Sound Fest Vibez in the Park!

 Thousands of patrons will flock to New York on July 10^th for the first ever Sound Vibez in the Park!

Hosted by Irish and Chin, and Irie Jam Radio, the event is the first of its’ kind and will take place at Roy Wilkins Park in Queens, New York.  Sound System aficionados will experience a major element of Jamaican music and culture being the Sound System.

14 world renowned Sounds will take the stage which includes Stone Love, Body Guard, Kingston 12 with Shinehead, Metro Media, Mighty Crown, Fire Links, Tony Matterhorn, Renaissance, Massive B, Soul Supreme, King Addies, Banky Hype, Nexxt Level and Road International.

The impeccable lineup of Sounds and Selectors is the events driving force, as are the stars of the sounds who have made local and international names for themselves in Reggae and Dancehall.  Though this is not a Sound Clash, fans can anticipate a certain level of competition as each Sound vie’s for the crowd’s attention.

“This is by far one of our most daring events” says Garfield ‘Chin’ Bourne of Irish and Chin.  “I am confident that the super set of Sounds will build an unprecedented vibe and connection with the audience, which will help make Sound Fest a historical event!”

For more information on this and all Irish and Chin’s events, visit www.irishandchin.com

World Clash R.E.S.E.T ~ 7 Sounds ~ 1 Champion Courtesy of Irish and Chin!

Greetings!

 

World Clash R.E.S.E.T hosted by Irish and Chin did not disappoint for the 2013 season.  7 sound systems vied for the coveted title.  There were hits, misses and surprises.  Here's my take on each sounds performance....

 

LP International was one of the hometown favorites, and though they paced themselves well, could not kick in to overdrive by the end of Round 3 and was shown the door. An impressive note to their performance was their switch from Polly Famous as MC to Shortman. Shorty connected with fans via speech - appealing to New Yorkers.

 

 

Beginning too fast and definitely to his folly is Jazzy T from Renaissance Disco. His French Montana, Ace Hood and Rihanna Dubplates we're impressive, especially for the majority hardcore New York massive, but, Jazzy ignored the golden rule which is never, ever, ever go that hard in round 1. 99% of the time, the sound that does that loses the endurance test and runs out if steam by round 3. So said, so done except that in Jazzy's case he was finished by Round 4 he was gone. The lesson, don't think a Hip Hop gimmick will win you a Clash in the World stage. 

Soul Supreme was a disappointment and there isn't more to say than that. For all their fire-is tic speeches about being from New York and having excess amount of Dubplates, fans expected more but received less. In summation, this sound couldn't catch their rhythm and played themselves out by Round 2.

Another disappointment to the World Clash arena was the performance of Fire Links. After receiving a very generous life line from the audience (who should have eliminated him from Round 1), the much touted sound lacked any fire and resorted to climbing on speaker boxes to impress a very knowledgeable New York crowd. Flop. Not only was he a flop, he disrespected the intelligence of the people who know the foundation if Clash. Fool. 

King Addies performance was good and overall a B+. They had 1 round, Round 2 which was flawless and pure genius. Rinsing Dubplates from Capleton, Jr. Gong and Buju, they ran a reverse play by letting the audience know they could hold off on their extremely heavy artillery of Bounty Killer Dubplates. The Art of war was in full effect all the way to chune fih chune.

Mighty Crown has extreme respect for Reggae, Dancehall and each artist whose made a contribution to the genres. That respect was evident in every round and well respected by the audience. Though they should have made it through to the final round, the New York massive who was rooting for King Addies had other plans. Solid performance by Mighty Crown, and if on neutral ground, would have advanced to the end.

The biggest surprise for the night without doubt was Sky Juice aka Metro Media. From round 1 to round end, Metro Media established that they were not going to throw insults, but would "beat them and teach them."

Using classic Clash chunes from Super Cat, Shabba and Peter Metro (just to name a few, Metro Media appealed to hardcore Clash fans who wanted to be impressed by a sounds use of the fundamentals; they wanted to hear speech, chune and Riddim!

Using the moniker 'freeeeeeeeeeee chune,' Sky Juice gave fans their monies worth and easily earned this World Clash win. I should also note that Sky Juice performed each round at 95 out of 100 or higher. There was no dispute that the crowd gave him the trophy.

Congratulations Sky Juice and Metro Media for the well deserved win. You schooled the youths on how to win World Clash.  If you're a fan of the art of Sound Clash, or you want to be entertained in all genres if music in a dance, add Metro Media to your event!

 

 

 

Tweet your thoughts about the Clash with 

Team Irish and Chin

@irishandchin | @L3Magazine

 

P.S.  See you at Reeewind on November 9^th, 2013!

 

 

 

 

Morgan Heritage – Return of the Kings at SOB’s!

Very rarely do we have a group, a Reggae group, open themselves to a hungry audience.  The hunger (which can be described as a yearning to know everything there is to know about a group while they’re performing and beyond the stage), will be fed but the question becomes who is going to feed that hunger:  the group performing or the audience listening.

Morgan Heritage (Lukes, Una, Peetah, Gramps, Memo) took to the stage at SOB’s in Manhattan and fed their hungry audience.  Beginning with fresh greens, Jemere Morgan, son of Gramps Morgan warmed the audience with his hit singles and did so acoustically.  Having heard him on the radio, this change was a refreshing treat.  The audience was more than receptive especially when he hit his current hit song “Neighborhood Girl.”  The audience erupted and sang along with the Junior Morgan which supports the majorities’ opinion that he is the new Prince of Reggae.

Making a grand entrance, including security having to clear a path for them to get on stage (the venue was packed to capacity), Morgan Heritage fed the hungry audience a super-sized main course and dessert.  The crowd enjoyed every morsel, licked their fingers and scraped their plate.  Here’s how MH did it….

Beginning the show with track 7 from their album Here Come the Kings, “Looking For the Roots” and all its’ Roots Reggae greatness set the tone and the pace for the evening.  The group went on to perform “Here Comes the Kings” and “The Perfect Love Song.”  In addition to performing songs from their album, older classics “Don’t Haffi Dread,” “Your Friend” and “She’s Still Loving Me” hit the spot of fans who have been with the group from day one.

Never afraid to tell fans the way it is, Peetah spoke to VP Records asking them to be more supportive of Reggae artists, he spoke to all radio hosts (in particular HOT 97 FM New York), calling on them to support more independent artists as well as more support for Reggae artists and not just Dancehall artists.  Further on in the discussion, Peetah took aim at promoters who produce stage shows without including Reggae artists and only promoting Dancehall artists. 

As a salute to the legends who came before, Peetah explained the relationship between his Father, Denroy Morgan and Toots Hibbert who are brothers, born and raised in the same house.  From that explanation, the group performed “Bam Bam” in a Mento style and also explained that Toots and the Maytals are the ones who began what we know as Reggae.  Nice.

Continuing with a salute to their forefathers, Gramps explained the reason why he loves Shabba as much as he does an gave the audience a DJ freestyle that the audience loved.  You need to hear the icon say “ah meeeeeeeeeeeee man!”  Classic.

Behind the scenes, Shane Brown did a flawless job with the engineering, Destine Xposure did an excellent job with organization, and Irish and Chin did, as they always do, a great job with marketing; perfect team work and an example of the reasons why all are considered to be the best in their field.

Morgan Heritage will be performing in Montreal on August 16^th as a part of the 10^th annual Montreal International Reggae Festival.  For more info, visit www.montrealreggaefest.com.

In the meantime, add the album Here Comes the Kings to your collection.  You won’t be sorry that you did; I guarantee you it will remain on repeat >>> https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/here-come-the-kings/id645716869

P.S.  No matter where you are in the world, request Morgan Heritage on your favorite radio station, and from your favorite promoter.  This is one of the few groups doing right by the genre!  @morganheritage

You Might Need The Hypocrite ►►► Sound Clash Fundamentals!

This is Sound Clash! 

This blog is intended for the younger sound men / women who have aspirations to be in a Sound Clash.  Despite how it looks, Sound Clash is a sport that is played amongst friends / colleagues in an elite industry.  It is elite because the Sound Clash fraternity is made up of skilled teams who have mastered the art of oration, chune selection and the right riddim.  This is not easy, not to mention, you must Clash with respect for your opponent, respect for the music and respect for Sound Clash fans who have come to see you perform.

Your first round should always be singers.  Always.  Don’t let people who don’t know what they’re doing draw you out and put you on the wrong path.  Consider the singing round to be soup or salad before your main meal.  Older heads will draw for Luciano, Sanchez and Freddie McGregor.  Newer sounds may choose Gappy Ranks, Chronixx, Etana; the point is the singers are showcased.

Your next rounds will depend on the strength of your dub-box.  If you are a sound who has a few well cut dubs, enter a clash that features 6 sounds or more.  Your chances of survival are greater as the time you have to play is shorter i.e. each round will be about 15 minutes or 10 dubs.  Your focus should be survival as in getting to round 3.

If you’re in a Sound Clash with few sounds (as a new sound you don’t want to be in this scenario), your dub-box needs to be stronger as chances are you’re up against more elite sounds.  In this case, your second round will be approximately 30 minutes or 20 dubs and you’re dealing with the heart of the matter … killing a sound.  This is the round where you can go one of two ways.  If you have a good arsenal of combination dubs, this is a good time to use it.  If you have a strong box of DJ’s, then you’re unleashing Bounty Killer’s, Mavado’s, Vybz Kartels, Busy Signals etc. 

Round 3 places emphasis on selecting your target, aiming with a steady dub and speech, and going in for the kill.  At this point in time, speech on the mic is heavy as the mics-man / mics-woman and the selector are moving in unison and have coordinated their timing perfectly and like the movements of a Cartier timepiece.  For this, you have the crowd on your side.  

Dub for Dub!  This topic is controversial in the heat of the moment, but, after reasoning, it’s not controversial at all.  If you’re a sound who has won all of your rounds, there is no need for dub for dub.  You’ve won the Clash.  If each sound competing has won the same number of rounds, then a clear winner needs to be determined which is when dub for dub / chune fih chune comes in to play.  Don’t let people who don’t know what they’re doing draw you out and steal your win by inducing you into chune fih chune.  I’ve seen several people lose a Sound Clash they clearly won because of getting drawn out.  Don’t let this happen to you! 

Tonight (April 5th, 2013) in Toronto, King Klepto, Innocent Sound, Barrier Free and Young Hawk will be implementing all and more of what I just talked about above.  All sounds are in what I call the second tier.  They’re not on the Mighty Crown, David Rodigan, King Addies, Saxon Sound first tier level yet, but they’re getting there.  If you’re in Toronto, make sure you reach.   

*Note:  This is intended to be a very basic guide for entry level sounds wishing to compete effectively in a Sound Clash.  More depth on Sound Clash will be shared leading up to World Clash hosted by Irish and Chin in Jamaica in October, 2013.

 

For your listening pleasure, a classic dubplate from Frankie Paul on the Hypocrite Riddim.  Run chune >>>

 

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zA5XTVjxbIA