Sounds Like London : 100 Years of Black Music in the Capital

For as long as people have been migrating to London, so has their music. An essential link to home, music also has the power to shape communities in surprising ways. Black music has been part of London's landscape since the First World War, when the Southern Syncopated Orchestra brought jazz to the capital. Following the wave of Commonwealth immigration, its sounds and styles took up residence to become the foundation of the city's youth culture. Sounds Like London tells the story of the music and the larger-than-life characters making it, journeying from Soho jazz clubs to Brixton blues parties to King's Cross warehouse raves to the streets of Notting Hill - and onto sound systems everywhere. As well as a journey through the musical history of London, Sounds Like London is about the shaping of a city, and in turn the whole nation, through music. Contributors include Eddy Grant, Osibisa, Russell Henderson, Dizzee Rascal and Trevor Nelson, with an introduction by Soul2Soul's Jazzie B. For as long as people have been migrating to London, so has their music. An essential link to home, music also has the power to shape communities in surprising ways.Black music has been part of London's landscape since the First World War, when the Southern Syncopated Orchestra brought jazz to the capital. Following the wave of Commonwealth immigration, its sounds and styles took up residence to become the foundation of the city's youth culture. Sounds Like London tells the story of the music and the larger-than-life characters making it, journeying from Soho jazz clubs to Brixton blues parties to King's Cross warehouse raves to the streets of Notting Hill - and onto sound systems everywhere. As well as a journey through the musical history of London, Sounds Like London is about the shaping of a city, and in turn the whole nation, though music.Contributors include Eddy Grant, Osibisa, Russell Henderson, Dizzie Rascal and Trevor Nelson, with an introduction by Soul2Soul's Jazzie B. For as long as people have been migrating to London, so has their music look back over the last fifty years and you'll see the likes of bhangra, Irish folk, tabla and reggae flourishing in the capital. Music is an essential link to home, celebrating an imported culture, boosting spirits, marking achievements in a new land and, most importantly, strengthening displaced communities. Then, as immigrant groups adapt to their new environment, so their music reinvents itself. In most cases this development has a social reflection: the Asian Underground, lovers rock reggae and Celtic punk spoke of the cultural crossflow between first generation immigrants and their children who were born here. Sounds like London documents this irresistible influx, positioning it as an important and integral part of London's post-War social development. Almost as much as it is a book about music, Sounds Like London is a book about the shaping of a city, and in turn the whole nation Pt. 1. 'they Come Over 'ere...'. Mash Up In The Mother Country : Calypso, Cold Winters And A Black Ballet Company -- 'are They Going To Play Music On Dustbins?' : How London Learned To Love The Steel Pan -- Sounds Of Freedom And Free Jazz : South Africans In Exile Move Modern Jazz To Prog Rock -- West Africa In The West End : Mods And Afro-rockers -- Bass Lines, Brass Sections And All Things Equal : London Gives Up The Funk -- Pt. 2. Nobody's Going Anywhere. The Whole World Loves A Lovers : Lovers' Rock Sells Reggae To Jamaica -- Living For The Weekender : Britfunk Chanting Down The Discos -- 'if You're Not Dancing, Fuck Off' : The New Sound Systems Rewrite Raving -- Pt. 3. Maybe It's Because I'm A Londoner. Who Needs A Record Company? : London Bass In The Digital Age -- From Pirates To Pop Stars : London's Black Music Rules. Lloyd Bradley. An exploration of the influence of immigrant cultures on London's music scene. Music is an essential link to home, celebrating an imported culture, boosting spirits, marking achievements in a new land and, most importantly, strengthening displaced communities