The sound clash business has a problem, one which I do not see just how they will get around, especially in the short run.

It needs new *lo** to keep it going, as does any creative industry, but it is a business where the old 'foundation' music is treasured. So just where will these new sounds get access to the old songs, many done by artistes who are already dead?

And even if they can manage to get some of the older artistes to do songs, they will not sound old. The voices have changed slightly, there are different engineers, the digital sound is different from the analog and all these subtle and not-so-subtle variations are amplified for a very discerning clash audience.

So on Easter Monday (well, more Tuesday morning) at Pier One in Montego Bay, St James, when the Panther-led Black Kat and Mighty Crown went to the tune-for-tune section, it was old dubs all the way. In the vintage section that preceded the main clash the crowd cheered loudest for a Supercat dub of 'Don Dada' done for David Rodigan.

Sure, the Mavados and the DeMarcos and Tarrus Rileys went over well in the early segment of the clash; but when it came to the 'Nitty Gritty' (King Jammys played him) it was the foundation tunes that run the cut, Mighty Crown actually going that route in the last elimination round, 'Conqueror' and 'Tempo' among the tunes that really hit.

New sound

Hype Zone, the new sound that organisers Irish and Chin introduced to Death Before Dishonour did not show any signs of having even cut some old songs in a new way to at least appear to be the much vaunted 'foundation'. (Mighty Crown had Jimmy Cliff's Harder They Come and 'Many Rivers to Cross'. They are still 'gettable' for some.) Last year's new entrant, Silver Star, had the same problem and, like Hype Zone, relied on new dubs and a whole heap of insults. Even with their area supporters (Silver Star had a lot and bottles flew) inside Pier One it was not enough.

It appears to me that for a long time to come, it will be Black Kat, Jaro, Bass Odyssey, Mighty Crown, David Rodigan and the usual crew who will be worth seeing clash against each other. Whether or not the clash fans will be satisfied with this round-robin style for some time to come is another matter.