SPOTLIGHT

Sound Boy Entertainment

© SBE

Ryan Carney built Sound Boy Entertainment off a desire to bring real sound system music to the NYC underground. Four years later, he’s more committed to the sound than ever.

While there is no shortage of new one-off parties in New York City, the unfortunate truth is that many will have a couple of great nights but won’t be able to handle the changing landscape and volatile market of underground NYC nightlife. Throwing a few events and developing a crowd is enough of a challenge; holding that together for four years without losing momentum over the course of club lockdowns is an even greater feat. Coming up on the fourth anniversary of his party and label, Sound Boy Ent. (SBE), Ryan Carney has managed to navigate the ups and downs of the NYC underground scene without sacrificing integrity. As we near the celebratory four-year anniversary of Ryan’s dubstep and deep sound system music focused party and label, we got a chance to hear a bit about the SBE journey–and how Ryan and his crew got to where they are today. 


In late 2018, within the walls of the now-closed Brown Note, SBE took its first steps in the small club, famed for its Tsunami Bass sound system, at the end of a dead-end industrial street a few steps away from the L train. “It all surrounded Tsunami Bass - I just loved the sound [and] as a regular there at the time, I just got more and more involved and started booking some shows,” recalls Ryan. In the following year, the Bushwick club was home to the eight nights curated by Ryan. Bringing in acts such as Ternion Sound, Cartridge, Chad Dubz and Distinct Motive, SBE began to take shape. As the Brown Note’s future started to look uncertain, Ryan and the newly established SBE crew began to look forward. 


Though relatively short-lived, Sunnyvale became SBE’s next home. The leadership behind Jungle Skankin, with whom Ryan had connected during the Tsunami Bass years and who still provides sound for nearly every party, became SBE’s sound system partner. Ryan notes that “[w]hether it was them only bringing subs or bringing all of it - [Jungle Skankin] are a huge part of it. They don’t wanna provide sound for the commercial festival shit or whatever–they love real sound system music. They are very much rooted in jungle but they can get down with dubstep. Casey and Jesse designed and built all their sound systems themselves - they are integral to the parties… I’ve never had to worry about a party having a lack of sound - which is kind of a blessing and I don’t think a lot of promoters throwing nights outside of clubs can say that. They always show up and load all this gear and stuff into these 100 year-old Brooklyn buildings.” Ryan insists that their sound systems speak for themselves and truly need to be heard rather than just discussed.


In late 2019, SBE encountered one of their first bumps in the road when Sunnyvale closed and the party was briefly without a home. Fortunately, Ryan connected with the Kingsland in Greenpoint and SBE started throwing free nights there called “The Sesh.”

Sound Boy @ Kingsland
© SBE

As SBE prepared to end its first year with a bang – a collab event with Sermon – the pandemic struck, shutting down all potential events and slowing the momentum that Ryan and the SBE crew had worked so hard to build. But that wasn’t going to stop Ryan. “Everyone was still living in the neighborhood, so we were doing streams because that was all the rage at the time, and from there the SBE label blossomed.” By July 1, 2021 SBE had their first release.

SBE’s First Vinyl Release, ca. 2021
© SBE

As regulations finally began to loosen up and events began happening again, SBE brought the sound back out with a showcase at Arrogant Swine, followed by a huge renegade after-party with more than 300 people in the “industrial guts” of Long Island City. 

From there, it was back to business for Ryan and SBE, returning to the Kingsland to host Bukkha and Saule, throwing collab nights with Sermon and eventually moving to the Brooklyn Monarch, where the party currently resides. 

SBE @ Arrogant Swine
© SBE

Beyond the challenge of continuing the party, Ryan faced another hurdle. In recent history (until at least the last year or two), the sounds pumping out of most of the underground spaces in NYC leaned heavily towards house and techno. On a larger scale, dubstep and bass music in the United States has typically been lumped in with festival or more commercial stylings. SBE, on the other hand, seeks to showcase and celebrate the deep roots of dubstep, 140 and other UK sound system and bass music genres. Ryan explains that “it's a matter of keeping the existing scene and the existing heads interested while also introducing the sound and culture to people that like the music - or may like the music and not even know this whole scene exists. So that’s the main challenge; getting the message out, [clubbers and ravers] are more likely gonna enjoy the tunes and the overall vibe of the night but may not know it exists - and we see more influence from the 140 and the dubstep world in TikTok vids and in more mainstream artists. There are sold out club nights where dubstep is getting played and the crowd is loving it - but they may not even know what they are listening to - so having them know that would be a big help for us”

As 140, dubstep and more UK sound system music breaks into the rotation of more contemporary underground sounds, Ryan looks toward a bright future for SBE. “[L]ong term, we’d like to keep focusing on continuing to spread the sound in NYC and beyond, SBE events in other major cities, maybe get involved with some events in the UK, that’d be a dream”. But SBE hasn’t made it this far without constantly remaining active. Ryan says he has a lot coming up: “beyond the next few parties, the big short term goal is increasing our presence in the Brooklyn club and rave scene”. Ryan notes that beyond SBE, he hopes to see members of the collective get bookings at other club nights in New York City and in other cities. 


On the immediate horizon is the four-year anniversary party at the Brooklyn Monarch on April 15th with Bukez Finezt and some SBE regulars. “It's gonna be a big night of thumping music… I’ll let the Jungle Skankin sound system speak for itself”. SBE has an upcoming room takeover at Elsewhere in May and more to be announced.*

- Ty