Costa Teguise Teacher Builds Lanzarote’s First Reggae Sound System

In a spare room in Costa Teguise, a local teacher has built the Humble Hi-Fi Sound System, the first reggae sound system on Lanzarote.

Eduardo Oliva grew up in Zaragoza in northern Spain, where he enjoyed the local ska and punk scene. But it was when he travelled to work in a sandwich factory in Leicester that he first experienced sound system culture, attending blues parties, the Mount Zion Inn and events by legendary system operators such as Aba Shanti-I.

But it was in 2007 that he decided to create his own system. “I had the time to do it, and a teaching job which permitted me to afford it.” Eduardo built his system entirely on his own, although with plenty of help from online sources, and advice from Jah Ras, who set up the first sound system on the Canaries, in Tenerife.

Using wood sourced locally, components ordered over the internet and second-hand equipment found on the Canaries, Eduardo slowly built the system. But in 2018 he was diverted when he moved to London for a period. There he set up a record label, Humble Sounds, issuing 7” singles and dub plates in limited quantities.

The result currently sits proudly in his spare room, still smelling of the freshly-sawn wood he used to construct the cabinets. As he switches on the pre-amp, a warm hum fills the air, then a thump as the needle lands in the groove. Suddenly an incredibly rich sound fills the room.

“You feel it in your body as much as you hear it,” he says, as he cranks the volume up until the air in the room is vibrating. It’s an impressive sound, but only a fraction of the 5,000 Watts the system is capable of. “My neighbours are understanding, but I don’t like to push it,” he smiles.

Eduardo’s passion is the roots reggae that Jamaica pioneered in the 1970s, and the earlier, sweeter rocksteady sound. He likes to play in the original sound system style, with just one turntable, using sound effects while he changes records.

Now, Eduardo is looking for opportunities to take the system out on Lanzarote. He’s already played at it at the Lajarana festival at the local golf club, at Lanzarote’s rugby club and at a session at Villa Toledo on Playa Bastián, but says “It’s difficult to find places to play on the island.”

“I always like to dance to the music, but I also prefer music with a message,” says Eduardo. “Roots reggae carries an emotional charge that results from the years of suffering of so many people.”

The Humble Hi-Fi Sound System is ready and waiting, prepared to shudder the floorboards and rock the dancefloor. You can find out more at the Humble Hi Fi Facebook or Instagram pages.

We asked Eduardo to list the five reggae singles he likes to play on his system:

Burning Spear – Call On You

Pablo Moses – Give I Fe Name

Alton Ellis – True Born African

Reggae George – Drifter

Terence Gad – Ethiopia