Lee Tafari charts new sound system direction

Mel Cooke, Gleaner Writer

Lee's Unlimited, started in Springfield, St Thomas, in 1968, is one of Jamaica's more venerable sound systems which continue to lay down the thunderous beats. Now in its second generation of ownership, Trevor 'Lee Tafari' Lee, having taken control after his father, the senior Trevor Lee, died, it has gone full circle - literally - back to playing vinyl after seeing many stages of Jamaican music.

As owner, Lee Tafari is behind the music, charting Lee's Unlimited's renewed direction. However, as a selector from he was 14 years old and fusing action with the music as Chip Lee the Performer seven years later, Lee Tafari is also very much front and centre.

In addition, he also plays the guitar and sings; his Love Party is the theme song of the recently launched Conscious Reggae Party One Love series, and Lee Tafari envisions a seamless blend of live performance and sound system selections.

"Lee's Unlimited is like a sentence - Lee is unlimited," he points out.

However, being behind the music comes before the performance, and Lee Tafari said when he returned to Jamaica in 2008 to take over Lee's Unlimited he had to literally wash off a large number of records and get them back to a condition in which they could be played.

He also charted a different course for Lee's Unlimited, pointing out that many people lack a vision of how far they can take their musical package. "Me a 35 now. Me gone past that. Me go pon nuff plane, woman a run me dung. You realise a no that you a do it fa," Tafari said.

"The reason why me a make the sacrifice deh is because we have the music to heal the world," he said.

There was a point when he was in denial about the negative effect music about violence has on people, but Lee Tafari tells The Gleaner that he has seen it at first hand. Now, he says he does not play most of the specials in Lee's Unlimited's arsenal. And he is emphatic about the effect playing vinyl has on him. "Me play MP3, me no too like the computer, me play CD and that is nothing to when you play vinyl and put needle on record and hear the feel and the groove," he said.

"That is how I like to explain vinyl to everybody - in the valley of music. You hear everything," he said.

With Sights and Sounds, Lee Tafari has also fused the music with videos, presenting images of the performers even as he spins their music. Now, as a singer who also plays the guitar, he says, "My ultimate aim is to merge live with sound system … . Me going plug in the guitar and start play in the middle of spinning sound. I see a thing that can turn into the highest level of production."

This includes the proper lighting. And he will have material, as Tafari says he is recording tracks in studio.

Favourite spots

The Bahamas, where Lee Tafari played over 60 times, and Canada were favourite spots, Lee's Unlimited having a connection with Black Chiney sound system. He also did the radio programme 'Jah Guide'. However, he laughs at the memory of one particular date with Stone Love in Miami, where he was thrown into the fray after the designated selector did not come from Jamaica.

The then 17-year-old had less then an hour to familiarise himself with the music. "That time me in high school. Me never expect that crowd in front of me," he said. He played, then Stone Love, but when he started off again there was a humming from the sound system. The crowd started booing and Rory on Stone Love immediately came in with the Buju Banton dub plate announcing "dem cyaa play like a you".

"Me cry eyewater," Tafari reminisces, laughing.

Now, he concentrates on getting the feel of the music and artiste across to the audience. "Is not an imitation. You feel what the artiste a say and bring it to the people in a more simple way. You use words and body language and vibration," Tafari said, clenching his fists.

He has come a long way from wanting to touch the Lee's Unlimited microphone but being told by his father that he was not ready. Now, Lee Tafari points to sound systems like Stur-Gav and Merritone as examples of the longevity he aims for and laments that "the culture is packaged and sent to Europe on tour".

"If you follow people you get discouraged and stop. It no easy, so we take it easy," he said.

"Right now what I have of Lee's Unlimited I would say is the finest of the wheat. The chaff and the tares have been burnt out," Lee Tafari said.

Lee's Unlimited next plays at 'Vibes is Right' at Wickie Wackie, Bull Bay, on Saturday, July 16.