For many years, the Vibes and Pressure movement has been synonymous with the the iconic progressive live music and culture venue in Dalston – Passing Clouds
“Passing Clouds is celebrated for bringing together musicians from a diverse range of international backgrounds to collaborate through the universal language of music and a collective desire for peace and harmony on the earth.”
Sadly, as the venue approaches its’ 10th Anniversary on September 17, 2016, it faces the very real possibility of permanent closure after its’ Landlords’ served an eviction notice earlier on in the year.
As such, Natty has had to forward the movement from the Eastside to venues such as The Jazz Cafe in Camden, North London – the original roots of the movement and more recently – Brixton Jamm – South London’s self-proclaimed cultural mecca.
Now…my breddrin Heartical (one half of InnerGold) from The InnerGold Show on The Beat 103.6 FM has always been a strong advocate of Vibes and Pressure, so when he told me about this latest Shubeen, I made a note in my calendar for September 2, 2016.
When I took a look at the flyer with the legend Max Romeo and his full eight piece Charmax Band on the bill, I knew I had to make every effort to get there and photograph what would surely be a memorable event. I had yet to see Max live and I’d never been to Brixton Jamm before so it had all the makings of a great all nighter.
Ably supporting on the night were singers, players of instruments and sound systems:
Randy Valentine
JJ Soulx
Subajah
Inner Gold International
Jah Youth – Roots Ambassador
Rockers International
Reggae Roast
Vibration Lab
Shema Yuri
I arrived at Brixton Jamm which is a brisk 10 minute walk from Brixton Tube at around 10pm and the outside terrace was already thick and heavy with throngs of excited patrons. The weather was perfect – unusually warm for a September evening and InnerGold had just completed the first of their two sets of the night and had created a chilled and conscious vibe outside on the terrace.
BRIXTON JAMM
As I weaved my way inside to the the DJ Room, Reggae Roast (VIBRATION LAB) was in full swing with MC Brother Culture sharing his positive message of love and Rastafari with the patrons. I hung out their for a while observing the vibrations being created and shared in the space before I moved on into the Live Room.
MC Brother Culture
Fresh from his appearance at Rototom Sunsplash 2016 and bringing his deep roots meditation to the stage was Vibes and Pressure family member – Subujah
Subujah
During the band change after Subujah’s set, Heartical DJ and his brother Mikee Majestic of InnerGold International took control of the decks in the Live Room spinning the latest conscious tunes and crowd favourites from back in the day.
Heartical DJ / InnerGold
Next up on stage in the now jam packed Live Room was the man from Clarendon himself – Randy Valentine :
“People let me tell you my story / from the place wheh mi come from / J A” (Inna Di Ghetto from Break The Chains EP)
It was really something to observe from the sidelines the energy exchanged between the audience and the artiste as the song was belted out across the room.
Randy Valentine
And the atmosphere became completely electrified when Randy called up the stunning vocalist also from the Vibes and Pressure family: JJ Soulx. Together they did an impassioned duet of Bob Marley’s ‘Turn Your Lights Down Low’. The chemistry was electric and the fans were literally screaming for more.
JJ SOULX AND RANDY VALENTINE
By now, I observed that every crevice and corner of Brixton Jamm was filled to capacity with energised patrons dancing and generally full of merriment.
Everyone was by now anxious to see and hear one of the most edgy and provocative lyricist in the genre – Max Romeo ‘Chase Out The Devil’ inna Brixton Town.
With a catalogue of controversial hits from the late ‘60s’ like ‘Wet Dream’ to more culturally charged songs like from his ‘War Ina Babylon’ album, Max Romeo, his backing singers, saxophonist, trumpeter, drummer and bassist had the audience singing out their lungs to tracks like ‘Uptown Baby Don’t Cry’ :
“Uptown babies don’t cry They don’t know what hungry is like Uptown babies don’t cry They don’t know what suffering is like They have mummy and daddy Lot’s of toys to play with
Nanny and granny Lot’s of friends to stay with..”
Max Romeo
I want to say a big thank you to Natty and his team, with special thanks to Jules who were gracious enough to allow access to Backayard to gather content for the magazine.
As a photographer documenting the culture of reggae from a UK perspective – any viable opportunity to capture the diversity and energy that the genre generates to share with Jamaica and the rest of the world is always welcomed.
To find out more about what Natty and his Vibes and Pressure family are involved with, please visit his website to keep updated.
