Amplifying Power
The Shaping of the Jamaican Sound System
$329.19
- Hardcover
400 pages
- Release Date
11 May 2027
Summary
In Amplifying Power, Julian Henriques analyzes the reggae sound system as both a technical instrument and a cultural artifact central to the “Jamaican sound.” To discover how this distinctive sound is created, Henriques positions sound systems as active, creative agents within dancehall culture, listening to them not simply as playback devices but as musical instruments in their own right. Sound engineers “play” their instrument by employing phonomorphic techniques–practices like amplifying, filtering, mixing, and transducing–to shape Jamaica’s unique sonic signature, leading sound system engineering to be a potent example of the creative relationships between technological instruments and Afro-diasporic cultural practices. Henriques demonstrates that Jamaican sound systems function as tools of resistance, resilience, and community cohesion and are key to asserting Black freedom and collective futures.
Book Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781478035046 |
|---|---|
| ISBN-10: | 1478035048 |
| Author: | Julian Henriques |
| Publisher: | Duke University Press |
| Imprint: | Duke University Press |
| Format: | Hardcover |
| Number of Pages: | 400 |
| Release Date: | 11 May 2027 |
| Weight: | 572g |
| Dimensions: | 152mm x 229mm |
You Can Find This Book In
Critics Review
“Amplifying Power is vital work, exciting work, thrilling work. Like the mixes, dubplates, and sound systems he writes about, Julian Henriques presses play and then follows the vibrations out in multiple directions, tracking amplified sound as it ripples across theories of technology, sociality, sound, and space.”–Josh Kun, author of, The Autograph Book of L.A.: Improvements on the Page of the City
“Amplifying Power is a love letter to the sound engineers whose embodied, vibronic knowing sustains collective life in and beyond Jamaican sound systems. Julian Henriques shows us how engineers create the intensities, pulsations, frequencies, and amplifications that produce the power of the dancehall, all the while positioning sounding as a technology of Black creative agency that sustains life outside of (but in relation to) Western modes of knowledge and authority. Big up and respect!”–Deborah A. Thomas, author of, Exorbitance: A Speculative Ethnography of Inheritance
Julian Henriques
Julian Henriques is Professor Emeritus of Media, Communications and Cultural Studies at Goldsmiths, University of London. He is the author of Sonic Bodies: Reggae Sound Systems, Performance Techniques, and Ways of Knowing.
Returns
This item is eligible for free returns within 30 days of delivery. See our returns policy for further details.