When Herbie was growing up, these amazing parties, sometimes called lawn dances or blues dances, they were happening on the regular all over downtown Kingston. One of the things that made these jams burn so damn hot was the technology that powered the party. It's tempting to think that those powerful amplifiers and giant speakers were designed to perfectly capture Jamaica's indigenous sounds.
Jamaica is famous around the world for its music, including genres like ska, dub, and reggae. It’s tempting to think that the powerful amplifiers and giant speakers at the dance parties were designed to perfectly capture Jamaica’s indigenous sounds. But it’s actually the other way around. Those speakers and amps came first. And the electricians, mechanics and engineers who built and adapted that technology would then play a decisive role in the creation of Jamaica’s modern music. They helped pioneer approaches to making and performing music that would spawn whole other scenes from the Bronx to the UK.
Wickedest Sound