Tickets: €30
The Sud Sound System are the pioneers of raggamuffin and dancehall style from Salento in Italy live in Dublin at Button Factory .
They performed for the first time outside Salento in January 21, 1989 at the Leoncavallo social center in Milan but their recording debut dates back to 1991, with their 12’’ inch vinyl Fuecu/T’a sciuta bona.
From the beginning, the impact of the band on the Italian music scene is remarkable. Their reggae sound mixed with inspired lyrics written in the Salento dialect leads them to live television and radio appearances, up to the Festival delle Nuove Tendenze d’Autore in Recanati. They starred in a documentary by Renato De Maria and a video by Gianluca Sgalambro, broadcast on national TV. The SSS experience has also become the subject of analysis and debates in Italian universities with sociologists Georges Lapassade and Piero Fumarola.
Between 1993 and 1994 the SSS performed for the first time on the European stage together with international artists such as Macka B and Mad Professor, Little Owie, Linton Kwesi Johnson, Asher D, Chubby Rankin, Daddy Freddy, Thriller Jenna, Sweete Irie, Echo Minott , Shabba Ranks, the Wailers, Anthony B and Sizzla.
In the same years they started the Salento Showcase, in which they joined the new voices of the Salento reggae scene. The project continued in 2000, 2005 and 2007, with the birth of the Salento ShowCase Group.
In 1996 the Comu na petra album was released. Here several Salento drummers collaborated, strengthening the link between raggamuffin and the music of the Salento tradition. Among the songs: Afro ragga taranta jazz and Crisce, but also Soul train on the theme of emigration from the Italian South.
Always interested in environmental issues and in the right to a healthy environment, in 2008 they drew attention on Puglia industrial areas considered harmful for people who live there: the Ilva complex in Taranto and the Cerano power plant. The album Dammene, in collaboration with Neffa, still focuses on these themes.
On 21 April 2009, together with 53 Italian singers, they recorded the single Domani 21/04/2009, in honour of the victims of the earthquake in Abruzzo.
The partnership with the Bag A Riddim Band, their current backing band, has its origins in those years as the result of the merger between Ficupala, The Messapians and Maestro Garofalo.
After Bisogno d’amore, in May 2010, they released Ultimamente, a harsh criticism of the political system, and collaborated with Riva Starr in the single Orizzonti.
In June 2012 The Best of Sud Sound System arrives and they took part in the theatrical project by Salvatore Tramacere Acido Fenico – Ballata per Mimmo Carunchio, camorrista.
In June 2014 a new unreleased album, Sta tornu, arrived. In 2016 they started their first tour in Jamaica, hosted by Richie Stephens. Together they participated at the Reggae Sumfest the following year.
In 2017 Eternal Vibes, their studio album, came to light and led to several dates and sold out shows abroad. Collaborations with several artists and tours still go on, spreading their work across Europe.
Strictly 18’s+