Reggae lovers will have a beast of a time this weekend at two sound clashes.

Both take place at the Horseshoe Bay Beach and one is on Saturday, while the other is on Sunday night.

The first event ?The Beast? features London?s David Rodigan against New York?s Blunt Posse?s Ajax aka Chris White and Father Blunt and Souljah 1. The second event ?Old School Revival Clash? will see the founding fathers of clashing, Jamaica?s Barry G against the English reggae lover Rodigan.

A few of the participants spoke to about theirdubplates and their love of sound selecting.

The organisers are The Animal and Ruff Ryderz Promotions in connection with Global Arts Entertainment, a group which promotes Global Peace and Tolerance.

CEO Global Arts Entertainment Andrew (Baha) Phillips said this clash will be likened to a battle in the jungle, but it is also a peace rally.

?For anyone who is into it or not into it (clashing), it is the highest level of quality of entertainment available in the world today.

?Someone asked me to liken it to the jungle. David Rodigan is like is an elephant, Magic/Souljah 1 is like a lion, and Blunt Posse is like a pack of very strong and muscular hyenas.

?This will be the third time that Magic will clash against Rodigan. He lost the first two times, so if Magic loses to Rodigan this time, he could be relegated to just another very good deejay.

?But if he beats Rodigan then he gets promoted to great category in the sound clash and that is great for Bermuda because almost every country around the world has a sound and they generate some huge crowds. So if Magic wins he will have increased global invitations to clash and Bermuda would be propelled into a world ranking.

?It is also a three-way clash so it is a knock out session, so if Rodigan got knocked out in the first round and Magic came second then he would still be considered a global winner.

?The next night is Barry G and Rodigan and that is simply old school and they will clash with old school dubplates.

?When they say revival, they are not joking ? they are going to bring back Bob Marley and Tenor Saw, where you will hear the men?s voices and other serious artists, many of whom have passed away. As a promoter this is one of the best things that I can do, because there is no one else who has greater respect than these two in their game.?

Mr. Rodigan, who has been in love with reggae music pretty much since its inception, said: ?I am looking forward to clashing with Blunt Posse, as I have not clashed with them before.

?I am also looking forward to clashing with Barry G as we had such great times doing clashes back in the 80s on the radio and in dances. People still talk of those events with fond memories.?

Mr. Rodigan prepares for clashes by getting the best songs around onto dubplate as customised versions and he says he has ?fairly equal amounts of old skool and new skool?.

?If you don?t keep up to speed then you will flop in a clash,? said the man who says he adores Bermuda.?

Next month Mr. Rodigan heads for Italy where he will clash, and then he will compete against Ricky Trooper, in Germany in September, and he is also scheduled for a clash with Stone Love in New York during the Thanksgiving weekend.

Music for Ajax of Blunt Posse is like a family trade.

?I?ve been in it for at least 12 years ? since high school,? he said.

?I more or less had sound producers in my family and two of my uncles have record labels with their own artistes and when they would leave out I would mess around with the equipment and put it back the way that I had seen it.

?From there I worked in a record shop and met more people there.?

While working there and before he began collecting music and dubplates and he said: ?As long as they (the artistes) are living, I have them.

?From Gregory Isaac to Beres Hammond. I just contact them and then fly down because to work with a middleman, you have to pay middleman money.?

Asked whether his family connections helped him, he said: ?Yes, definitely and we even pay money too help the artistes. So that is more promotion for them and it is a win win situation all around.?

Ajax originally played on his own as Black Heart before joining up with Father Blunt of Blunt Posse.

?I met up with him at a couple of basement parties in Manhattan,? he said.

?Anywhere were we could get a venue there would be a party there.?

But becoming number one in New York the pair have worked continuously.

?We go around and play everybody. Wherever there was a war sound ? we?d either accept a clash from a promoter or we?d bring them up here.

?Now there aren?t too many people that want to clash.?

Blunt Posse recently returned from Antigua, but Ajax said it left a bad taste in his mouth.

?It went alright until the end of the clash when it became a bit racist and people more or less walked out,? he said as he explained that Father Blunt is Caucasian.

?So they were making comments and things that basically shouldn?t have any place in the clash. We have a clash coming up with Rodigan and no matter how much I want to win ? I would never resort to that.

?Because if you are having a battle there is no need to resort to that.

?Some people use it (rudeness) as a last resort when the music can?t do any more talking for them. Essentially if you are not prepared than you will run out.?

Barry G said it was a wonderful feeling knowing that he is on this side of the world and Rodigan is on the other continent.

?We can share our love for the music, which is for the enjoyment of the guests every time we turn out,? he said.

?What I find interesting is that there are many music selectors all over the world, but somehow the combination of Rodigan and Barry G over the years has always been special for the reggae lovers.

?I don?t know if it is the seriousness that we take, I find it difficult to explain, but here in this phenomena. I have been on radio for 32 years in Jamaica and I span all the generations and my musical collection is equivalent of running my own radio station.

?Therefore there is no time for monotony or over play of anything. I have managed to stay on top of it no matter how many years under the belt.?

Asked how he stays on top of his game, Barry G said: ?I always feel that I should give people more than just playing that song ? my songs tell a story. So if I knew your parents age group, I?d be able to dig into my musical collection and take out and selection, which will take you right back to when your mother met your father.

?That is how I love the music ? whether it is Bob Marley?s ?Rat Race? or ?One Love?, which is now said to be the most popular anthem in reggae music.?

Barry G also pointed out that the clashing scene had changed from when he and Rodigan first started out.

?These days the younger selectors are not playing out the songs,? he said.

?They put the record on for about 30 seconds and at the most 60 and then they jump to another record. Sometimes I wonder if people think that they are getting a raw deal ? we tend to be more extended and we want people to dance while we throw selections at each other.

?I?d say, ?you know Rodigan, you have come all the way from London to Bermuda and I bet you don?t have a piece of Dennis Brown on you?, and the Dennis Brown fans in the crowd would start screaming and then Rodigan plucks out his Dennis Brown. It is in that spirit and I enjoy it. It is a wonderful rivalry.?

Tickets are $45 or $55 at the gate or are available at Music World, Washington Mall, Dub City, Court Street, Logic on Burnaby Street, and Audio Visual, Somerset.