{"id":9587,"date":"2020-08-28T12:46:02","date_gmt":"2020-08-28T11:46:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/everpress.com\/blog\/?p=9587"},"modified":"2022-09-20T16:11:47","modified_gmt":"2022-09-20T15:11:47","slug":"running-channel-one-sound-system-with-mikey-dread","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/everpress.com\/blog\/running-channel-one-sound-system-with-mikey-dread\/","title":{"rendered":"Running Channel One Sound System With Mikey Dread"},"content":{"rendered":"

Without doubt one of the UK\u2019s foremost and best-loved sound systems, Channel One has been a carnival fixture for generations now. Having started life when brothers Mikey Dread and Jah T took over their father\u2019s sound system at the end of the \u201870s, and now manned by Mikey Dread and Ras Kayleb, the Channel One story has always been defined by the tenacious, frenetic spirit that\u2019s so special to carnival.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Courtesy of Channel One Soundsystem<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cWe first set up around \u201881 or \u201882. In those days sound systems were coming in from all over the place, people would just put their sound system anywhere \u2013 a garden, wherever,\u201d says Mikey. \u201cA friend we knew had a garage and he said, \u201cThere\u2019s a place round the corner where you can play.\u201d There was no electricity initially so a caretaker ended up opening one of the electricity boxes to give us power, and that\u2019s how we first got into carnival.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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Courtesy of Channel One Soundsystem<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As Mikey makes clear, having a sound system isn\u2019t about any one day, it\u2019s a lifestyle. \u201cIt’s not about carnival. A sound system is a 24\/7 thing, so you have to live and breathe it. We always say, the race is not for speed, it’s who can endure the longest.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

A sound system is a 24\/7 thing<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

2020 will be the first carnival Mikey hasn\u2019t played in 37 years, bar one exception: \u201cThe only other time I haven’t played on a Sunday was when my daughter, who\u2019s nearly 35 now, was around five or six and I took her around carnival, and I said, \u201cThat’s the first and only time I will ever walk around with the kids!\u201d I wouldn’t do it again, too much walking for me. Once I get in my corner on Sunday morning, that’s where I am until Monday night.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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Courtesy of Thursday Campbell<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Still, he brings his particular ability to overcome obstacles, and see the potential in a difficult situation, to the fact this year\u2019s carnival won\u2019t be a physical celebration. \u201cThere’s always a first time for everything. That’s how life is \u2013 expect the unexpected, and this is really one of them,\u201d he says. \u201cIt’s an interesting challenge at the end of the day, because this just goes to show how much people will tune in to carnival by not leaving their house. This year you don’t need to leave your house to tune into whatever sound systems you want to listen to.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

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Courtesy of Channel One Soundsystem<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cYou might get people listening to a load of different types of music, they might say,  “Oh, let’s listen to Channel One, I’ve always heard about them, but never seen them.\u201d So that\u2019s an advantage,\u201d he continues. \u201cAnd it’s not just carnival, don’t forget Channel One is a whole year round sound system. So when things do start to open up again, you might get a whole new audience who\u2019d never heard of Channel One before.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

For the sound system, carnival is above all about people coming together. Once a year the festival weekend provides a physical space for sound systems from all over to congregate. \u201cTo Channel One carnival means bringing a lot of people worldwide together, we\u2019re a meeting point for younger sound systems,\u201d as Mikey puts it. \u201cNow that all these younger sound systems converse with one another over the internet they use Channel One corner as a meeting point.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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Courtesy of Thursday Campbell<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It’s an interesting challenge<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

This is one of the most striking things about the Channel One ethos; the extent to which Mikey thinks of them as part of a much wider global community, with a responsibility to help the next generation coming up that comes hand in hand with this. \u201cChannel One have helped three sound systems be built in the last three years. I’ve helped a sound system in Bogota, Columbia, now they\u2019re up and running and kicking very well,\u201d he says. \u201cI always say we won’t be here forever, so it\u2019s important to keep the market going and get as many sound systems as we can up and running.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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Courtesy of Channel One Soundsystem<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As Mikey sees it, what he does is about legacy, lineage, and the understanding that you\u2019re part of something bigger, as much as it\u2019s about any one sound system. \u201cDon’t forget, we used to go to sound systems older than us at the time, you’d get a little bit of teaching but at the end of the day it’s down to you to build your sound system,\u201d he says. \u201cAnd that’s what me and my brother did. We got help from the elders at the time and then we have to pass on that knowledge, of what makes a good sound system.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Read More: Sustaining Communities Through Food With Riaz Phillips. <\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Mikey Dread, one half of legendary sound system Channel One, shares his insights into what it takes to run a sound system, the silver linings of 2020\u2019s online celebration and what Notting Hill Carnival means to him.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":9621,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[137],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/everpress.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9587"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/everpress.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/everpress.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/everpress.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/19"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/everpress.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9587"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/everpress.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9587\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12987,"href":"https:\/\/everpress.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9587\/revisions\/12987"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/everpress.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9621"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/everpress.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9587"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/everpress.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9587"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/everpress.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9587"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}