Against The Grain: London's DIY sound systems - The Wire

A winter evening in Stratford, East London, features multiple reggae sound systems competing with riddims at Hibiscus Community Centre, where an all-ages multicultural crowd focuses on skanking and culture rather than drinking. Sound systems historically used non-commercial spaces such as town halls, cooperative venues, and community hubs, giving Black communities freedom of expression and spiritual autonomy often denied in postwar nightclubs. Economic pressures, rising running costs, and property speculation have damaged music venues, forcing sound systems and promoters to find new contexts. West London Dub Club emphasizes taking whatever spaces are available and notes that foundational venues were never protected and still are not. Licensing and economic conditions continue to challenge the community, including lower bar revenue due to audiences not seeking social status.

"In the spartan main room at Hibiscus Community Centre, home to the local Caribbean elderly association, Earthquake Sound, Soul Energy Musiq and RBF Soundsystem are laying down their toughest riddims for a knowledgeable, multicultural all-ages crowd. A simple hatch serves as a bar, but the crowd are more interested in having a skank and celebrating reggae culture than getting drunk."

"Sound systems have a long history of using non-commercial spaces. The late Jah Shaka played town halls, co-operative spaces and community hubs across the country, partly because they allowed the Black community a freedom of expression and spiritual autonomy denied in the nightclubs of postwar Britain."

"“In dub and sound system, we take whatever we can,” says a spokesperson for West London Dub Club. The great Shaka himself had strong links with communities down in Southall, and held sessions for many years at the famous independent venue The Tudor Rose, as well as Chaggars Hall, Dominion Centre and Southall Community Centre."

"“The problem with the UK, these foundation venues, they were never protected,” they note. “And they're still not protected.” Recent decades have been a struggle for this music community, with economic and licensing conditions both posing problems."

Read at The Wire Magazine - Adventures In Modern Music