Here is a quick synopsis of what happened at Call Di Undataker Sound clash @ 227 Lounge 08.17.13. The clash got underway at 12: 47 AM. Straws were drawn to determine the exact playing order of the Sounds. Super Fresh were up first, then LP International and Killamanjaro followed. Each Sound played a twenty-five minute set in the first round. The crowd of approximately 450 people were ready and set for the big ‘war’ to start! Super Fresh came hard in the first round, despite having to feel out the sound (at the controls) and the crowd. The audience was very receptive and Super Fresh played a solid first round, bringing the right vibes to the clash.
LP International was up next. Polly Famous ‘The General’ would sit this round out and observe his mates, Puma (owner) and Killa D (who had left this Sound, but, now is back) in action. Interestingly enough, LP didn’t touch the mic during this second round, but, were well received by the masses at the beginning. I wasn’t quite sure what their strategy was, I guess they thought that they could win the audience over by strictly playing chunes. When it comes to Sound clash – tunes and speech go hand in hand, there’s little room for experimentation when playing outside your home town. Perhaps this would have gone over well in New York, but, here in Etobicoke, it didn’t thus leading to a mediocre performance. We heard big chunes yes, but overall, the killing opportunity that we expected to be exploited by LP International didn’t happen, it’s almost as if they were content in letting that round go.
When Jaro, represented by Mophead and Freddy Krueger came out, there was a huge fanfare – almost like they were the ‘stars’ of the clash. The people were excited to see the big, bad Jaro in action. They found their confidence quick and soared, but, midway through their set, they started to level the vibes and just remained so. It seemed Jaro was a bit disorganised at times – their momentum coming off of round one was erratic. This is the break LP had hoped for – they studied Jaro’s playing style, dropping some traditional Jaro dubs leaving them frazzled.
At the end of the round, the vote was clear – Super Fresh took it. A great confidence booster for the homegrown Sound! Super Fresh then continued on from where they left off in round two. They overcame technical difficulties and ended up winning round two. They were well prepared and had a creative approach to their execution (a few customised dubs didn’t hurt either). LP International and Jaro are guilty of failing themselves in this round. Their performances were unsteady – great starts, but, things got a little sticky halfway through. LP’s performance peaked with a Chronixx dub that may have been the biggest forward in the clash. Jaro also had a few good moments, but, eventually, both Sounds lacked consistency and proper pacing. Both Sounds experienced thrilling highs and crushing lows – the mob wanted more from their Sounds.
Super Fresh was riding high, but, that came to a halt in round three. Something had gone wrong somewhere – when it was time to bring it, they couldn’t and lost the support of the massive (who may have already made up their minds not to make it a 3-0 score – (ending the clash) by giving Super Fresh that round. This was the round that LP (with mic man Polly Famous) had their best moments. They played a solid round and with a few customised dubs, had the crowd was now in sound clash paradise, vibes had tun up in the whole event, and home town selector Polly Famous was properly representing, as a Canadian, his foreign LP Sound. I thought at this point that the winner of Round 3 had to be LP – their round was that good. But then Jaro played and tore down the place, making up some lost ground from the first two rounds. They were turning over the place with customized dubs and anthems feturing artists like Super Cat that nobody else had, and their fan support was massive. The voting was clear after Round 3 – it was Jaro’s Round. The crowd loved them in Round 3 as they finally got the Jaro they had expected.
At this point and time, Super Fresh had won two rounds and Jaro, one. It escalated to a ten round ‘tune fi tune’. Jaro had the crowd in their hands and continued their momentum by winning the first five rounds. LP International took the next three rounds and Jaro won the last two rounds – ending the clash. There was no trophy given, but, it was Jaro’s championship. Congratulations to Killamanjaro – the Call Di Undataker champion and to Super Fresh for winning two of the three rounds! Congratulations also goes out to Polly Famous ‘The General’, he may not have won the clash, but, he worked tirelessly to put the event together and performed very well on the Canadian world stage! Enjoy the pics and audio!
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