> *Some thoughts on my time in Leeds and the sonic +/+ social power of the sound system* In November 2018, I attended an annual party hosted by SUBDUB and Hessle Audio at Freedom Mills, Leeds. Powered by Iration Steppas Sound System and hosted by MC SGT Pokes, we heard Pearson Sound followed by Ben UFO and Josey Rebelle to close. In complete pitch black bar one sparingly used strobe, each set was more euphoric, ominous, and ridiculously loud than the last. It's difficult to put the sound of the Iration Steppas system into words. Certain subfrequencies seemed to activate some hidden sonic potential in the room, aligning into a chorus of all-encompassing sound as the entire building and its contents flexed back and forth. When the bass returned after a build, it was like the entire low-register unhinged itself from the track to assume its own musical shape, an instrument played in counterpoint to its own upper register. > ![[subdub x hessle audio, freedom mills, 25.11.18 1.mp3]]*1. subdub x hessle audio, freedom mills, leeds, 25/11/2018* I found some good music that night[^1], but listening back on headphones was underwhelming. At this point I became obsessed with the question of what, *besides the music itself*, was producing this sonic experience. Knowing dub sound systems were a catalyst, I started working the door at SUBDUB at the Leeds West Indian Centre. There, I was lucky enough to catch the tail end of a legendary UK party; steppas dub in room 1 hosted by Iration Steppas, dubstep and jungle in room 2 hosted by the likes of Deep Medi Musik. Need I say more?! The visceral and cultural magnitude of these events was felt by all who were lucky enough to attend. Galvanised by many more nights at Hope Works, The White Hotel, Freedom Mills and others in the north of England from 2018–2020, I became convinced that some DJs had an innate understanding of how to activate these sonic artefacts through their selection, deploying not just the sound system but the structure of the building itself to mediate an apocalyptic, doomy euphoria. >![[subdub x hessle audio, freedom mills, 25.11.18 2.mp3]]*2. subdub x hessle audio at freedom mills, leeds, 25/11/2018* *Sonically*, this feeling was fed by a fragile network of elements working in synergy: bass-heavy music, acoustically untamed spaces and highly characterful sound systems. *Sociopolitically*, it was an emotional manifestation of a time when the very anchors of reality began to dissolve and distort beneath us: social media algorithms fractured truth into parallel algorithmic realities, far-right populism destabilised trust in institutions, and COVID removed our physical grounding of place and distorted what was left with apocalyptic regulations and one-way systems. The sound system harnesses the power to synergise the sonic and sociocultural ingredients of a moment in public memory. But just as with 90s rave culture, the styles of UK ‘sound system music’ have become frozen in time. Recent breakthroughs in speaker design have unlocked new sonic potentials and the democratisation of music production has gifted us a seemingly endless supply of cutting edge bass music that goes far beyond the constrains of dubstep, jungle and drum 'n bass. With these new tools comes the potential to reflect new times. With Hope Works now closed in 2025, who will book Aya to play on Sinai? Who will pipe SoundCloud trap and weirdo internet bass through a wall of scoops? [^1]: Of these, highlights were: [Steven Julien - Bloodline](https://stevenjulien.bandcamp.com/track/bloodline), [Mistamen - Daylight Robbery](https://greenmoneyrecordings.bandcamp.com/track/daylight-robbery) & [Detromental & Chris Smith - Rewind (Rebuilt)](https://centralprocessingunit.bandcamp.com/track/rewind-rebuilt)