/ HONOURING THE GOODNESS AND BAWDNESS OF JAMAICAN MUSIC CULTURE

/ HONOURING THE GOODNESS AND BAWDNESS OF JAMAICAN MUSIC CULTURE

  • This video teaser features selector (DJ) Bambii of the party JERK. She is seated in a studio and gives an interview about Jamaican music culture and the meaning of the word soundsystem. Bambii has medium-dark brown skin and a shoulder-length afro with small, tight curls and vibrant red hair. Bambii is wearing an open black coat with knee-high black boots, and black denim shorts cut outs at the thigh. Bambii’s speaks about a soundsystem as being beyond the physical, but as a cultural and political act that is about communicating and bringing people together. Her interview footage is intercut with a collage of dancehall and soundsystem imagery across different eras, including MCs on mics, dancehall dancers at outdoor parties, as well as footage in Kingston, Jamaica and Toronto, Canada. Throughout the video, multi-colour and multi-font illustrated text runs along the sides and through the centre of the frame and highlights the name of the project, “Rewind/Forward,” along with statements such as, “that is a soundsystem,” and the project website, “rewind-forward.ca”. The video audio features a mix of classic old-school rockers' music and contemporary dancehall reggae.

Rewind/Forward is a two-part photo and documentary exhibition calling attention to the hidden potential in Toronto’s soundsystem culture. It features portraits of five notable local selectors (DJs) and soundsystem owners by Jamaican-Canadian photographer Jorian Charlton.

Printed large and loud — and mounted way up on high — these monumental portraits are currently part of a public art show at a fully accessible site in the city’s historically Jamaican Annex neighbourhood.

Part-retrospective, part-forecast — this website is an extended play on the in-person exhibit, featuring video shorts and audio documentaries spanning pre-Independence Jamaica to Toronto rave futures. Over time, Rewind/Forward will slowly release a series of custom music mixes, full-length audio stories, and more. Add your email address and we’ll make sure you’re in the loop.

Rewind/Forward was conceptualized and developed by Caribbean-Canadian music artist, curator and researcher Alanna Stuart for ArtworxTO: Toronto’s Year of Public Art.

THE SELECTORS

A portrait of Heather “Live Wire” Bubb-Clarke taken by Jorian Charlton. Heather is a fair-skin woman with short brown hair. Heather is positioned in the centre of the frame, captured from the waist up, and she is standing in front of a tall stack of
A portrait of Tasha Rozez taken by Jorian Charlton. Tasha has medium-brown skin and a blunt bob cut with bangs and straight dark brown hair. Tasha is positioned in the centre of the frame, captured from the chest up, standing in front of a tall stack
A portrait of Ace Dillinger taken by Jorian Charlton. Ace has medium-brown skin and straight mid-length black hair with a shag cut and bangs. Ace is positioned in the centre-left of the frame, and she is lying down on a brown carpet in an industrial-
A portrait of Nino Brown taken by Jorian Charlton. Nino has light brown skin and long straight black hair with a slight wave. Nino is positioned in the center of the frame, captured from the waist up, standing in front of a black backdrop in a white
A portrait of Bambii taken by Jorian Charlton. Bambii has medium-dark brown skin and a shoulder-length afro with small, tight curls and vibrant red hair. Bambii is positioned in the centre of the frame, captured from the waist up, in a white industri

    1. A portrait of Heather “Live Wire” Bubb-Clarke taken by Jorian Charlton. Heather is a fair-skin woman with short brown hair. Heather is positioned in the centre of the frame, captured from the waist up, and she is standing in front of a tall stack of black speakers (a soundsystem) with the logo ‘40hz’ spray painted on their front. Heather is wearing a white zip-up suit jacket, thin-rimmed glasses, silver bracelets, and a gold ring. Her right arm rests on a speaker as she looks straight towards the camera.

    2. A portrait of Tasha Rozez taken by Jorian Charlton. Tasha has medium-brown skin and a blunt bob cut with bangs and straight dark brown hair. Tasha is positioned in the centre of the frame, captured from the chest up, standing in front of a tall stack of large black speakers cast in a red hue. She is wearing a sleeveless dress with a red, green and beige pattern, gold earrings, and a gold necklace. She has a tattoo of the Scorpio astrological symbol on her right shoulder. Tasha’s head is slightly tilted as she looks down towards the camera. To the top right of the frame is the ceiling of a white industrial-style space.

    3. A portrait of Ace Dillinger taken by Jorian Charlton. Ace has medium-brown skin and straight mid-length black hair with a shag cut and bangs. Ace is positioned in the centre-left of the frame, and she is lying down on a brown carpet in an industrial-style space cast in a red and golden hue. She is wearing a black mesh shirt, black leather pants, a gold chain, and a gold ring. Her face rests on her hand as she looks straight towards the camera. Behind Ace is a yellow car with the word “FLEX” written in white letters on the windshield. Towards the left of the frame are two large black speakers (a soundsystem) with the logo ‘40hz’ spray painted on the front, next to a black backdrop.

    4. A portrait of Nino Brown taken by Jorian Charlton. Nino has light brown skin and long straight black hair with a slight wave. Nino is positioned in the center of the frame, captured from the waist up, standing in front of a black backdrop in a white industrial-style space. She is wearing an orange textured sweater with a white collar peeking out at the neckline and an earth-toned tie. Nino’s head is tilted as she looks down towards the camera. To the far left of the frame is a white wall and a tall stack of black speakers (a soundsystem) cast in a purple hue.

    5. A portrait of Bambii taken by Jorian Charlton. Bambii has medium-dark brown skin and a shoulder-length afro with small, tight curls and vibrant red hair. Bambii is positioned in the centre of the frame, captured from the waist up, in a white industrial-style space cast in a subtle red hue. Bambii is wearing an open black coat, a black graphic shirt, a sliver chain, and silver hoop earrings. She leans against a tall stack of black speakers and looks down towards the camera.

Together, these five selectors (DJs) and soundsystem owners offer a fuller view of Toronto's bass music culture across eras, genres, and communities. And while none of these selectors would identify as the defining voice of Toronto soundsystem culture, their unique personal stories offer different entry points into understanding of how local bass music scenes came to be.

Heather “Live Wire” Bubb-Clarke established one of the earliest femme-owned soundsystems in Canada after emigrating from Jamaica in the ’70s.

Tasha Rozez is one of Toronto’s only women soundclashers.

DJs Ace Dillinger, Nino Brown, and Bambii ave carved out inclusive nightlife spaces centring queer Black, Brown and allied people. 

Hear them rewind and share how Jamaican soundsystem culture shaped them and how they carry this tradition forward.

Rewind/Forward reckons with the Jamaican cultural forms we consume and, more broadly, how we engage with and value inherited Caribbean immigrant legacies.

  • This video features selectors (DJs) and soundsystem owners Heather “Live Wire” Bubb-Clarke, Tasha Rozez of Gunz n’ Rozez Sound, Ace Dillinger, Nino Brown of the party Yes Yes Y’All, and Bambii of the party JERK. The video is a composite of individual interviews that each of the selectors gave on soundsystem culture. In answering the question, “How would you describe your soundsystem culture?”, the selectors speak to the range of features that make-up the vastness of this culture, from dubplates, which are customized versions of popular songs that give a special shout out to DJ, to massive-ass speakers, and the energy of the crowd’s reaction. They also discuss the range of technologies a physical soundsystem refers to, such as vinyl and CD-J’s. However, as Bambii highlights in this video, the term soundsystem extends beyond the physical, and captures the social and political movement, or ethos, of pushing forward a particular sound or type of music.

    Throughout the video, the selectors’ interviews are intercut with a collage of dancehall and soundsystem imagery across different eras, including MCs on mics, dancehall dancers at outdoor parties, as well as footage in Kingston, Jamaica and Toronto, Canada. Throughout the video, multi-colour and multi-font illustrated text runs along the sides and through the centre of the frame and highlights the name of the project, “Rewind/Forward,” along with statements such as, “that is a soundsystem,” and the project website, “rewind-forward.ca”. The video audio features a mix of classic old-school rockers' music and contemporary dancehall reggae.

How Would You Describe Your Soundsystem Culture? Dubplates, massive-ass speakers, a crowd. Ranging from the analog to the digital, our Rewind/Forward selectors share their setups’ varied sonic and socio-political components.

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How Does Jamaica’s Music Culture Compare to Canada’s? Jamaican parties may go ’til sunrise, but Toronto’s last call is still 2 AM. Despite the red tape, our selectors discuss how bashments and fetes outside of the city hold a vibe.

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Rewind: Who’s Helped Shape Toronto’s Soundsystem Culture? Forward: Who’s Helping Or Stopping It Move Ahead? 
Eglinton West, JAMBANA, Master T, Ron Nelson; queer dance parties, a Britney Spears vocal mixed with a TikTok sample. Our selectors rewind (and fast-forward) Toronto’s party possibilities.