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The Sir Coxsone Outtanational Saga continues...

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After we brought you the superfresh studiosession with the veteran sound around Lloyd Coxsone, here is the long-awaited interview done with the man himself after the studiosession. The man has pretty much memories to share, so check it out..
Cla.at: Tell me something about your history, like when you came to England and when you started to play?
Coxsone: Yeah, first of all I like to say: Greetings, right? To all the people of Germany ! My name is Lloydie Coxsone and I?m the manager and founder of Sir Coxsone Outtanational sound in London. Yes, when I came to England, in ?62, you know, I was 14 years of age, a likkle bwoy. I wanted to do engineering an ting, you know, but I started to go to a few dances and got interested in the sound business. And then I decided to build my own sound. The first sound I built for myself was Lloydie the Matador. I was in South-West London, that a go a couple of years, and then, in 1968, I launched Sir Coxsone Outtanational. And from that time until now, we are still going, you know. We tour everywhere round the world, play, and enjoy ourselves. This is about my 3rd time coming to Germany. I was in Krefeld before, and in Dusseldorf, and yeah, I am in Germany now today, and I?m looking forward to the session we are going to play tonight.

Cla.at: How Coxsone run de clash ting? When was your first clash, and do you still clash today?
Coxsone: Well, I can tell you that clash is my life. I have clashed with more sound than any other sound in sound history, you know? Cause I?m going so long?I clashed with sounds from Jamaica, I clashed with sounds from Holland, clashed with sounds from America, I clashed with sounds from Belgium, you know, all ova. You have to be very good, you know, I mean, I love Jamaica reggae, you know, Reggae is my national music because I was born in Jamaica, so when I?m playing the reggae, I play it from my heart, you know. My duty is to establish reggae in all parts of the world. I?m enjoying myself, you know, I have a next couple a years before my retirement, but I?m enjoying what I?m doing at the moment. And I?m still ready for more clash, you know, ?cause I like to clash. If you got a good sound, we?re best to test it, more than in the ring. You cyan have a good sound and don?t play against the top line sound. I go out and listen to other sounds when I?m not playing, you know, to know what they are playing and if they are going forward before me or what. I love this business, you know. It a very nice business, sound business. Some people try to bring it into disrepute, but I do it for the love of it. It?s my life, you know.

Cla.at: What was your most memorable clash, or the biggest clash you did, that you remember today still?
Coxsone: Well, there are so much clash that I been in. The one that I can tell ya bout is the one where I nearly lost my life. I remember that one more than most, it was in the north of England, in Birmingham, playing in a big big show, you know, big contest. And the Birmingham sound sign off with a tune, you know, and I sign on back with the same tune but different version, and then? Hell broke loose ! Everybody started to fight. I nearly lost my life. That was 1979, Birmingham, yeah. And since that, I clashed never since, but I like to play entertainment, you know. [ed.note: Dunno if Coxsone really ment he never clashed since then, as I got a Coxsone vs. Jah Shaka clashtape from 1981] I got different records. When I?m clashing, I play special, and when I?m entertaining, I play good Jamaica vocal for entertainment. So I can play any style. Is it the ragamuffin style - Sir Coxsone Outtanational can play that. Is it entertainment style ? we can play entertainment style, you know? But, yeah, it?s good when we are playing against other sound, you know, because it get you work upon, especially when the other sound is playing big, it make you work even more. But I say to the youths: All the youths who want to build a sound, it?s a good idea, but try to get a qualification of something first, because not everybody is lucky in running the sound long period, because it a very expensive business. Records are expensive, equipment is gone sky-high now, so if the youngsters out there want to build a disco or a sound, yes it?s very good, but try to get a qualification and education first, then you move on. So when the sound fail you, then you got the qualification to fall back on, you know. I did that, I?m a toolmaker by trade, so if the sound did fail me, I woulda go back making tools, you know.

Cla.at: Speaking of the equipment, can you describe the equipment of Coxsone Outtanational sound a little bit?
Coxsone: Yes, I got a very big bank, you know. I got four 3000 transistors that play bottom, and I got two 2000 watt to play around with my middle. And I got 1000 watt to play my top. But normally, I don?t play all that equipment one time. I play according to the capacity of the space, you know. We got 24 base speakers, and we got about 18 mid-range, 6 horns, you know, it a whole truck load a stuff to remove, you know. These days we hardly play whole of the equipment, we play about quarter or half of the equipment, ?cause in England, things a changing. The place that soundsystems used to have to play in England, they become very small now. And most of the venues are building in their own equipment. They don?t want us to come with these big boxes, they are scared. I?m most comfortable when I play my own sound, but we have to adopt to the change of time, you know? If someone book us on just a P.A., then we go do it. But we like to play on our equipment, because, I mean, we know what we can do when we run our own equipment. But it a fun game, you know. Soundsystem is really a fun game. Soundsystem is like a library, where you bring people come to the library to read books, people come into the soundsystem to hear what the sound is going to play. All of us soundmen, we have to have a good message for the audience, when they come onto you. None a this gun talk, badman talk, this is not helping us. We are trying to educate people how to enjoy themselves without getting into problem, you know what I mean?

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