Undefeated in soundclash's and constantly pushing the limits and boundaries of the ragga jungle aesthetic, 2003 really has been the year of Trilogy Sound. With upcoming vinyl / CD releases and plenty of jungle/reggae crossover gigs planned out things look to only get bigger...
Tester, the self styled ‘Soundbwoy Assassinator' has a long term plan for ragga jungle, and a direction which he intends to take it in. A direction which is mostly based around the formation of a real ragga jungle soundclash culture, real sounds cutting specials and clashing, a logical progression of reggae and dancehall culture. But whether or not the larger reggae scene will ever see it like this is a point that remains to be seen…
Haling from Atlanta, GA the home and birth place of TRILOGY SOUND, one of, if not the first North American ragga-jungle sound system. Tester is 1/3 of Trilogy Sound alongside Sinista and the legendary Hazeus.
Running the jungle Sound following the format of a reggae sound system, Tester offers exclusive all dubplate sets featuring top notch VIP remixes and real dubplate specials voiced exclusively for the Sound from original artists from all over including NYC, Atlanta, Miami, UK and Jamaica.
Tester was drawn to jungle around late 1995 / early 1996. Coming from the original punk rock scene, Tester has always seen jungle as electronic music's punk and cites punk's open mindedness and DIY attitude as a big influence on his mindset toward music. Another big influence on his music is his love of reggae and the late, great Robert Nesta Marley, whose music, I think goes without saying connects all people...both in sound and soul.
Tester began DJing in 1997, and feels that it was extremely fortunate that he discovered his love for ragga-jungle so early on; the sound was and is still perfect for him, combining his love of reggae and jungle and cutting out the darkside elements which were really taking over the scene at that time.
Producing jungle since 1998, Tester has completed over 40 original dubplates fuelled by his love and passion for reggae and jungle music, he writes in a heavy hitting, soundclash influenced, and bass heavy amen mashups stepped in roots culture and soundbwoy killin' vocals.
In his words, "In later 98, I moved into music production, almost purely for the reason that no one was making tunes I wanted to play. Jump-up and darkside had taken over and although I was, and still am, a heavy vinyl collector, I definitely wanted NEW tunes. Something more rough. Something next-level. A level that would bring legitimacy to the DJ culture and ragga jungle specifically. A level that would separate the ‘DJ just mixing some records' and a real show. Coming from a background of being a drummer myself and being in bands, I sought the element missing from the DJ culture at the time. That missing element being the lack of performance, showmanship and the use of live, non-sampled vocals merging with my love and respect for the reggae culture and sound system concept, recording and ‘cutting' real dubplates with reggae artists was simply a natural evolution."
Tester produces a variety of original vocal session tunes and VIP remixes, the two styles of tunes he sees as being essential to modern ragga jungle as the culture develops. In the Soundclash ragga-jungle future, Tester envisions there will be two types of Deejays, Jugglers and Clash DJ's, like in dancehall, there will always be DJ's who just play tunes for the crowd, but if you are a clash DJ you will also have to watch your back and be prepared for other sounds trying to grab the crown, or your opportunity to grab the crown... But to stand up in a soundclash, you will have to have dubplates and vocal specials, much like in dancehall reggae today.
For those unfamiliar, voicing specials is the practice of paying vocalists to record a new version of one of their tunes where they flip up the lyrics in a sound-bwoy killing style or a crew “big-up” style.
You see it is the voicing of dubplate specials that really sets sounds such as Trilogy, Hand Grenade, Chopstick and Junglistic Pressure apart from the rest of the pack, actually paying vocalists for their contribution rather then jacking acapellas off download programs, as General Malice stated in the ‘DJ K vs. General Malice soundclash', “Lets see who gets their acapellas off Soulseek and who gets there acapellas off real reggae artists…”.
It is a major step towards jungle really being accepted into and becoming recognized of reggae culture. Trilogy Sound is at the forefront of this with dubplates from the likes of Bunny Ruggs and Alton Ellis, plus several in the works, secret projects that look set to revolutionize the face of Ragga jungle.
While we were discussing the topic of soundclash, Tester really came all out with his thoughts on the subject and rather then paraphrase him, I'm going to drop a whole load of things he said and let you guys decide what you think. Soundclashing is a topic very close to Tester's heart and it is evident when you read his words.
"Soundclashing is another topic I want to stress. Being that DJs and promoters need to understand the difference between a true Soundclash and a battle. Soundclash, a term that is simply been thrown around carelessly in the jungle community.
Here's the difference, a battle is simply a competition between 2 DJs usually on a freeform basis. I relate this back to turntablism and hip hop battling. Plain and simple, this is a competition for who is the better dj.
Soundclash however is something a little more specific. And although the rules are different for every clash, there are certain qualifications and requirements to even have the ability to compete in a true soundclash. I will describe the basics of reggae soundclashes and these ARE the basics of a jungle soundclash in my opinion.
There are set rounds decided upon before the clash.
A round of ‘early warm up' or ‘mix n blend' where vinyl, 45s and even cds are allowed. This round is usually to simply showcase the collection and diversity of a DJ or "Sound". This is a round of purely playing for the crowd. This round sets the mood for the clash.
Next rounds will begin the use of dubplates.
And as a climax to the clash, a round used to decide the winner in close competition, the ‘Dub fi Dub' round. This round is of course all dubplates and is used to truly display the extent of dubplates a Sound has. One dubplate at a time from each Sound. This is the kill or be killed, life or death round. No slacking off. You have to come strong with heavy tunes that the other sound can't compete with. In reggae, ultra classics and "designer" tunes [designer meaning expensive artists to cut such as Bounty Killer and Capleton, as well as exclusive combination tunes] rule the dub fi dub round. And counteraction dubplates, tunes made specifically to counteract the other Sound's dub. There are clashes that do not need a dub fi dub round simply because one Sound has obviously won already in earlier rounds. All rounds are based on crowd reaction, "forwards", overwhelming crowd response and noise voting after the dub fi dub round.
Now, with that being roughly explained I will give my thoughts on the development of ragga-jungle soundclashes and the basics following the closely the basics of that in reggae. *IN MY OPINION*
An example 3-round jungle soundclash concept:
1. Early Warm Up [mix n blend] round:
Use of vinyl, CDs and MP3s [Final Scratch, if you don't mind being laughed at the whole night], your own and other producer's tunes are permitted.
2. All Dubplate round:
Use of strictly your OWN produced remixes and dubplate specials.
3. Dub fi Dub round:
Deciding round used in close competitions or to simply flex the strengths of each Sound. This round being also only your OWN Sound's dubplates and will inevitably feature mostly or entirely dubplate specials.
Of course, there will always be differences in how Sounds interoperate the rounds and the ways in which they will plan their attack in a clash. Strategy can make or break the outcome of the clash. And again, this is just an example of how I see a basic jungle soundclash being setup.
Something that needs to be stressed is that Soundclash business is a serious one. It is an expensive one. And jungle soundclashing will be no different. At least if my Sound has a say. Both DJs and promoters need to realize the extent that the few of us are going through to get real dubplates and the level of dedication to this that we have. I see the term soundclash abused all the time in jungle and people need to realize that you simply can't cut a few acetates with an amen overtop an acapella you stole off Soulseek and be ready to "clash" the next night. I take clashing very serious because this is a serious business and it deserves to be treated as such.
Now again, don't get me wrong, I love this music. I love ragga-jungle period. But there is a difference between a ‘jugglin' DJ and a ‘clashing' DJ/Sound. Both are staples in the genre, both are respected."
Big things a gwan for Trilogy Sound over the next few months, with hype vinyl releases in the works, 12 inches, big hole 45s, limited edition releases, mix CDs as well as a CD duplication plant (to help the scene grow) as well as a series of reggae / jungle crossover events across America, events with the aim of pushing the crossover between the genres.
Tester would like to big up all the real ragga-jungle soundcrews reppin' the genre and keeping our scene alive, in particular he would like to thank Junglistic Pressure, Chopstick Dubplates, Mad Dem Crew, Hand Grenade Sound, Ten Pound Sound, Q-Continuum, Rewind Sound and selectors such as General Malice, Twinhooker, Krinjah, Archive, Rhygin, Sound Murderer, Jah Murda, Loqtus and all the cats keeping dancehall reggae vibes alive in jungle and working hard to further progress our scene, these are the cats who are taking things to the next level, actually paying vocalists, cutting mad dubs and specials, gearing up for and bringing sound war.
And when the time is right, Babylon shall fall...
As we were finishing off this article, some late breaking news came to Tester's attention, word of his placing in the "North American Ragga Jungle Project" tour was announced. It is a heavily sponsor backed Ragga Jungle tour with the likes of Capital J, Rhygin, Survival Cru NYC, Krinjah and others to promote a CD mixed by Capital J featuring an exclusive selection of Ragga Jungle tunes from performers on the tour. A big budget tour and promotion which looks set to push Ragga Jungle back out from the underground and into the light, and what this will accomplish really remains to be seen, but to this interviewer, it sounds damn good.
Big ups to Ragga-Jungle.com and DJ Rhygin.
Interview by: Martyn Pepperell
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