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Publication date : Monday, May 27th 2013 - 10 389 views
Say Watt? When sound systems go on show
Get ready for an astonishing journey into the world of the sound system. From ghetto music to contemporary art, the exhibition "Say Watt? Le culte du sound system" at the Gaîté Lyrique (Paris) embraces sound system culture well beyond its Jamaican sphere. On the programme: talks, installations, photos, videos, film screenings, one-off concerts…
After skateboarding in 2011 and gaming in 2012, the Gaîté Lyrique will put sound systems at the heart of its summer theme. From 21 June to 25 August 2013, the sound system, well known to lovers of Jamaican music, takes over this new cultural venue in the capital, dedicated to digital arts and contemporary music. "Say Watt" sets out to show the unique character of sound system culture and focuses on the object as a sacralisation of technology, which allows the sound system to be linked to contemporary art.
Indeed, the ambition of the exhibition goes beyond reggae culture. It wants to show that this is a form of musical expression in its own right (and not just an alternative to live music), and looks at its adaptation and its many borrowings in other cultures: in Brazil, in Kenya or in Colombia… It must be said that the Gaîté Lyrique has surrounded itself well: the exhibition's curator is none other than Sébastien Carayol, a journalist with a passion for UK sound system culture.
 A cross-disciplinary exhibition
You move between arty installations (a bike over-equipped with speakers, the sonic igloo by Canadian Alexis O'Hara, the cardboard sound systems of Dub Iration or David Renault's Ikea Sound System), each with its own message, and various exhibitions: Beth Lesser's photos of Kingston, Lyle Owerko's pictures of boomboxes, the flyers drawn by Denzil "Sassa" Naar and Buddy Esquire, his alter ego in Jamaican rap, and the drawings of Wilfred Limonious, who died in 1999 and thus gets the first retrospective devoted to his dancehall album sleeves.
We should also mention experiments, such as the notion of sound as a weapon, based on Juliette Volcler's fascinating book, adapted into a film specially for Say Watt. This theme of military and police uses of sound will be found again in the series of talks, which will also address reggae and dub with Sébastien Carayol, free parties with Sarah De Haro, and the beginnings of rap in New York with Sophie Bramly…
Eight films made by the Gobelins school in collaboration with the Scottish label Scotch Bonnet Records will be screened, as will the film "Babylon" with Brinsley Forde, singer of the group Aswad. Finally, workshops will involve the public by inviting them to build their own sound system, or to introduce children to the links between matter and amplified sound (notably with the "Noisy Jelly").
 Jah Observer and Unity Sounds
An exhibition on sound systems wouldn't be complete without the sinews of war: music. For the opening of the exhibition, on 21 June, Fête de la Musique, the Roots Block Party will return to the fundamentals of sound system culture: a free, open-air session with Jah Observer on the Blackboard Jungle rig, who will play in the first half.
Saturday 6 July will see the London scene legend Unity Sounds, for the first time in France, with Mark Henley (Honest Jon's) as support. As part of the eighth edition of the Paris Hip Hop Festival, the Mon Sound night will welcome Raggasonic in sound system mode, accompanied by Lord Zeljko (+guests) on 25 June.
And that's not all: dancehall teas are planned on four Sundays over the summer, in the Square Emile-Chautemps facing the Gaîté Lyrique. An open-air dancehall with solar-powered sound rigs and bikes to power them. Not forgetting a record fair (Thune for Tunes), on 25 August, with six specialist record dealers.
The full programme at http://www.gaite-lyrique.net/say-watt
Report written by Sébastien Jobart
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