The Small Axe Guide to
Sound System Tapes Jamaica
by Ray Hurford
A paperback cover.
In the ’80s and ’90s, reggae dancehall culture spread underground worldwide by cassette tapes live-recorded at the dancehall event in Jamaica. For the audiences outside Jamaica, tapes were the only way to know what was happening and invented on the small island.
That tapes had energetic vibes and enough information to blast our minds and imagination. Even missing elements help us amplify our imagination.
This book collects historical Soundsystem information and nostalgic stories of tape collectors about the tape culture for enthusiasts who have the same experience. A switch to recall their memories.
So we designed its cover to attract attention and flashback them.
Concept of Design
We designed its cover to attract attention and make flashbacks.
・Easy-to-understand it’s about Sound Tapes
・Uniqueness of cassette tapes.
・A feeling of time slip.
・Visualize memory.
Cassette Tapes are a physical music format and have unique memorizable features.
Tapes had two sides and were stored in a cassette. Sometimes, it went outside accidentally.
Sound Tapes were released by Jamaican soundsystems ( movable disco systems with massive speaker walls and crews) and copied among fans outside Jamaica. The covers of cassettes have each soundsystems’ name. After being dubbed repeatedly, covers were lost, and only memos of the names were written.
Front; A cassette and a overflying tape with soundsystem names on both sides, forming a swirl like a time tunnel. It also expresses flush of information from a small cassette.
Back; Tapes wriggling in box of echo system.
Inside: The imagined scenery of dancehall.
Clouds express the smoky dancehall and imagination.
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