King Earthquake raises the bar - enter with caution
I popped along to the Jah Works Promotions dance at Tottenham last night. In session were King Earthquake alongside Sista Gad from Station FM 89.8 (Ghetto chat show Tuesday nights 8-10pm). The reports I had previously heard were true its possible that King Earthquake sound may well be producing the loudest low frequency sound waves in the UK at the moment. How much of these sound waves actually exist in the music played is questionable. However, there is a massive potential problem that needs airing in that people attending a dance with a sound system that can generate such SPL's (sound pressure levels) are risking damaging their hearing. I witnessed a number of people having to cover or close their ears and a couple of people walked out of the door with a screwface when the levels went up.So how is he doing it? Well there is nothing new or secret going on here other than his choice of loudspeaker design. He is using a full folded horn design in favour of the much loved ubiquitous reggae sound system front loaded "scoop" design. The benefit is gaining a significant increase in the length of the horn giving louder SPL at lower frequencies for the same power as that pushed into a "scoop" design. The downside is that the boxes are slightly larger than other low frequency designs and in this instance because of the venue's low-ish ceilings King Earthquake couldn't fit his usual stack configuration in. You can see some photographs of his speaker stacks by visiting The Falasha Recordings website gallery where they have a number of pics from the 'University of Dub' Brixton recreation centre sessions.
I only stayed for a short time after the controls were wound up to verging on 'painful' as this is not my idea of entertainment and I value my hearing far too much to risk it in this way. I would recommend anyone thinking of attending a King Earthquake session should visit a website such as Etymotic Research and invest first in a set of these; 
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Operation sound system
Got some CD's in the post today a live recording of "Operation sound system in session." This sound hail from Blackburn. From information gleaned from their website they are well organised and pretty impressive. Have only had a brief listen to the discs so far but first impressions are "nice sound" very well recorded.
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Sugden Connoisseur Vinyl Recording Lathe
This is a mono vinyl disc recording lathe which can cut a fixed pitch microgroove record at all the standard speeds. I purchased it from a dealer in North London who back in those days were called "Tam". It was part of a closing down sale. They closed their business when everyone started thinking that the CD format would make vinyl a thing of the past. I restored it to working condition but more work needs to be done on the cutting head before it will give consistent high quality results.
Garbage In - Garbage out - A Solution, No Sh*t!
An American war veteran yesterday paved the way for future generations when it comes to listening to speeches made by the majority of the current generation of politicians and world leaders. A version of his fashion statement can be downloaded in D.I.Y format from the website link provided below. There is even a "PG" version for underage deflection.
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Sanctuary buy-out talks collapse
It might be prudent to snap up those desirable Trojan Reggae titles now, or if you are a speculator, wait a while and get them even cheaper than they already are. Parent company Sanctuary look to be on shaky ground as their buy out talks collapse. This might mean label sales galore in the short term as they seek to stabilise their financial position.
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I want one! and you will too...
This might be the best example of viral marketing that I have seen so far. The link takes you to a video of the "Butterfly - living room flyer" enjoy!
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Moog moves to synthesise heaven
Moog; A man whose name is known to very few people outside of the circle of musicians who may have seen or heard of one of his keyboard creations yet millions of us in the mass market have probably heard one or more of the many records which include sounds created by one of his synthesisers. Robert Moog who is widely acknowledged as the inventor of the analogue music synthesiser passed away this weekend. Mr Moog died on the afternoon of 21st August 2005 at his home in Asheville, N.C. He was 71. Check out the Moog Music website if you are interested in his legacy.
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The weapon is mass distraction
The London borough of Newham will again be hosting DSEi 2005 (Defence Systems and Equipment International) at the Excel centre during 13th- 16th of September. Not that you will find the trade show listed in the programme of events on the Excel website I wonder if they are ashamed to include it in their publicity? It is reported that policing the last two events cost around £2 million and increased local taxation as a result. DISARM DSEi are an orgnanisation who intend to co-ordinate a week of action and resistance to the arms fair. I personally believe that this sort of event should be banned along with anything to do with manufacture, sale and use of products designed to kill or maim humans. You can find out more about DISARM DSEi by clicking the link below.
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Sinead returns in search of the Roots
Sinead O'conner aka Skinhead O'Conner aka Sinead O'Comeback has sprung out of retirement and has made an album of Reggae cover versions. She retired back in 2003 claiming that she no longer wanted to be in the media spotlight. She was previously ordained a Latin Tridentine Church priestess by a rebel bishop and adopted the religious name Mother Bernadette Mary. In 1999, O'Connor abandoned her vow of celibacy about three months after becoming a priestess she said "I meant well by doing the celibacy thing but it doesn't work for me because I need love and affection." Declaring that her latest mission was to "rescue God from religion" she also expressed gratitude to the Rasta people, "because I am one of those human beings who would not be alive today if it was not for the teachings of Rastafari." That would be interesting to decipher in depth, methinks! The Arizona Republic remarks; 'Sinead O'Conner embraces the Rastafarian faith; Rastafarians wonder what they did to annoy the Almighty.' That just about sums it up for me, I am now wondering just how long will it be before she is ripping up a picture of Selassie on TV?
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Black World TV: Caribbean Connection
During this month there is a series of screenings taking place at the National Film Theatre. Entitled 'Calypso and Ska,' 'Jamaican Reggae,' 'Reggae and the British Connection,' 'The Two-Tone Community' and a special event called 'Celebrating The Beat' these shows promise some great entertainment for Caribbean music fans. You might be able to win free tickets for these screening events at Culture Reggae's website.
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Peugeot admits defeat to small minded town planners
So thats it then! Peugeot are about to release their new model 1007 which in turn admits that town planners are never going to get it into their thick skulls that we need wider car parking spaces so that we can actually open our doors when we park. Their new design features electrically operated sliding doors, very nice too. All we need now is for Supermarket trolley designers to incorporate cushion bumpers and satellite navigation autopilot return to base capability. After which the only thing to complain about will be the price of petrol (or at least the amount of profit and tax generated by the oil companies and government respectively).
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