Jamaica on the World Stage- Coachella

There is an interesting sea-change of thought that is currently occurring within the populace of the Jamaican youth. What was seen as the only way to get heard by the masses, the thumping bass and raspy adlibs of dancehall, is now slowly but surely been replaced by the melodic phrases and soothing sounds of roots reggae. Access to technology has allowed the majority, who would want to venture into the business of entertainment, more information to make educated decisions in regards to how to shape their fledgling careers. One of the ways, I am sure, they would look to capitalize is to follow global trends and tastes; Trends that would lead to the production of music and material that would be seen as economically viable by consumers and investors alike. This is not to say that there are limits to dancehall music or culture per se, that could never be seeing all the imitation of the culture worldwide be it through fashion, dancing and especially music that currently permeates popular culture. But actual Jamaicans profiting from dancehall on a truly global scale are few and far in-between. However, in terms of roots reggae, success for Jamaican based or bred are far more prominent.

Part of the reason is that there seems to be a more competent structure for advancement, once any artiste decides to be considered a reggae act as opposed to dancehall act. More countries visited, larger venues filled and an overall higher level of professionalism is expected and more often than not delivered by reggae crooners and for upcoming dancehall practitioners to see similar gains then similar steps needs to be taken. One of those steps is to ensure that they are giving the best performances they possibly can once booked for an event and live on stage in front of an audience. What ailed many of our dancehall brethren in the past was an over reliance on promoters overseas to dictate their sound. From the use of compact discs to replicate the music production on a track to the employment of an unfamiliar band setup to backup DJs and singers, international bookings agents and organizers alike have been making cost cutting decisions which ultimately has affected what audience hears at an event.

More recently in spite of this, more Jamaican reggae acts have been emphasizing their, in a sense, right to gather all the means available to deliver the best audio experience. So instead of a one man, or woman, collecting a quick money to jump on plane for weekend gigs, there are proper tours now being planned with all machinery and personnel behind it for the artiste to put their best foot forward. This, once achieved, will lead to man increase in bookings and appearance fees as the artistes seek to right the wrongs of the recent past and change the world’s perception of entertainers who are from the island. Recently, I got in contact with two of the more prominent live audio engineers from Jamaica: Gregory Morris and Claude ‘Weakhand’ Reynolds; and asked them about their collective experiences at a couple of major festivals working for Protoje and Chronixx respectively. In an effort to highlight how important to the process their work really is.

Coachella Gregory Morris- Protoje Engineer

How different is your preparation for a show like Coachella as opposed
to a regular tour stop?
No different I treat every show and every mix the same way. You can
never tell who’s listening. Always give it your best.
In terms of equipment, what was used for the show?
L acoustics K1 Rig with venue consoles. This pretty much the best
setup you will see anywhere. They had a dual console setup so you
could actually load your files while another band is playing and do
all your soft patches.
Does the band you work with request anything special from you to
better engage the audience?
There’s lots of delays and reverb splashes throughout the show. Pretty
much just trying to capture the sound of the album. For example
styling there’s a delay on a lot of the endings of his verse.
Does the sound in the venue change depending on the audience and how
do you compensate for that change?
Not the sound. The set might change depending on the audience. The
sound will change depending on the venue… Outdoor or indoor or the
design of a building alters the sound you as the engineer will have to
compensate for that.
How do you know when you have done your job especially well, do you
have cues you look for in the crowd?
People around will definitely tell you!!! The system technicians are
the first to tell you that u had a good mix. Normally during a
performance you have random people walk up to say things. Like good
sound, I’ve never heard this place sound like this before or something
like that. After doing it for a while u pretty much know when it’s
good and when it’s not so good.