas’, currently being premiered around the world before the official launch in February 2022. The story […]