"It was pure soundmen in the area. Unbelievable scrutiny. That last dance in the Dub Cup was probably the most awkward I've ever played. Hardly anyone was there just for a night out. Give thanks for it, but it's tough."

Matt Abyssinian is a veteran of the Unification Dub Cup and a great ambassador for it. His soundsystem reached two quarter finals and a semi between 1995 and 1998. The competition is back again in 2009 and Matt is preparing for a keenly anticipated quarter final clash with Roots Vibration.

Matt's weekly radio show on cyndicut.com was going on in his absence whilst we were talking. Once he was sure that guest selector Bubs from Southall was settled in the studio, Matt seemed content to sit and talk in his truck which was parked outside. I asked him what he enjoys about the cup competition.

"The sense of unity. There's sixteen sounds entering this thing; no one soundsystem can do it alone. Even if a man goes out in the first round, he's still managed to get his sound there, set up and play. Without him the whole first round can't go ahead. Obviously we all love the music and as soundmen we have to fight against the system; in this competition we do it together in unity."

 

None of the other competitors can equal Abyssinian's track record in the Unification Cup, which was one reason for the intense scrutiny he was under during his first round clash with Thunderous. The other reason was that Matt has entered this year with a brand new custom built set.

"Asher from Jah Works approached me last summer about doing the Dub Cup. At the time I'd decided to help a young bredrin from Southend to set up a new sound called Jah Youtman. He's only eighteen and I gave and sold bits and pieces of equipment to him, strung up his sound for him and generally helped him out, so that he could do his first dances. That was the route I was going to take and my own sound had kind of dissipated. I've had three children since I was last in the cup competition and I didn't play out for a long time. I was going more in the direction of helping Youtman than building my own set. So when Asher asked me to get involved in the Dub Cup I said "why don't you use my boy Jah Youtman?" But he said he would really like it if I could be there. I was still thinking about it , when the next thing I knew I was on the flyers!"

It might seem as if Jah Works were taking a risk by including Abyssinian, but they've known Matt for a long time and must have recognised what he was capable of.

"My reaction was "oh god, I haven't really got a sound". It was literally that bad. So I started making boxes. It absolutely ruined me; what I've been through to get that first stack up and running! The boxes are all my design. Built by me, painted by me, wired up by me. Amplifiers have all been rigged up by me. The pre-amp I've had specially built ... It's a brand new sound. The tunes, the record deck and maybe a couple of speaker leads or something are from the old sound. The auxiliary effects, the old sirens and echoes I've always kept close by me, because that's like a signature kind of thing. It's been built on a wing and a prayer but Jah guide I&I to do this. My bredrin Jim (Jah Lion) from Southend was saying "you won't do it in time bruv, just use my sound". But I said no, it ain't the same, this is personal. This is deeper, I'm gonna get this thing done. And I done it. It took me about four months to get enough boxes together to do the first round. I got the drivers, the boxes built and all the grills made. It's all bespoke, even the pre-amp case. Nothing's off the shelf, it's all hand made."

The inimitable design of his distinctive white speaker boxes caused a quiet sensation at his first round dance. The soundmen in attendance were characteristically undemonstrative. However Matt's set was given a meticulous, if furtive, inspection. he's amused by this, acknowledging that he'd behave the same way himself. He's unguarded however and amenable to any questions about his soundsystem.

"Nuff man run four-way, whereas my sound runs two-way. My system is designed as a two-way set with passive cross-overs and stuff. I truly believe that the more you separate the sound up, the more clinical it gets, then the more it starts sounding the same as the next soundsystem. It's tempting to bring more power and more box, but I'm resisting. which is why I only went two-way. So there's a little tip for the soundboys. Mash me up on upper-bass; there's your weakness!"

Matt is also expansive when it comes to explaining his approach to selection.

"In the first round against Thunderous I played some vinyl which is readily available and didn't really touch too much of my dubplate box. I held it back for the next round. Anyway I think playing plastic is important. I've never been a selector that plays vinyl and then switches to purely dubplate. Each tune has got it's own place. A master selector should be able to play four or five dubplates and then find a piece of plastic that sits alongside them perfectly. When I do my radio show I get laughed at because the back of my truck is full up with vinyl. I've always rolled with hefty amounts of vinyl because you never know what the crowd's going to be like. So for the Dub Cup, the radio show or any dance that I do, I like to bring a whole heap of vinyl. I cater for the people and I have plenty of tunes to back me up."

 

The Abyssinian show on cyndicut.com is broadcast every Wednesday between 6 and 8pm (GMT) as part of a whole day of Reggae entitled 'Red Stripe Wednesday'. Cyndicut is a slick 24/7 operation. On the evening that I linked up with Matt the show was being beamed from the station's studio in Grays. It's an Essex town that needs an energy boost. It lives in the shadow of the nearby mega-shopping mall at Lakeside and feels distinctly neglected. It's most noteworthy landmark is a disused cinema. Once a month Matt invites a guest selector to host the show and he seemed relaxed about handing over to Bubs. In his trademark woolly hat he reclined behind the wheel of his truck and recounted some of the key episodes that have guided him towards becoming a soundsystem man.

"I remember the first Reggae dance I went to. It was Yardee Hi-power. I paid my little £2 to get in and got myself a sneaky beer, y'know, 'cos I was only fifteen. They were playing mid and tops and I was thinking "yeah, I like this , this is nice". Then he dropped the weight line and it almost made me jump out of my skin! All night I was wondering how they were getting that sound and looking at the equipment. From then on I was carrying tape measure to dance, measuring up boxes. I didn't know anybody in the scene so I was trying to find out as much information as I could, like what drivers they were using and what amplifiers. Then I started to go to dances early to lift up soundman box, you know what I mean. Every other Friday down at a place called Reid's where various sounds from London like Shaka, Tubby's and King Original used to play. As well as the local sounds like Simba, Yardee and Abisha. I used to get there at seven o'clock and would have to wait two, three or four hours for Shaka sometimes. I used to help Shaka bring his boxes in, I lifted nuff of his boxes up them stairs. That was an amazing time. I think everyone goes through a time in their life when they experience something that's incredible and you're always kind of chasing it back, trying to re-create the feeling . As a soundman I'm always looking for that."

This would have been familiar enough story of youthful infatuation with Reggae, if Matt had grown up in Brixton, Harlesden, Handsworth or St Paul's; but Southend-on-Sea?

Essex people of Matt's generation are mostly the descendents of the Cockneys who moved out of London after the Second World War had destroyed much of the East End. To many observers Southend is a down-market seaside resort that has been in decline since the 1960's and has struggled to revive it's economy with commercial redevelopment that has stripped the town of any charm that it once had. However to followers of UK Dub, Southend is an enigma. It has become a stronghold, a garrison town of Roots & Culture. Even Matt can't explain why this is so.

"It's a phenomenon in Southend. I don't really know why. You wouldn't believe the record collectors in the town. I know people with houses full of tunes. I'm not sure what sparked it off but we've had loads of sounds. Someone said the other day that we should start a Southend Dub Cup! I could rustle up sixteen soundsystems if I dragged out a few that have put away their stuff and hung up their gloves for a while. Goathead, the selector from Yardee, always had a little record shop somewhere in the town. It was in the back of someone's yard near Central Southend for a while. There's always someone down here pushing things forward. If one person drops out, someone else appears to take their place. It keeps things flowing and moving."

 

In the 1990's 'Essex Man' became political shorthand for the Tory voting working class. Essex people were cruelly stereotyped as brash, right wing and vulgar. In the week after I met with Matt, newspapers carried reports of a German travel guide to England that contained rude remarks about Essex. The customary Essex girl jokes were accompanied by the jibe that the men "wear white tennis socks and zoom around in souped-up Ford XR3i's breaking the speed limit". Whether you view this as propaganda or slander, it's got to be a good thing that conscious Reggae music has a fighting chance in a town like Southend. Matt has a view on this,

"There's a Roots culture that's there to help the youths avoid going on the wrong path. They can step into it, people will embrace them and look after them in a way. There's certain elder people around who'll look out for the youths. Whereas when you go down another path you're alone in the big bad world. That's how I see it."

I wondered how Abyssinian Soundsystem had come to be billed as the 'Lone Warrior' for some dances in his home town.

"I've always run on me own. You get plenty of people say "yeah, yeah I wanna get involved" until they actually find out what that means. It's hard work and it costs a lot of money to get involved in this. I kinda like being the Lone Warrior. I don't know where I fit in, but I play quite mellow. I'm not one of these that likes to shout down the mike. Sometimes I won't say anything, depends how I'm feeling still. I run on my own little vibe. I'm not that keen on how the dances have been going in the last few years. The vibe is disappearing and I've not liked what I've seen at a couple of dances. I partly blame the smoking ban for things going on in the dancehall that shouldn't. People are drinking a lot more and doing other things they shouldn't when Jah music is playing. It should be about finding inspiration, but some people are on a completely different vibe. It can be a bit off key down here. Dances are more popular. You can put on a dance and know it's gonna ram. There's a whole variety of people coming through which is good in a way, but loads of them aren't on what we think is the right track. However, if you can reach one of these people then you've done your job. In honesty my ideal dance would be a nice little crowd, very calm and where I can draw selection that will bring musical pleasure. Instead of having to play hundred mile an hour stuff to keep up with the 'off beat posse', you know what I mean."

 

I asked how he imagined that the quarter final clash with Roots Vibration might work out.

"It really starts to kick off in the quarter final. The first round does kind of sort the men from the boys. I know bredrin Terry Gad is involved with Roots Vibration and that he used to select on a sound called Jah Trinity who were a very irie, uplifting and spiritual sound. I don't really know anything else about Roots Vibration. I've kind of chosen not to go down the road of investigating other soundsystems because I like to keep things as pure as I can and to not have a plan. I just want to come as I come without trying to follow fashion. I'm not out to kill any sound, but if anyone does test ..."

He gave a self assured smile that suggested he was set and ready.

In the midst of all the talk about speaker boxes, drivers, amplifiers, pre-amps, dubplates and crucial plastic there is a message that can be drowned out by the commotion. Anybody who absorbs themselves in the Roots & Culture scene should be receiving some consequential guidance; a conscious livity is proffered to those who wish to see it. Speaking to people like Matt reminds you of this. Roots music exhorts you to know yourself. I felt that the Abyssinian truly did. When we returned to the radio studio Bubs was running the place hot. A computer in the corner was alive with shouts and dedications which were being hollered across the room as the show reached it's climax with a Steppers selection. Matt was an unflappable presence in the lively atmosphere, he carries an aura of calm. I got a sense of the steady nerve that it takes to be a Lone Warrior.

The Unification Dub Cup is more than just a matter of who will eventually be the winner. Every soundsystem involved has it's own unique and personal story. If the UK Roots scene is to hold onto it's vibes, it needs sounds like Abyssinian involved. Somebody did us a favour by going ahead and putting the name on the flyers. Jah Works indeed.

 

July 2009

 

Jah Works Myspace: www.myspace.com/ukjahworkspromotions

Abyssinian Myspace: www.myspace.com/abyssiniansound

Cyndicut radio : www.cyndicut.com

Roots Vibration Myspace: www.myspace.com/rootsvibrationsounds