When soundsystem culture hit these shores it almost immediately began to adapt to the environment it found itself in.
Sure, the latest musical developments from Jamaica and the United States remained close to the centre of system culture, but something uniquely British emerged from those bass textures.
Part of a nationwide tour, Let’s Go (Yorkshire) is set to present Sound System Culture: Birmingham, a new photographic exhibition at The Drum Arts Centre.
A host of archive imagery has been uncovered, allowing visitors to trace a timeline between early ska and rocksteady through to dub, dancehall, ragga and beyond. A glimpse of a truly counter-cultural lifestyle, messages of social awareness, righteousness and rebellion seem to rip through every single one.
Clash has obtained a few images up front – check them out at the top of the page. Curated by Mandeep Samra and David Schischka Thomas the exhibition aims to shed new light on an often neglected yet enormously vital aspect of British life – go check it out.
Sound System Culture: Birmingham runs between August 6th – September 7th.
