It is often said that the most sincere form of flattery is imitation and it doesn't get more genuine than beat maker/producer Jay Spaker aka Double Tiger and Quoc Pham aka DJ QMastah of production house Tour De Force. Based in Brooklyn, New York, the duos' affinity to Jamaican music sound system culture inspired efforts to establish a similar atmosphere at home, one that is authentic. Like the genesis of the sound system era in the 1950s, they would begin with the building of a custom 15,000 watt sound system. From conceptualization to execution, their fruit of labour the "Tower of Sound" would come to fruition one year later.
With the sound system in full operation, it was time to test it out. Tour de Force debuted with a collaborated single "Pool Party" featuring international reggae artiste Jahdan
Blakkamoore. The song is said to be a tribute
to the quintessential digital dancehall riddim—King
Jammy's classic Sleng Teng—revamped to include elements of contemporary dub and bass music. It symbolizes
the duo's core objective, that is to preserve
the sound system culture while remaining
original in their execution. Pool Party is the teaser single off their forthcoming
LP Battle Cry, expected to be released this fall on Spaker and Pham's Dub-Stuy Records.
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