Sound systems as Spiritual Landscapes Deep deep inside the dark urban jungle, bodies are moving where the bass is booming. The lighting is minimal and low except for the occasional extraordinary flashes of red, gold, and green which illuminate, for just a moment, the cavern where a sound system and its apostles congregate.

Plastered on the walls are flags of The Conquering Lion of Judah, the Magen David, and flyers of upcoming ceremonies of a similar nature. There is an energy in the air. Something that can be felt by everyone there. This place, existing in the depths of the city, defiantly preserves a culture antithetical to that of London. A culture closer to the heart of what it means to be human. A culture centred around colossal basslines and a primal groove.

The core of the soundsystem experience is the perception of something unseen but profoundly felt. What does this do for us? How can it drive our quest for meaning? Can it, in fact, ameliorate our very souls?

“Whether it be called the upward or the religious dimension, the point is that men tend to discover, however dimly & variously, a Something affecting their experience & intelligence, not as an ingredient of these but as a challenge to them – a challenge which somehow gives a basic significance & direction to one’s living & thinking, which would seem more empty & pointless without having such a challenge & making a serious attempt to respond to it “- Phillip Wheelwright, 1968

Many of us feel that ineffable, yet very real, call to explore this Something. It seems to, simultaneously, originate within us and from out there. This inclination to confront our Absurd condition and delve into the abyss of the unknown seems to be at the very core of our humanity.

Critically, Western society discourages spiritual inquiry, mystical exploration, even intuitive feeling. Its overreliance on individualism, consumerism, and materialism has intensified polarisation and intolerance. Simply put, our urban space is “organised around the pursuit of inequality.” This is precisely what makes the sound system so vital.

The core of the soundsystem experience is the perception of something unseen but profoundly felt.

British soundsystem culture represents an entirely contrasting worldview. A rich culture complete with a set of practices, symbols, and a diverse community. Birthed by the Windrush, British soundsystem culture is fundamentally countercultural, exceptionally egalitarian, and conducive to spiritual or mystical experiences.

“Everybody has a spirit, it just needs to be found or discovered…one way of discovering it is through the affective experience of the roots reggae soundsystem” – Orlando Woods, 2019

Just as dub engineers strip away the vocals and accentuate the core riddim, spiritual discovery strips away ego and cognition to accentuate and embrace the essence of the self: our own core riddim. The soundsystem experience connects the two.

Everyone says you feel a bassline: it is an embodied experience. At a soundsystem, the music is “inside you as well as you being inside it.”

At its limits, sound either disappears into silence or overloads the senses – both of which circumvent rational cognition. Where meditation techniques utilise sonic underloading, the soundsystem causes sonic overloading. Both result in an immersive spiritual landscape creating a visceral state where the ineffable is no longer abstract but directly felt.

Everyone says you feel a bassline: it is an embodied experience.

In the context of a dub soundsystem, sonic overloading and repetitive movement decouples the body from rational thought and action. Spirituality becomes manifest inducing “feelings of transcendence and detachment from the profane self.” One such response to this spiritual energy is skanking: A “ritual dance and spirit possession” that is triggered by “repetition of the beat for an extended period of time, and its rupture, so that dancer can lose consciousness.”

You can see for yourself, the trance-like behaviours induced at sound systems. When prompted retrospectively, the skankers often turn to a spiritual semantic field to explain this.

The primalistic riddim of dub encourages spiritual enquiry, an enquiry into the divinity immanent to all people. Operating within the Western world of materialism, egoism, and crushing secularism, this experience is absolutely crucial.

Jah Shaka – the towering figure of British sound system culture – describes his music as “a therapy for the people, the human body.” Shaka’s dub “is more about Rasta spirituality…and the chanting down of Babylon, than it is about straightforward musical entertainment.” The sound system itself is defined as “a vehicle for the message”: a message of peace and unity.

This innately spiritual message and energy, preternaturally delivered by the numinous bass, goes deep into the psyche. With regular cognitive thought melting away, we start to engage with our spirit and with that Something. We start to acknowledge our immanent eternal Self and its oneness with the Absolute. To use Hindu terminology, the Atman is one with Brahman.

“Though GOD is everywhere present, yet He is only present to thee in the deepest and most central part of thy soul. The natural senses cannot possess GOD or unite thee to Him” – William Law, 1749

The sound system experience, diminishing our natural senses, guides us deep into our souls. Through recognising the divinity within and truly overstanding how we are not separate from the Universe, we find deep empowerment.

The primalistic riddim of dub encourages spiritual enquiry, an enquiry into the divinity immanent to all people. Operating within the Western world of materialism, egoism, and crushing secularism, this experience is absolutely crucial.

“Each being contains in itself the whole intelligible world…when he ceases to be an individual, he raises himself again and penetrates the whole world” – Plotinus, ~260

It is clear how the soundsystem could have played a pivotal role in raising self-esteem within Windrush communities. This divine empowerment is not felt in isolation. We too can, through this experience, recognise the supreme unseparated nature of all humans: One Love as Bob Marley might put it.

“One Nature, perfect and pervading, circulates in all natures”– Yongjia Xuanjue, ~700

No doubt this awareness of oneness, amplified by the soundsystem experience, drives the egalitarian nature of the broader culture. Sounds connect people: it draws us together. The calls for unity have its origins in a deep spiritual awareness.

“Caste, creed, family, and lineage do not exist in Brahman…It is ignorance that causes us to identify ourselves with the body, the ego, the senses, or anything that is not the” Atman – Shankara, ~800

Evidently, engaging with the Something (God, Brahman, Ein Sof, the Absolute etc.) has profound impacts on how we treat others and ourselves. We can find immense power in recognising our unity with that which-is-so-Divine. With it we can overcome any obstacle. This loving oneness drives positive wellbeing, self-growth, and actualisation. And when viewing our human compatriots as inseparable from us, as equally inseparable from Brahman, we can start to treat each other with greater understanding and deeper love.

Indeed, this is no recipe for world peace, nor does it inspire sacrosanct humans immune to sadness and sin. Yet the spiritual landscape of the sound system is conducive to positive growth – steps in the right direction. Even minimal steps towards self-love and love for others are meaningful.

Consequently, I prescribe dub for the city. The primal and universal nature of this practice dissolves the idea of others until there are none in the dancehall. The empowerment felt is vital to overcoming the challenges of our urban paradigm. The spiritual landscape is so valuable in a city so focused on scientific positivism.

Ultimately, soundsystem culture offers an inclusive community centred around dance-based consciousness raising and mystical exploration. While it is perhaps most beneficial for marginalised minorities, soundsystems are open to all those in British cities.

Crucially, when skanking at a soundsystem, I feel only love, and with that, I feel empowered:

“God has created certain things, and these things appear to you at certain times when the music is played at the right time…. it’s a feeling created by God himself “- Jah Shaka, 1984

Written by Binyamin– a London-born writer & musician. He is drawn to the ways philosophy, mysticism, and music intersect. He explores how this intersection impacts everyday life and wellbeing.