SWASH INTERNATIONAL MUSIC

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THE "DREAM TEAM"Swash International - "The Passa Passa Sound"Swash International, the real Passa Passa sound, was established in 1991 by the bright mind of young O’Neil Miles, whose love for music went back from the days he attended Jamaica College. Miles was born on the 7th of December 1975, in St. Catherine but moved with his family, led by his father, to set up a shop at 47 Spanish Town Road, Kingston in the vicinity of Tivoli Gardens. The Shop is now Miles Enterprise which takes the form of a Drugs Store and variety shop.While at Jamaica College, Miles had a dream of having a sound system of his own. He started collecting records from the mid eighties and got his first turntable in 1988 as a gift from his father who himself used to operate a sound system called Love Shack back in his prime days.From its base at 47 Spanish Town Road, young Miles built up on his record collections and equipment. He placed a lot of thought in the process of naming the sound. Swash International made its first public appearance in May 1991 when it was contracted to play at a birthday party across the road from its HQ, in Tivoli Gardens. Showcasing a Sanyo 400, Peavey 700 amplifier, two turn tables, a Gemini mixer and an old tape deck, the event was a howling success. With a crew comprising of O’Neil Ragga Neil’ Miles, Nicholas “Nico Skill” Smith and Hugh “Cupid” Aurthurs, began to play at events all across the West Kingston area, then after moving out to the rest of Kingston and St. Andrew.In a short time Swash International became one of the top ranked sounds coming out of Kingston Jamaica, from the late 90’s going on into the year 2000. This was due to the hard work put in by Miles and his team of selectors which grew in numbers with the addition of Carl “Maestro” Shelly. Swash International began receiving a lot of request to play at top events happening on the local dancehall calendar, playing alongside top sounds such as Stone Love, Metro Media , Rebel T, Jam Rock, Renaissance, Coppershot, Bass Odessey among others. Swash International took the business to another level when they started to play overseas as well. With the introduction of the street dance Passa Passa which was established by Miles in March 2003, this also increased the popularity of the sound.As Passa Passa got bigger and bigger, Swash International benefited tremendously as playing as the resident sound, people from all around, both locally and overseas got to witness, their true potential. Also with the sale of Passa Passa’s DVD and CDs all around the world, status was elevated on the world stage as they started to have a lot of fans overseas. “They (foreigners) liked our versatility, high energy and excitement that we display when we are playing”, Miles stated. The Swash International family has grown even bigger and the company now revolves around a team of sixteen. The team includes the maintenance crew, technician, and six selectors plus Miles himself. The crew of selectors are Miles, Carl "Maestro" Shelley, Nicolas "Nico Skill" Smith, Rohan “Randy Rich" Bruce, Nicarl “Genius" Brown, Ricardo “Jazzy J" Murphy and "Wessy Wessy". The Swash International sound now has two complete sound systems and the team can play at 4 events for one night. “We are covering the 14 parishes now (Jamaica),” Miles disclosed. “We play frequently right across the United States, the UK (United Kingdom), Japan, Canada and most of the Caribbean Islands. We have been getting some good vibes from our audience overseas, Miles said, “Certain places that we play they welcome us more than in Jamaica, like in Japan for example they (audience) just get crazy when we are playing.” He added, “We are getting overseas dates now more regularly”, Miles said. In Canada for example some times we go there 4 times in one month. We have a Japan tour coming up and we will also be touring Europe later this year. Things are going well for the sound in general. Right now the caliber of new selectors added to the regular ones has given us a versatile team,” Miles said. The young selectors are getting more mature and have started to travel to the small islands. They (young selectors) will start to travel to the US this year.” The year 2006 saw going to an even higher level. In October of last year, the sound got a major sponsorship from Wray and Nephews new roots wine product, G Force. “The sponsorship came through our dear friend Karlene Walters who was in charge of launching the product G Force,” Miles said. The partnership has so far been great and International has benefited immensely.” Ms. Walters was also upbeat about the sponsorship, she said, “The partnership came natural as the market that we were looking for goes to Passa Passa. It has so far been great. The sponsorship is something similar to that of Red Stripe and Renaissance or Guinness and Stone Love. We have branded their truck, and Swash International staff wears the G Force shirts of different colours. The truck itself is like a driving bill board for G Force as people stop them all the time and ask them if they have any G Force selling.” Ms. Walters added, “We have big plans for 2007 as we will be staging an event in every parish once a month with International. It’s like we will be carrying Passa Passa across Jamaica while promoting G Force. So look out for these events. Swash International also partnered with Hitz FM in 2006 and got added ‘mileage’ in the publics eyes. As Miles explained, “They (Hitz FM) wanted to target the hardcore dancehall/ reggae market and so with this in mind they came to us. We interchange with the Hitz FM, disc jockeys as our selectors go and play on the different programmes on Hitz FM and their disc jockeys come and play at Passa Passa.” Swash International and Hitz FM also joined forces for the Hitz FM road shows, Portmore Ground Zero and Function in the Junction (Junction St. Elizabeth) which turned out huge crowds. Swash International’s huge success comes through the hard work put in by O’Niel Miles and his dynamic team.The Swash International teamO’Neil Miles aka ‘Ragga Neil’ As owner of the sound system, Miles basically takes care of the everyday running of the sound. He handles bookings, marketing ect. Miles has traveled throughout the world with his sound as a selector himself he takes time out to play at certain special events. “I play mostly old hits like Ben E King, Drifters, Manhattans, music like those.Nicholas Waddington Smith aka Nico Skill Nicholas is from St. Thomas where he attended St. Thomas Comprehensive High. This selector has been with Swash International from its inception. Nico mainly spins or mixes the music. He is a top class selector who knows just how to ‘buss the place’. He spins a variety of music and travels extensively across the United States, UK, Canada, and several Caribbean Islands. He is an integral member of the and Passa Passa family and is well loved by the people.Carl Shelly aka Maestro Maestro has been on Swash International for the past 14 years. Prior to going on Swash International, Maestro use to select on the reputed old hits sound, Klassique Disco from Rae Town fame. He attended Ocho Rios College in St. Anns. Popularly known as the man with the real ‘energy’ his journey with Swash International has taken him to countries such as Japan where he has a large fan base, several countries in Europe Canada, United States and several Caribbean Islands.” Maestro has stared on many big events such as Island Explosion, Champions in Action and other big event. He along with his good friend Tony Matterhorn is known for giving the exciting early morning juggling at Passa Passa.Ricardo Kevin Murphy aka Jazzy J. Jazzy J is one of the ‘young bloods’ of Swash International. He has been on the sound for just over 2 and a half years. He is from Spanish Town, St Catherine where he attended St. Jago High. He used to select on City Beat from Spanish Town and Bad Influence sound system from Portmore. Jazzy J has proved his worth on International after shining at several top events across Jamaica and the Caribbean. Great things are in sore for this talented selector and he is expected to make is mark on upcoming US and European tour later this year.Rohan Bruce aka Randy Rich Randy Rich is from the Tivoli Gardens community. He has been on the sound for the past 5 years. Before joining Swash International, Randy Rich used to select his uncle’s sound called Creator. He later went on to City Link. Randy Rich is seen as one of Swash International’s most promising young selector. His wide knowledge of music is amazing and his mixing skill is flawless. He has traveled extensilvely in the United States, Canada and the Caribbean.Nicarl Brown aka Genius Genius is from the Golden Spring community in Upper St. Andrew. He has been on the sound for just over 2 years. Genius used to select on Solid Gold, a sound from Glengoffe, St.Catherine, before joining. Genius is a gifted selector who has cemented his place on Swash International. He knows just how to connect with his audience and carry a high vibes whenever he is playing. So far he has traveled extensively in the Caribbean and has also traveled to Canada.Percival Lloyd Constable aka Percy Percy has been with International for the past 14 years. As Swash International’s sound engineer, he is responsible for the sound consistently playing with high quality. Percy is dedicated to his job and has never been absent for a day from his job. He is a leader on the sound and a very integral member of the International family.