Food on Film

Studio 17: The Lost Reggae Tapes

Featuring a discussion with producer Reshma B

A newly discovered treasure trove of tapes from Studio 17, or Randy’s Records located in downtown Kingston Jamaica, is the starting point for this remarkable story about a Chinese Jamaican family who helped create the music we now know as reggae. Formed by the Chins, a Chinese-Jamaican couple in the early ‘60s, Randy’s Records started as a used record store, then grew to house a reggae studio for artists including Bob Marley and the Wailers, Lee “Scratch” Perry, Peter Tosh, Gregory Isaacs, Dennis Brown and many more. Featuring archival photos and footage as well as compelling interviews with musicians from the golden age of reggae, the tale of Randy’s Records goes from that of a triumphant “watering hole for Jamaican musicians” in the first days of the country’s independence from Britain in 1962, to its shuttering due to the breakdown of law and order in the 70s, and on to its remarkable final rebirth.

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Tickets: $16 Public | $10 Members

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