Jabu, Sunun Lately (2020)
In the aftermath of World War II, the UK faced a severe shortage of labor. To fill vacant jobs, the British government encouraged immigration from Commonwealth countries—former colonies whose citizens were British subjects and thus had the right to settle in the UK.
During that time, many Caribbean immigrants moved to the UK, bringing their rich musical traditions along with them. Among other things, sound system culture was imported, which became an integral part of many a UK city’s own musical heritage and identity.
Sound system culture originated in Jamaica in the 1950s, where it became a central part of social gatherings. These involved MCs and DJs playing reggae, dub and related musical styles on huge sound systems featuring powerful amplifiers and speakers. Next to cities like London and Birmingham, Bristol became a hot spot for sound system culture in the UK, the bi-annual St. Paul’s Carnival being one of the city’s most anticipated happenings.
Sound system culture’s influence on Bristol—a stronghold for trip hop, drum’n’bass and dubstep—can’t be overestimated. And its impact on the city’s music scene is undiminished. One particularly exciting example from recent times is a collective called Young Echo, which involves a variety of musicians.
Part of the collective is Jabu, a trio consisting of Alex Rendall, Amos Childs and Jasmine Butt, who have worked on their own idea of lovers rock over the past decade. On their 2020 album Sweet Company the trio teamed up with fellow Young Echo alumnus Sunun to create the dreamy and bass heavy “Lately”, a song which perfectly captures the spirit of Bristol’s contemporary scene. It is our track of the day.
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