Food

Magugu comes through with those dark vocals, while Swingting’s Famous Eno stamps his funky spark into this grimey remix. Lagos via Manchester

Run Dem (Famous Eno Remix) Provided to YouTube by The Orchard Enterprises Run Dem (Famous Eno Remix) · DJ Mellow · Magugu · Famous Eno Run Dem ℗ 2019 Lowup Records Released on: 2019-03...

‘Cos a radio station have its cut off point, whereas a sound system doesn’t have a cut off point… We get to where the radio can’t reach and it get across the world…’

(Pictured: Youth Promotion sound system crew poses with his speaker boxes. - Beth Lesser)

Technology has always been the driver of progress in music -
Emerging parallel to hip hop in America and electronic dance music in Europe, Jamaican dancehall was made possible by the introduction of digital audio production technologies in the early 1980s.

By the time King Jammy and Wayne Smith dropped the fully computerized Under Mi Sleng Teng in 1985, it was game over for instrumental roots reggae in Kingston. The era of samplers and Casio keyboards had arrived, along with the streetwise lyrical stylings of musicians like Yellowman and Eek-A-Mouse.
(Pictured: Deejay Tiger laying down a rhythm outside his home in Kingston - Beth Lesser)

With a week to go before FOOD, I wanted to write a bit about this project. Since getting involved in Tribe Records’ secret Reggae room I started looking deeper into one of dance music’s oldest genres, Dancehall. It must still exist in some form - right?
For those of you that don’t know more than Sean Paul or Vybz Kartel - Dancehall has its roots in the 1950s, Growing to its height in early 80s with artists like Gregory Isaacs, Barrington Levy, Yellowman, Frankie Paul and Sugar Minott.

It’s impact on music is criminally under appreciated - it’s format gave way to what we know as UK bass music through Sound System Culture and continues to dominate pop music with its signature sound.

With this new night I wanted to explore Dancehall in 2020 - a fresh take on this tested formula. Darker, more experimental, Dancehall Futurism.
(Pictured: Youth Promotion Sound System and Micheal Prophet. Kingston, Jamaica - Beth Lesser)