Battle of familiar giants
Published:Wednesday | May 18, 2016 | 2:28 PMMel Cooke
Tonight, Tony Matterhorn and Fire Links will square off in the finals of this year's Boom All Star Sound Clash at Cling Cling Oval, Olympic Way, St Andrew. They know each other well as sound clash opponents; look back at Fully Loaded 2001 on YouTube - and just in case it has not hit you, that was 15 years ago.
They both have strong sound system roots, Matterhorn from Inner City and Fire Links from Bodyguard, before the era when some selectors started out as independent operators (sometimes derisively known as 'pouchies') without being ever linked to a particular sound system. Fire Links won The STAR's sound clash (the combative edge was taken off the name, as it was called a face-off instead of a clash) when it was last staged in 2014.
However, I believe that this is the first time Matterhorn is entering one of the clashes where the name includes that of a title sponsor. He did take the Bad Boy Sound Clash that was staged for P Diddy in Half-Way Tree in 2013, defeating Foota Hype.
The overtly commercially sponsored clashes can be of a different breed from those which do not have corporate sponsors' requirements and regulations to be mindful of. The clashes which Irish and Chin put on, for example (the now defunct World Clash on Easter Monday in Montego Bay, St James), tend to be a far different experience from those which have content stipulations.
That apart, although Matterhorn and Fire Links are sure to put on a very good show, not least of all because they both know the material their opponent has, the finalists further indicate a weakness in the clash business that Irish has spoken about repeatedly. There is a dearth of fresh, top-flight clash participants and, like anything else where there are no entrants at the highest level, it will eventually get mundane and die.
BIGGER LEAGUE
To his credit, Irish has tried to unearth new talent by having clash events which are structured for younger sound systems to earn their spurs and possibly step up to the bigger league and tackle more established opponents. In the main, it has not worked.
The top-flight pool is very, very small. In addition to Matterhorn and Fire Links there are Bass Odyssey, Mighty Crown, Black Kat (with Pink Panther), Kilamanjaro (especially when Trooper and Freddy make an appearance), Sound Trooper (Ricky Trooper's sound) and David Rodigan. Forgive me if I have left out anyone, and also sounds which make rare clash appearances, like Bodyguard and Silverhawk, are not sufficiently active for it to be still considered top tier, despite their esteemed lineage. Metromedia does it occasionally, but to give an idea of how old these sound systems are, of the lot Mighty Crown is the youngest - and they are celebrating 25 years this year.
It is going to be hard for a new sound system to break in. Not only are there so many artistes who have passed on, but even for some who are still around, their voices have changed and the dub plates/specials would not sound as good if they were done now. Then there is the matter of price, especially as a new sound system would be playing catch-up.
And so we come to yet another climactic clash with familiar faces. They are, of course, excellent, but will the next generation of music battlers have anywhere near the same impact?