Colloquium: Prof Julian Henriques (Goldsmiths, University of London)

Performing Recorded Music: The Jamaican Reggae Sound System as Instrument 

This talk investigates some of the creative possibilities afforded by phonographic reproduction. It takes the instrument of the sound system set of equipment and the open-air dancehall sessions these provide to explore a number of the engineers’ “phonomorphic” (sound shaping) practices and techniques. The reggae sound system repurposes the private domestic instrument of the gramophone into one for the sharing of recorded music with large crowds out on streets. Shaping and extenuating the volumes of amplitude gives the audience the intense immersive experience of sonic dominance, unlike any live performance. Modulating frequencies affords the tuning of the set to bring out particular qualities of its sounding of the music. Such “interpretation” or “performance” of a recording results in each sound system having its own characteristic auditory qualities in accordance with the personal taste of the engineer or sound system owner and the anticipated audience response. The phonomorphic techniques described in the talk require considerable skill, expertise and experience on the part of the engineers. As I argue in my forthcoming monograph Sonic Media, they constitute an entire auditory knowledge system that is situated, tacit and embodied. 

Julian Henriques is convenor of the MA Cultural Studies programme, director of the Topology Research Unit and a co-founder of the Sound System Outernational practice research group in the Department of Media, Communications and Cultural Studies, Goldsmiths, University of London. Prior to this, Julian ran the film and television department at CARIMAC at the University of the West Indies, Kingston, Jamaica. His credits as a writer and director include the reggae musical feature film Babymother and We the Ragamuffin short. Julian researches street cultures, music and technologies and is interested in the uses of sound as a critical and creative tool. His sound sculptures include Knots & Donuts (2011) at Tate Modern and his books include Changing the Subject (1998), Sonic Bodies (2011) and Sonic Media (forthcoming). He is currently the Principal Investigator on an ERC research grant, Sonic Street Technologies: Culture, Diaspora and Knowledge.