Sound system

Most musicians believe they can change the world. From the unknown garage punk band to the pop icons of our times, from states’ propaganda anthems to enslaved Caribbean roots singers, music has the power to unsettle – or maintain – the most fundamental political and social conventions. Sound System is the story of one musician’s journey to discover what makes music so powerful. Through years of touring, playing and protesting, Dave Randall has grown to see music as a force for social change as well as something that has been used to keep people in their place throughout history. This is a book of raves, riots and revolutions, celebrity, commodification and culture. From Tahrir Square to Syria, Pop Idol to Trinidadian Carnival, Randall finds political inspiration across the musical spectrum and poses the question: how can we make music serve the interest of the many, rather than the few?