On Thursday night, Montego Bay’s Pier 1 car park was transformed into a musical war zone for Reggae Sumfest’s Global Sound Clash. The Magnum Tonic Wine-sponsored event saw both local and international sound systems battle for the coveted title of the 2023 Global Sound Clash Champion.
Jamaica’s Bass Odyssey, Code Red and Magnum All-Star Soundclash winner, Echo One, battled against South Sudan’s Dynamq and Japan’s Jah Works. As the dust settled in the early hours of the morning, the South Sudan-based sound came out victorious, walking away with a trophy and bragging rights after defeating Kingston-based Code Red.
Ongele ‘Dynamq’ Lorya, the Global Sound Clash 2023 champion, was ecstatic. “It’s an overwhelming feeling. I still can’t believe it. Just being booked to play reggae music in Jamaica, I’m already a winner. I don’t take any of the competitors lightly, I just find their weak spots and capitalise on them,” he said.
Dynamq, who plays solo, explained why this is not a drawback. “One good thing about playing solo is that I have to pay attention to everything that’s happening. I spent so much money preparing for tonight. Also, many sleepless nights trying to mix and perfect dubs. I just wanted people to know that the African came and represented well, when they leave here,” he stated.
A despondent Fire Wayne, the selector for Echo One, shared his thoughts on the event.
“This Reggae Sumfest stage is very different from what we’re used to. The crowd mixture is also different, especially with the tourists from all over. Preparation is key for this event and our style is a little bit different, seeing that we’re more of a juggling sound and this crowd was more interactive. We’re grateful for this opportunity, though, because, since winning the Magnum All-Star Sound Clash, we’ve been getting calls from all over the world. So, big up to Magnum and the All-Star team for the exposure and the support,” Fire Wayne said.
The event had patrons dancing and swaying to carefully curated musical selections from each round. The clash consisted of five rounds, with all five sounds going dub-for-dub, tune-for-tune. The Magnum All-Star Soundclash champion, Echo One Sound System, was eliminated after their round two performance.
The audience were the judges for this event, and each sound system came on stage with the sole task of wooing the crowd. JahWorks and Bass Odyssey were eliminated shortly after, which left Code Red and Dynamq to battle it out for the coveted title. Dynamq, however, proved to be too much for Code Red, as they decimated their opponent with hit after hit in the final round.
In the history of the Global Soundclash, Magnum Tonic Wine surprised the winning sound with a whopping $1 million on top of the already announced prizes. In addition to this, Sunshine Snacks added $100,000 to the prize money, which saw Dynamq walking away with $1.1 million.
“Tonight was very special for us. The production was executed well, the sound systems came out blazing and the patrons had a great time. It is always our purview to give every aspect of dancehall the boost it needs, so partnering with Reggae Sumfest on this project was a no-brainer. All teams did well but, at the end of the day, only one can win. So, a big congratulations to Dynamq for the performance they put on,” said Kamal Powell, regional marketing manager at Magnum Tonic Wine.
The authentic dancehall brand, Magnum Tonic Wine, remains in full support of dancehall development in Jamaica. On Friday, at the Catherine Hall Stadium in Montego Bay, Jubba, the winner of the Magnum Top Performa competition, made another step into greatness when he made his debut on the Reggae Sumfest stage, courtesy of Magnum.