ST JAMES. Jamaica- Montego Bay’s Pier 1 car park was transformed into a musical warzone on Thursday night for Reggae Sumfest’s Global Soundclash.

The Magnum Tonic Wine-sponsored event saw both local and international sound systems battle for the coveted title of the 2023 Global Soundclash Champion.

Jamaica’s Bass Odyssey, Code Red and Magnum All-Star Soundclash winner, Echo One battled against South Sudan’s Dynamq and Japan’s Jah Works. But as the dust settled in the early hours of the morning, the South Sudanese-based sound came out victorious, walking away with a trophy and bragging rights, after defeating Kingston-based sound system Code Red.

Hosted by Pretty Boy Floyd, the event had patrons dancing and swaying to carefully curated musical selections from each round. The clash consisted of five rounds, with all five sounds going dub for dub, tune for tune. Unfortunately, the Magnum All-Star Soundclash champion, Echo One Sound System, was eliminated after their round 2 performance.

A very despondent Fire Wayne, Disc Jock- Echo One, explained that “this Reggae Sumfest stage is very different from what we’re used to. The crowd mixture is also different, especially with the tourists from all over. Preparation is key for this event and our style is a little bit different, seeing that we’re more of a juggling sound and this crowd was more interactive. We’re grateful for this opportunity though, because since winning the Magnum All-Star Sound Clash we’ve been getting calls from all over the world, so big up to Magnum and the All-Star team for the exposure and the support.”

JahWorks and Bass Odyssey were eliminated shortly after, which left Code Red and Dynamq to battle it out for the coveted title. Dynamq however, proved to be too much for Code Red, as they decimated their opponent with hits after hits in the final round.

“It’s an overwhelming feeling. I still can’t believe it. Just being booked to play reggae music in Jamaica, I’m already a winner. I don’t take any of the competitors lightly, I just find their weak spots and capitalize on them. One good thing about playing solo is that I have to pay attention to everything that’s happening. I spent so much money preparing for tonight. Also ,any sleepless nights trying to mix and perfect dubs. I just wanted people to know that the African came and represented well, when they leave here,” stated Ongele Lorya, Global Soundclash 2023 champion.

In the history of the Global Soundclash, Magnum Tonic Wine surprised the winning sound with a whopping $1 million on top of the already announced prizes. In addition to this, Sunshine Snacks added $100,000 to the prize money, which saw Dynamq walking away with $1.1 million.

“Tonight was very special for us. The production was executed well, the sound systems came out blazing and the patrons had a great time. It is always our purview to give every aspect of dancehall the boost it needs, so partnering with Reggae Sumfest on this project was a no- brainer. All teams did well, but at the end of the day, only one can win, so a big congratulations to Dynamq for the performance they put on,” expressed Kamal Powell, regional marketing manager at Magnum Tonic Wine.