Julian Henriques Sonic Bodies Introduction

It hits you, but you feel no pain, instead, pleasure. This is the visceral experience of audition, to be immersed in an auditory volume, swimming in a sea of sound, between cliffs of speakers towering almost to the sky, sound stacked up upon sound tweeters on top of horns, on top of mid, on top of bass, on top of walk-in sub bass bins (Frontispiece). There is no escape, not even thinking about it, just being there alive to, in and as the excess of sound. Trouser legs flap to the base line and internal organs resonate to the finely tuned frequencies, as the vibrations of the music excite every cell in your body. This is what I call sonic dominance. This explodes with all the multi sensory intensity of image, touch, movement and smell the dance crews formations sashaying across the tarmac in front of the camera lights, the video projection screens and the scent of beer rum, weed, sweat and drum chicken floating on the tropical air. The sound of the reggae dancehall session calls out across the city blocks, or countryside hills to draw you in. It brings you to yourself, to and through your senses and it brings you to and with others sharing these convivial joys out on the street under the stars in downtown Kingston, Jamaica.