JAH Trinity - TRAVEL

Marcus and Meshach my sons were flown over from Gloucester UK to spend some weeks in Australia with me. While they were here, we travelled around Adelaide visiting many beaches and also spent a few hours at The Gorge Wildlife Park located at Cudlee Creek, high up in the Adelaide Hills. It was a very hot day, around 35C (actually quite cool for Adelaide, where the temperature can reach 46C on a scorching day).

The animals that we saw in the park were mostly native to Australia and they were just relaxing in the sun. There were a few surprises in store for us, like Albino kangaroos that were all white! I had never seen or heard of this before…nor had most people in Adelaide!

Another big surprise for me, was finding out that Marcus, (then aged 15) was a brilliant MC called ‘M&M'. He also mixed down tracks and blended the tracks together superbly! Something I could never do.

Meshach (then aged 12) was also a fabulous MC on the microphone! He strung his lyrics together and mashed it up while we were at DJ“Jeremiah Esquire's” house having a wild Drum and Bass session. Both Marcus and Meshach are “Garage” MCs DJs and they showed off their impressive skills to their dad Jah Trinity!

Marcus also travels the UK as DJ M&M. Jeremiah has a large selection of BOOMBASTIC Drum and Bass records guaranteed to tear down any venue…especially if it was played on Jah Trinity's “Earthshaker Sound System.” Anyway that's in the future still to come!

The night before Marcus and Meshach were due to leave Adelaide and fly back to Gloucester England, via Darwin and Singapore, we decided to have a big send off dance using Jah Trinity Sound System and Roots Reggae records including exclusive dubplates!

This was going to be a sound clash with Marcus as ‘King Zulu Sound', versus Meshach as ‘Jah Earthshaker Sound' Versus Milton as ‘Jah Trinity Sound'. Each sound chose about 10 records each and took it in turns to play “1 for 1” (one record each turn). Each sound had the use of their own sound effects box and & shared the echo chamber unit. They were allowed to operate the Preamplifier mixer, but no one was allowed to turn up the volume ‘excessively' especially the big bad bass knobs!

All three bass boxes contained an 18-inch speaker that was 600 Watts of extreme power. Jah Trinity kicked off the dance with his first tune and greeted everyone. Jah Earthshaker (Meshach), put on his record and immediately started to MC culture lyrics! Boy I was so shocked! Then King Zulu (Marcus) stepped up with his first tune and sirens wailing!

“Hey you think King Zulu came all the way from England to Australia

to joke? I'm not going to lose dis dance tonight yu know. Listen to dis

dubplate I &I just bring straight from de studio dis morning you know”.

(Tune plays followed by a ‘haul and pull up', everybody dancing in the room shouting encouragement and whistles).

“Yeah well right about now, we calling every man woman and child, fe

hear dem ya style, new brand fashion. We no deal wid no war or violence, just peace and love and unity. I&I giving thanks and Praises unto Jah for His Mercy endureth forever, Jah RastafarI”.

(Space invader sound effects echoed and mixed to Jah Trinity's wild style! The crowd, bawl out for combination 2 on the dub version, several pieces to run, as he fires up the dance)

Jah Earthshaker's turn:

“ Cho! Jah Trinity, ah what yu call dat? Bout yu new brand! Cho hey King Zulu, yu come from far? Well yu going to wish dat yu never reached at all! Becaa right now I want de doors dem to lock off and all windows fe bolt up tight. Nobody naa leave here. You see right now Jah Earthshaker come fe roast 2 soun bwoy inna dis ya dance tonight! And ah who say Earthshaker rule? ca we no fool!!”

“ Gwaan! Earthshaker”, whistles and horns sounding.

“Rewind dem style dey and come again my Selecta, dis dub go straight to a bwoy headside buff!”

By this time it was obvious that this was not going to be a normal calm send off party! It was rapidly turning into a serious 3 the hard way sound clash and only the fittest of the fittest would survive! I felt beads of sweat streaming down my face from stepping around the lounge room to the brutal tracks and electric atmosphere! My palms were very sweaty and I had severe butterflies in my stomach.

Oh dear! This was a real, original bang ga rang dance. Who taught them to be so dread on the Mic and playing dem rough tunes?

The last time I had this sound clash feeling was many years ago back in the early 90's playing alongside some of the toughest reggae sounds in the business. The house was now absolutely shaking with the deep underground bass, which shook all the windows and the large garage door and the zinc fence at the bottom of the garden. SSSessionnnnn!

The mids and tops sounded clean and the microphone was being used to the fullness. The tunes were flowing as we 3 sounds, battled it out in Adelaide that night. It was so exciting to have a real roots reggae dance,

which is what I miss so much at times. Fortunately there are reggae and drum and bass shows being held regularly in Adelaide.

When I find the time to play the live tape recording of this session, I will write out the full transcript and place it on this website for you all to see what went on, including the tracks played. It was definitely one of my best Reggae dances, ever and it happened here in Australia! It was so memorable and funny.

Both Marcus and Meshach still remember Jah Trinity playing the sound in the house before going to play at big shows all over the UK. This is why they are so experienced at their young ages. Djing is in their blood and it has been handed from father to sons. My mother used to play records on her radiogram in the front room and on her Garrad record player (red and white). She used to have many 78rpm tunes and loads of 7” records and albums. She used to dance with me and my brothers and sisters when we were small! So this is where the musical side of us came from.

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