Sunday Dub Session with Aba Shanti-I
Aba Shanti-I on Sinai Sound System, Ashley Holmes and Jamal Sterrett
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Date: Sun 21 June
Time: 18:00 - 22:30
Venue: FORGE Warehouse
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ABOUT THE SHOW
Please Note: This event has been moved to FORGE Warehouse
Audio Notice: Very loud volume with decibel levels reaching peaks of 120+ dB. Wearing earplugs is strongly advised. Free earplugs are available at the ticket desk if needed.
Curated by Nate Coltrane, this special music event brings together sound system culture, performance and movement to explore the enduring impact of Caribbean heritage in the UK.
Headlined by legendary sound system operator Aba Shanti-I, playing on Sheffield’s own Sinai Sound System, the session centres on sound as a force for connection, resistance and collective experience. Rooted in decades of cultural practice, Aba Shanti-I’s sets are both deeply spiritual and politically resonant, embodying the foundations of UK sound system culture.
The programme also features Volume, by Ashley Holmes and Jamal Sterrett. Volume is a collaborative live performance linking Britain and Jamaica through sound and movement. Drawing on Bruk Up, a Jamaican Dancehall style, it stages an improvised exchange between DJ soundscapes and embodied choreography, foregrounding diasporic memory, hybridity, and evolving Black sonic and dance practices.
Together, the evening creates a space where music, movement and community intersect, honouring the past while continuing to shape the future of sound system culture.
Event Format & Information
18:00 - Doors open and attendees arrive
18:00-22:30 - Main event happens
22:30 - Event ends, although attendees can leave at any time
Seating: This is a standing event, but if you require seating or have specific access requirements please contact us at access@migrationmattersfestival.co.uk.
Audio: Music will be played through Sinai Sound System speakers. Very loud volume with decibel levels reaching peaks of 120+ dB. Wearing earplugs is strongly advised. Free earplugs are available at the ticket desk if needed.
Lighting: The venue space will be dark with flashing lights and changing colours throughout the event.
Quiet space: There is a dedicated quiet space at this venue, called The Welfare Room. If you need access to this room at the event, please ask a venue staff member at the bar.
Venue Accessibility
Written venue access information for FORGE Warehouse is available here.
If you have any questions regarding accessibility for this event, please contact us at access@migrationmattersfestival.co.uk.
LISTEN TO THE MUSIC
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ABA SHANTI-I is a sound system operator and dub producer from the UK. Aba and his sound system have been playing through the UK and Europe for over 30 years. He has been a resident sound system at Notting Hill Carnival since 1993 and was voted the No. 1 DJ in the World by DJ Magazine in the same year.
Aba Shanti-I sound system plays music in the roots reggae and dub style. He cites, Dennis Brown, Bob Marley, Junior Delgado, Yabby You and Prince Lincoln as inspiration. The original tracks are usually supplemented by reverb, delays and effects to generate his distinctive sound.
While deejaying for the Jah Tubby's sound system, Aba Shanti-I was known as Jasmine Joe. In 1990, Aba took over the running of the Jah Tubby's sound system, debuting at the Leicester carnival. Since then, Aba Shanti-I and his sound system play regularly in the UK, with residencies at the Notting Hill Carnival since 1993, Leicester Carnival and the University of Dub as well as all over Europe, with appearances in US, Mexico, Brazil, Peru’, Japan and many other locations.
Aba Shanti-I has produced and recorded with his brother Blood Shanti and the band the Shanti-Ites, releasing records on their own Falasha imprint. Their first record, Tear Down Babylon was released in 1993. Aba Shanti-I currently has a studio in Hackney, London. Aba Shanti-I was a founder sound system of the University of Dub in the late 1990s and has been a regular ever since.
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Ashley Holmes (b. Luton, 1990) is an artist and DJ working across sound, performance, publishing, broadcasting, and collective listening. His practice explores experimental and collaborative approaches, examining music and sound as sites of knowledge production, collective memory, and political possibility.
He has exhibited and performed at institutions and festivals including V&A Museum, Arts Catalyst, No Bounds Festival, We Out Here Festival, Horst Arts & Music Festival, Turner Contemporary, and Frieze London. He hosts Tough Matter on NTS Radio and organises Open Deck, a series centred on collective listening and embodied knowledge. In 2024, he received the Serpentine’s Support Structures for Support Structures fellowship. -
EVENT INFO
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£12 | £9 | £3
For more information about our ticketing approach, please visit:
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Doors Open: 18:00
Running Time: 18:00 - 22:30 -
Event Format & Information
See the ‘Event Format & Information’ section for detailed information.
Venue Accessibility
Written venue access information for FORGE Warehouse is available here.
If you have any questions regarding accessibility for this event, please contact us at access@migrationmattersfestival.co.uk.
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Age Guidance: 14+
Content Warning:
Volume - Explicit language in music
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Photography Credit
Volume: Alex J. Taylor @manlikealex_