Squingy (left), Worm (centre) and Mark of Bass Odyssey consult over the turntables in the middle of a clash. - Contributed
Krista Henry, Staff Reporter
A fight to the 'death', adrenaline coursing through your veins as you control the reactions of thousands of fans. Then the glory and honour of holding a golden trophy to prove that you are the baddest sound in the land.
Back when dancehall was striving for its own place in the Jamaican music scene, sound clashing was a staple in the dancehalls through out Jamaica. Now, decades later, it is an underground phenomenon.
Still, the vibrant art form has regained its foothold as a vital part of our music culture and industry through the annual staging of Irish and Chin's 'World Clash', and is attracting a large following.
According to www.trinijunglejuice.com "When the first Death Before Dishonour World Clash Jamaica was staged in Trelawny, 1,500 people were there to witness the birth of a premiere event. This local sound clash has grown to a whopping 8,000 fans to date. Annually, international fans travel thousands of miles to witness 'Death Before Dishonour, World Clash Jamaica' first-hand."
Chin from Irish and Chin Inc, founders and organisers of the World Clash series, told The Sunday Gleaner that they started it because "We believe that a platform needs to be made to stage global talents that are keeping dancehall together all over the world. We want to keep dancehall competitive."
According to ace clashing selector Kevin 'Squingy' Bennett from Bass Odyssey, a little competition is always good for the business, as not everyone wants purely dance tunes.
Conflict
Chin agrees that conflict, 'passa passa' and competition are what the majority of audience members at a clash want. "If you take only one sound from each country the consumers will not buy into it. One of the major things that the consumer wants is conflict - some type of passa passa. We always have to involve two or three sounds from Jamaica; these are the persons people want to see clash. Some people won't buy the unfamiliar, so we use icons of the arena and we try to introduce new sounds at any given clash," he said.
These icons are the likes of Tony Matterhorn, David Rodigan, Ricky Trooper, Black Kat and Bass Odyssey. Each year these are the sound systems and selectors that enter the World Clash series. According to Chin, each year they try to give different sounds a chance, but it's usually the top of the crop that gets in.
One of those is Ricky Trooper, a World Clash champion who started his career as a clashing selector on Copy International and has never turned back. To Trooper, being onstage at a clash is the sweetest feeling around. It is sweetness that costs a pretty pen, as Squingy describes it as an expensive business.
According to Trooper, preparations for a World Clash battle can cost him up to $1.5 to $2 million. This covers paying a barrage of artistes for dub plates, which are the ammunition for any clash, as well as the cost of studio time and transportation to find the various artistes.
"It's expensive to prepare the right way; yuh haffi custom build songs. If yuh get all di hits yuh haffi get the counteractions. It's worth it, when yuh a play pon dem big stage and see di reaction from di crowd," Trooper said.
The long-term benefit of clashing is the promotion is gives a selector locally and internationally.
Trooper says, "It gives you a lot of dates overseas. Yuh see di sounds in the clashing industry, dem play harder and get more tours and dates than the other sounds."
For Trooper, experience is worth a lot in the clashing business. He says that a clashing selector has to be well versed in the music, so he can appeal to all different markets when he travels. "Our record box haffi set a way, so we haffi all di songs," he stated.
Yet, despite this, the clash industry is still good for producing new talents and sifting through existing ones. Trooper says, "Di clash industry keeps the business vibrant. You expose a lot of new artistes and songs on the arena. Yuh play inna a big crowd and lots of people log on the Internet or buy the CDs and DVDs."
The clash industry has grown since Irish and Chin started off in New York nearly 10 years ago with the World Clash series. Since then they have expanded to Jamaica, Canada and the United Kingdom. They are also planning to expand to Trinidad or Bermuda as well. Chin told The Sunday Gleaner that after the 10th anniversary in New York there will be no more World Clash series held there. To commemorate the occasion they are planning 'Game Over', to mark a good time to stop.
New sounds find going hard
An important part of clashing is the right arsenal and, in many cases, that means veteran artistes. These artistes are often difficult to track down, as some are no longer living in Jamaica. Others are dead. A selector often gets many forwards for playing a special cut of an older artiste, as every sound is built from the foundation. However, as new sounds may not have access to the foundation music as easily, the audience's response to them is not always warm.
Difficult audience
Chin says "Jamaica clash is very hard. The audience tends to be difficult, not accepting who they don't know. Over the last 10 years World Clash has discovered numerous new sounds, such as Mighty Crown and One Love. I would think the failure rate is more than the success rate for most new sounds, especially in Jamaica. This year we had Silver Star, they are from Jamaica - they had the support. For international newcomers it's very hard, because people don't know them. I haven't seen any new sound on the World Clash stage in Jamaica that has had a very successful stint."
The difficulty in being a clashing sound may just be the reason that a number of sounds bow out of the arena. As Trooper puts it, "Tru di business so expensive, fi clash yuh haffi have dat art. Di selectors dem, most of di yutes playing now, dem don't know the history of fi ting. Most of who clashing now have been in the business for so long, we know di music." Squingy also agrees that the expense and lack of skill, or ability to 'chat', is why a lot of sounds won't make it.
- KH
