Sound Trooper headlines Sound Culture Festival 7

Legendary sound system selector Ricky Trooper of Sound Trooper comes to south Trinidad for the first time in his career for this year’s Sound Culture Festival 7 at Price Place in La Brea on August 24 from 4 pm.

The Jamaican Trooper is considered one of the best selectors in sound-system culture and has a legacy for “killing sounds” across the globe, spanning the past four decades.

He rose to stardom when he joined timeless sound system Killamanjaro in the 90s. Trooper’s unique style of cutting dubplates and his animated presentation on stage led him to become one of the most feared selectors worldwide, particularly with Killamanjaro. He earned them the name “The Killing Machine.”

However, in 2000, he parted ways with “Jaro” and formed his own sound system, Sound Trooper. Since then, he has used his knowledge and experience within the art form to carefully build Sound Trooper into another global brand and big sound.

Sound Culture Festival 7 is being hosted by Culture Blend and Silva Cat sound systems.

Event organiser Ravon Daniel CEO of Culture Blend said the festival was conceptualised because there had been a major decline in sound system culture in Trinidad and Tobago. He opted to “revamp the energy” and hosted the first edition in 2018.

“At that time, a lot of people didn’t quite understand sound-system culture or were exposed to it. The festival started with about ten people, and we did it for six years consecutively, free of charge to the public. All expenses were on Culture Bend.”

Daniel added that “word got around” and more people started to come out in support.

During the covid19 pandemic, Daniel and his team used online streaming platforms to host the dubplate showcase, and this allowed it to gain more traction internationally.

Because of the positive exposure and support, with fans streaming from as far as Japan and the UK, when covid19 restrictions were lifted, organisers continued the live stream to facilitate their growing international audience.

Sharing the stage alongside Trooper will be some of TT’s top-flight sound systems who’ve also made a name for themselves globally over the years.

Among them are Chosen Wunz, Taurus Movement, Xixgon International, Tek-9 Movements, Digital Entertainment, Zion Movements, Black Heart, Asif The Turntable Assassin, Skymaxx, Zodiak, Audio Menace, Black Dymond and Big Life Sound.

Reggae artist Prophet Benjamin, who hails from nearby Point Fortin, and Malabar’s Jahllano close the event.