Dancehall: not a musical style, a way of life

The malls trees might be covered in fake snow, but in one corner of Dubai this weekend, they’ll be doing their best to make you feel like you’re dancing on the sands of Jamaica. The second Reggae Beachfest, at XL Beach Club, Habtoor Grand this Saturday will see BBC Radio 1xtra DJ Robbo Ranx headlining the day-long Caribbean music event. The day kicks off with easy listening from 2-6pm, with children welcome until 5pm, followed by an Jamaican oldies party from 6-11pm. Ranx takes to the decks from 11pm-12.30am. Ahead of his set, Ranx revealed his set-list must-haves, and what reggae item he hopes to find in his stocking tomorrow.

What can we expect from your show in Dubai?

When we put our energy around a turntable, I expect you to feel that. We come with a high-energy reggae, high-energy dancehall vibe. Some DJs go in with fireworks, we go in with pyrotechnics. Things are turned up. At no part of the party are you going to feel like, ‘I’m going to go to the bar’.

What/who are the hottest acts in dancehall right now and why?

I’ve got to say the hottest act I will be playing is still Vybez Kartel. Even though he’s incarcerated [he is currently on trial for murder], he’s still... so popular in the clubs. Away from Vybez Kartel, is Aidonia, Busy Signal, Mavado, hugely popular in the clubs. Icons like Bounty Killer and Beanie Man, those dancehall artists still play. And of course the old-skool dancehall artists like Chaka Demus and Pliers to Shaggy. We play a lot of old school and new school.

Who do you never get tired of playing?

When it comes to old favourites, they are like a fixture in my record box. Some people would expect you to go and pluck these obscure tracks out of the sky and expect them to work. Why favourites work is because they were hugely popular among ravers, lovers of reggae, we stick to that and it works with the way we play. I don’t play records for long. Maybe a DJ will play 100 records, I’m playing 300. You can never get out of our club without hearing some old favourites — Cocoa Tea, Sanchez. Old-skool tunes, they remain the same and are a big part of my feature.

What’s new in the scene — is dancehall evolving?

People can’t see music the same way anymore. It’s evolving, it’s just things have changed in the way people are receiving the music. Once upon a time, the sound systems [DJ groups who organised parties] were really prominent for reggae. Here in the UK, there were so many pirate stations that you would hear the music everywhere. It has evolved because the trendsetters of music have changed now. Dancehall and reggae now have a lot more people listening to it, but to account for it is very difficult. But I know from doing radio for so many years that we are getting [more] fans daily.

How do you define dancehall?

Some people call dancehall a style of music. Dancehall is not a style of music. Dancehall is a place where you go to hear the music, and inside the dancehall you hear everything. It’s a way of playing music, a way of being entertained, a way of life. Dancehall music can be anything from Bob Marley to Tarrus Riley to Chronics to Vybez Kartel. It’s a way of expressing music and people are captivated by it. The styles within dancehall — the fast bashment, you have one drop; roots reggae; everything that makes that sound is dancehall.

If you could get any one dancehall or reggae related thing in your Christmas stocking, what would that be?

It’s very simple. It’s reggae-related and it’s dancehall-related: a ticket to Jamaica. [Laughs}. They are ridiculously high. Someone needs to have a word with the airlines. Put a ticket in my stocking — in fact you can do that for four times for the year.