It was 60 years ago that Jamaican expat Duke Vin debuted the first sound system in the U.K. Since then sound system culture has become a bigger force than he or anyone else could have ever imagined back then. And in order to properly commemorate U.K. sound system’s 60th birthday, two major entities are coming together for a tour. Dub doyen Mad Professor will be joining forces with the Channel One team of Mikey Dread and MC Ras Kayleb to bring their big, bottom-heavy reggae beats to some of the cities that figure most prominently in England’s Sound System story.
Speaking about the value of the live Sound System experience, Dread says, “It’s a vehicle for roots rock reggae music, for people who don’t know what reggae is. So when people hear it on the sound system, rather than the radio or the internet, they get the real deal.”
And that real deal will go down in Birmingham, London, Manchester, Nottingham and Leeds in October.
“It’s the way normal people, working people, communicate with each other,” says Dread, “communicate with their peers, communicate with like-minded individuals. The official media doesn’t provide that vehicle.”
So snag your tickets here.
Tour schedule:
October 16 – The Rainbow, Birmingham (w/ BASS)
October 18 – The Village Underground, London
October 23 – The Club Academy, Manchester (w/ Rubadub)
October 30 – Irish Centre, Nottingham (w/ Kontakt)
October 31 – West Indian Centre, Leeds (w/ Subdub)