Tamarind centre’s colleagues and patients celebrated Jamaican culture recently in a lively ‘sound clash’ music competition.

Held at Tamarind, the event attracted the biggest turnout to date, with patients encouraged to identify artists across different genres of music, followed by an educational element on how Jamaican patois has evolved over time to make its way into mainstream lingo.

Jamaican sound clash is a music competition that originated in Kingston, Jamaica, where sound systems rival with each other.

The group was introduced to the sound clash DJed by Richard James, Occupational Therapy Assistant and Jermaine Clarke, Senior Physical Therapist, to demonstrate their musical showmanship. As part of the entertainment aspect, the audience was invited to vote for the winner across each of the rounds which created a lot of excitement. Staff and patients also enjoyed non-alcoholic tropical fruit punch and Jamaican patties.

Music can have a powerful effect on our wellbeing, and this was apparent from the event. It also has the ability to transcend all barriers, helping to bring people together and connect. Some patients told colleagues that they did not know the history of the different types of music and that they would like to do an event like this again to bring an awareness of Jamaican culture.