Amplifying Power (The Shaping of the Jamaican Sound System)

In Amplifying Power, Julian Henriques analyzes the reggae sound system as both a technical instrument and a cultural artifact central to the “Jamaican sound.” To discover how this distinctive sound is created, Henriques positions sound systems as active, creative agents within dancehall culture, listening to them not simply as playback devices but as musical instruments in their own right. Sound engineers “play” their instrument by employing phonomorphic techniques—practices like amplifying, filtering, mixing, and transducing—to shape Jamaica’s unique sonic signature, leading sound system engineering to be a potent example of the creative relationships between technological instruments and Afro-diasporic cultural practices. Henriques demonstrates that Jamaican sound systems function as tools of resistance, resilience, and community cohesion and are key to asserting Black freedom and collective futures.