Member Since: 10/12/2006
Band Website: kingbeatsoundsystem.com
Band Members:
SEANIE T
Click image to link Seanie
DEADLY HUNTA
Click image to link Deadly
KEITH LAWRENCE
Click image to link Keith
DIRTYHARRY
DIRTY HISTORY...
KINGBEATSOUNDSYSTEM's owner/ production manager DirtyHarry caught the soundsystem bug at thirteen watching sounds like Jah Shaka, Youth Sounds, and Jah Trinity play the Dub Club at the Dome Tufnell Park in 1993. Harry became a "box boy" for UK reggae outfit RDK HI-FI Soundsystem at sixteen years old, touring Europe, selecting tunes and engineering as part of the sound's crew by the age of eighteen.
Harry launched KingBeat in 1999 as a roots and culture sound playing dates at Aba-Shanti's resident club the House of Roots and the RootsGarden in Brighton, but clubs were closing their doors to the soundsystems. Touring soundsystems don't suit club owners needs; staff have to be paid to come early and stay late, the speaker boxes and flight cases scratch walls and chip the paint on the way through, and any good soundsystem would make their crapy noise restricted in-house P.A look bad. Possibly more importantly as our goverment fought "antisocial behaviour" on multiple fronts club owners who exceeded strict council noise limits lost their licences. This meant only the biggest sound men could get dates, as club owners simply wouldn't risk it for some little youth who may not get a crowd. "Dirty" Harry had been a squatter since 1998 and regularly attended squat parties and outdoor raves. This was where Kingbeat found its audience for the next few years.
The way reggae and dancehall has blown up on the London party scene is something to be very proud of. Harry, Bashment Bish (Negusa Negast), Steve Bedlam (Spiral Tribe/Bedlam Sound), and a very few others pioneered that sound playing to 20-30 people while hundreds raved to tekno somewhere else in the building. With such small numbers early on when Negusa Negast and KingBeat were both out they would either link up or Harry would host hip-hop, jungle, drum'n'bass and breakbeat DJs.That's where KingBeat found it's current blueprint playing reggae, reggae infused, and reggae inspired music, week in week out (2000-04) at one of the London parties, Southern outdoor raves or European Teknovals blowing up the reggae dancehall sound.
Harry started engineering for DealReal's now famous instores from the day the record shop opened. Using connections made at DealReal and help from close friends Dan and Nat Illumine of Undercover Magazine (now of BlowBack Magazine and Itch FM respectively), KingBeat first featured live hip-hop and dancehall MCs at the Fifth Cannabis Festival 2003 in Brockwell Park, Brixton (Demolition Man, Karl Hinds and Buttercuts Crew) and again at the Sixth Cannabis Festival 2004 (Foreign Beggars, BC4000, Blakey).
Harry is currently working with Seanie T (Dark Horizons) and Keith Lawrence (Muzik-Ed) on the reggae/hip-hop side of the sound, and with DJ Deadlock (Origin FM) on drum'n'bass/jungle, and is still building his roots/ dub armory with support from UK producers like Universal Roots, Dub Chemists, Manasseh and Vibes Master.
Influences:
Dub Club, Jah Shaka, Youth Sound (Danny Red, Ishu & Xylon), RDK Hi-Fi (Markie Lyrics, Natti P), Manasseh Hi-Fi, Jah Youth, London Posse, Congo Natty, Saxon, Young Lion, Dr Dre, Snoop Dogg, Capleton, Buju Banton, Sizzla, Anthony B, Squat Raves.
Sounds Like:Elephant Man & Buju Banton
Rise - Sizzla
Jamrock - Damian Marley
Talk Out Loud - Deadly Hunta
Jah City - Capelton
Mellotone HiFi Soundsystem
Pine Box Story - One Vibration
Jah Works Promotion Sound
Record Label: We're a SOUNDSYSTEM!!
Type of Label: None