Sonic Bodies: Reggae Sound Systems, Performance Techniques, and Ways of Knowing (Hardback)

[Sonic Bodies] offers a fresh and illuminating exploration of Jamaican auditory culture through the reggae sound system, making a significant contribution to an aspect of Caribbean and Jamaican culture that is in dire need of interrogation ... Henriques demonstrates an extensive understanding of the literature of auditory theory, cultural studies and philosophy which is very enriching for a variety of disciplines ... An outstanding cross-/multi-disciplinary work. - Dancecult: Journal of Electronic Dance Music Culture

"Sonic Bodies" is Julian Henriques' new study of the 'sound system' - the performative technology of choice that made Jamaican reggae and 'dancehall' into a great world music. This book takes us, conceptually, into altogether new and little known territory, exploring in depth the relation between popular music, its modes of transmission and the bodies it resonates with and 'colonizes'. This is a complex terrain and he navigates it in an exciting text that is thoroughly grounded in Jamaican 'sonic' cultures, technically sophisticated, full of original insights, and theoretically bold and adventurous... - Stuart Hall, Professor Emeritus, Open University , UK

Henriques’s ambition is to attempt 'a mode of Cultural Studies that is itself auditory, as distinct to one that has audition as its object of investigation'. This is an intriguing challenge for a book that is meant to be read, not heard ... he raises important questions in the process. - Shannon Dudley, University of Washington, USA, New West Indian Guide