A sound system is a group of DJs and

audio engineers An audio engineer (also known as a sound engineer or recording engineer) helps to produce a recording or a live performance, balancing and adjusting sound sources using equalization, dynamics processing and audio effects, mixing, reproduc ...

contributing and working together as one, playing and producing music over a large PA system or

sound reinforcement system A sound reinforcement system is the combination of microphones, signal processors, amplifiers, and loudspeakers in Loudspeaker enclosure, enclosures all controlled by a mixing console that makes live or pre-recorded sounds louder and may also ...

, typically for a dance event or party.

Origin

The sound system concept originated in the 1950s in

Kingston, Jamaica Kingston is the Capital (political), capital and largest city of Jamaica, located on the southeastern coast of the island. It faces a natural harbour protected by the Palisadoes, a long spit (landform), sand spit which connects the town of Por ...

. DJs would load up a truck with a generator, turntables, and huge speakers to set up street parties. The sound system scene is a part of Jamaican cultural history and responsible for the rise of modern Jamaican musical styles such as ska, rocksteady,

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica during the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its Jamaican diaspora, diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, "Do the Reggay", was the first ...

and dub. When Jamaicans emigrated to the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, the sound system culture followed and became firmly rooted there in the 1970s. It is still strongly linked with those Jamaican-originated music genres, and some bands or producers still call themselves sound systems, such as Dub Narcotic Sound System and the On-U Sound System. When Asian Dub Foundation are advertised as ''Asian Dub Foundation'', the whole band performs, but when they announce themselves as ''Asian Dub Foundation Sound System'', members of the band mix and play music (by other artists, as well as their own) while one or two MCs rap over the songs. The term also has become connected with sound reinforcement systems by DJs.

Free party

The term "sound system" is also used to refer to a free party sound system, also known as a rig. The equipment includes a van,

loudspeakers A loudspeaker (commonly referred to as a speaker or, more fully, a speaker system) is a combination of one or more speaker drivers, an enclosure, and electrical connections (possibly including a crossover network). The speaker driver is an ...

, amplifiers, turntable decks and cables. Larger rigs might also have a fog machine, stage lighting,

video projector A video projector is an image projector that receives a video signal and projects the corresponding image onto a projection screen using a lens system. Video projectors use a very bright ultra-high-performance lamp (a special mercury arc l ...

s and an

electrical generator In electricity generation, a generator, also called an ''electric generator'', ''electrical generator'', and ''electromagnetic generator'' is an electromechanical device that converts mechanical energy to electrical energy for use in an extern ...

; the generator enables the sound system to be set up anywhere. A sound system collective is usually five or more people, with larger sound systems having more members. Equipment is owned by some and others are DJs,

record producer A record producer or music producer is a music creating project's overall supervisor whose responsibilities can involve a range of creative and technical leadership roles. Typically the job involves hands-on oversight of recording sessions; ensu ...

s or enthusiastic ravers who help out. They will be the people who organise free parties and

teknival Teknivals (a portmanteau of the words free tekno, tekno and music festival, festival) are large free party, free parties which take place for several days. They take place most often in Europe and are often illegal under various national or region ...

s and will be a group of friends with similar interests. Some owners purposely use second hand equipment, to reduce their risk if the equipment is stolen or damaged. This type of rig is called a "suicide rig" and usually used at insecure locations where it may get stolen or damaged and if it is suspected that police will have knowledge of the party. Sometimes a sound system collective is well known for its wide travels. This type of collective can be described as modern

nomad Nomads are communities without fixed habitation who regularly move to and from areas. Such groups include hunter-gatherers, pastoral nomads (owning livestock), tinkers and trader nomads. In the twentieth century, the population of nomadic pa ...

tribe The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide use of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. The definition is contested, in part due to conflict ...

s or new age travellers. In this context the word sound system is used interchangeably to describe either the group of people or the equipment. The techno travelling scene of the 1990s was made of sound system crews like Bedlam sound system and

Spiral Tribe Spiral Tribe is an arts collective and free party Sound system (DJ), sound system formed in 1990. It organised free party, free parties, festivals and raves in the UK and later Europe in the 1990s. Spiral Tribe was involved in the Castlemorton ...

. The free party community has been criticized for the unkempt appearance of attendees to such events, accusations of

substance abuse Substance misuse, also known as drug misuse or, in older vernacular, substance abuse, is the use of a drug in amounts or by methods that are harmful to the individual or others. It is a form of substance-related disorder, differing definition ...

of illegal drugs such as MDMA,

ketamine Ketamine is a cyclohexanone-derived general anesthetic and NMDA receptor antagonist with analgesic and hallucinogenic properties, used medically for anesthesia, depression, and pain management. Ketamine exists as its S- (esketamine) a ...

amphetamines Substituted amphetamines, or simply amphetamines, are a chemical class, class of compounds based upon the amphetamine structure; it includes all derivative (chemistry), derivative compounds which are formed by replacing, or substitution reacti ...

and LSD, and complaints about messes left behind by such parties have given the scene a negative reputation. However, despite such complaints, the scene continues to grow with a large following in

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

, Abergavenny, Newport,

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...

and

Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...

References

{{Rock festival Reggae culture Music performance Teknivals DJing

Origin

Free party

See also

References