Channel One Soundsystem, Friday 20 January @ The Big Day Out, AKLD.
The yearly 'Big Day Out' took place in Auckland at Ericsson Stadium on January 20th and this year New Zealand reggae-heads were blessed to have the opportunity to hear and see Channel One Soundsystem from the UK.
For this session, Channel One founder, Mikey Dread, was joined on the mic by Terry Gad, who is formerly from Gloucester based soundsystem, Jah Trinity. Residents in Oz will be familiar with Jah Trinity, as Gad's brother runs a sound by the same name based in Adelaide.
Channel One Soundsystem began around 25 years ago. After Dread inherited a soundsystem from his father and brother, he set about adding to it and building his own in his mother's basement in London. Mikey was raised in London, but returns to Jamaica every few years to maintain connections and visit family. Channel One are an integral part of the legendary, old-school UK roots soundsystem circuit and play with other sounds such as Jah Shaka, Aba Shanti, the Iration Steppas and Jah Youth. They have played, and occupy prime position for the last 22 years at the 2nd biggest street festival in the world - the Notting Hill Carnival, held every August in London. They regularly tour around the UK and Europe, an all-time favourite gig being around 1994 or 1995 in Marseille, France, with Burning Spear, the Mighty Diamonds and Dennis Brown. A foundation goal of Channel One is to influence and inspire the youth in positive ways. Their shows are characterised by floor to ceiling speaker stacks, the heaviest of bass power and sessions with other sounds lasting for up to eight hours of classic UK roots.
Channel One played at the Lily World stage in Auckland, which was nicely sheltered from the main BDO stages and the sprawling rock crowds, which luckily meant the sounds did not interfere with each other. Channel One took to a nicely set stage bearing Jamaican flags and greenery and the crowd had a large grassy area to skank on - a perfect outdoor dancehall setting. Their set lasted for just over two hours during which time the crowd was treated to an energetic and spirited performance with Dread dropping tunes and both performers on the mic, filled with conscious messages and calling for peace and unity. Two hours was not nearly enough time to capture the true Channel One vibe, as it was obvious there was so much more to come, but it provided the large and enthusiastic audience a taster of an authentic UK roots session.
When asked for three favourite Channel One tracks, Mikey stated that Bounty Hunter by Barrington Levy, No Peace by Tena Stelin (to be released in March), and Natty Dreadlocks by Colour Red are heavily on rotation.
As this was their first visit to this part of the world, and due to their gruelling flight schedule, Mikey stated that they approached their visit to Aotearoa with a bit of apprehension. However they found the country warm and inviting and enjoyed giving the people a sample of their sound and message. When asked what he thought of the New Zealand reggae soundsystem scene, Dread was positive and analogously compared it to the New Zealand landscape when he said 'It's kind of like a volcano that's ready to fire...you can feel the vibes...it's like there is an underlying thing ready to happen, if it sparks it'll blow up, and you want to be a part of that'. They expressed their strong desire to return to Aotearoa next year, with Wellington being a favoured destination spot, to experience the New Zealand sound and to help our own sounds to grow and develop. He also expressed a strong interest in learning more about Maori and Rasta culture in New Zealand. It was a true privilege to have the opportunity to experience the Channel One sound in Aotearoa and we give thanks and praises to Mikey and Terry for making the journey. Lets hope the New Zealand reggae massive can work together to get them back to Aotearoa next year.
Venus.
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