Tempo: Reggae explosion - A growing Czech audience is rockin\' to ...

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Water washes along the perfect white sand while Swamp Safari SoundSystem members DJ Kaya and Vincent Richards mix reggae, dancehalland dub to commemorate the 116th birthday of Rastafarian heroEmperor Haile Selassie. As dreadlocked heads bob to rhythms in thebalmy nighttime breeze, the roofs and domes of the Prague skylinesit serenely across the Vltava River. It may be three decades since Bob Marley and the Wailers weldedR&B and Jamaican ska into one of the 20th century’s mostinfectious popular music forms, but here at theSmíchovská plaž beach bar in Prague 5, reggae isfresh and alive. In fact, the feeling among local fans and artistsis that the reggae groundswell has just begun. Taking a break from the turntables, Jamaican expat DJ/singerRichards recounts the late ’80s, when the scene“started with foreign students going to hostel parties andthen small reggae clubs.” This is a stark contrast to thereggae scene today, he says, “when we have festivals for6,000 to 12,000 people.” Czech DJ and reggae promoter Admiral [aka Lukáš]Kolíbal agrees, recalling Reggae Meeting in To