Music (and it being snubbed for recognition) can be both the reason for protests, as well as a powerful vehicle to break them up. This is kind of neither of those things, but it employs the high-volume peace-disturbing that both examples embody — and Céline Dion is involved yet again.
As everyone save for that one Rolling Stone list seems to recognize, the French-Canadian superstar's voice is hugely resonant and has an almost alarming level of clarity — which has made her songs the perfect medium for partakers in the "siren battles" that have popped up in Auckland, NZ. Residents of the town of Porirua have now launched a petition to stop these groups from blasting Dion's music through sirens typically used for emergency warnings [via BBC News].
According to an article from The Spinoff, these clusters of primarily Pacific youth have been gathering with their cars at all hours of the night to play the likes of "My Heart Will Go On," "It's All Coming Back to Me Now" and, naturally, "I Drove All Night" for sirens jams — a new musical style primarily consisting of high-pitched reggae remixes played over horn speakers or PA systems.
"I guess the biggest misunderstanding is where we get our sirens from," Paul Lesoa, a founding member of S.W.A.T. Team, which stands for Switching Without a Trace, told journalist Justin Latif. "We either buy them from overseas or from some suppliers in Penrose. There are a minority who might steal products, but the vast majority do it legally."
He continued, "Basically everyone has a hobby and while our hobby can be quite disturbing and we understand how disturbing it can be, we just want our own proper, safe space away from people to do it." Manyu see it as an alternative to clubbing and gang activity, with battles taking weeks of preparation —as well as vast amounts of technical skill in wiring and soldering anywhere from seven to 10 sirens and multiple amps.
"We hold battles and compete for different titles and categories. The battle involves three rounds which are scored by judges and one of the main things judged is the clarity — so any distortion or reverberation will make you lose," Lesoa explained. "Céline Dion is popular because it's such a clear song — so we try to use music that has high treble, is clear and not much bass. Reggae is our go-to as it has nice beats and doesn't sound distorted."
While the S.W.A.T. Team founder has applied for a permit from Auckland Council, he has yet to hear back. In the interim, petition author Wes Gaarkeuken has claimed that taxpayers are "tired of the inaction and dismissive attitude shown by the council and the mayor concerning this issue."
So far, the petition has amassed hundreds of signatures calling on the Porirua City Council to prevent siren-ified Dion from serenading residents at imaginably high decibels all night long. The city council had previously reached an agreement with siren battlers where they would hold their gatherings in industrial areas and finish by 10 p.m. — but the groups have returned to town, and RNZ writes that police have received over 40 reports of incidents this year.
As everyone save for that one Rolling Stone list seems to recognize, the French-Canadian superstar's voice is hugely resonant and has an almost alarming level of clarity — which has made her songs the perfect medium for partakers in the "siren battles" that have popped up in Auckland, NZ. Residents of the town of Porirua have now launched a petition to stop these groups from blasting Dion's music through sirens typically used for emergency warnings [via BBC News].
According to an article from The Spinoff, these clusters of primarily Pacific youth have been gathering with their cars at all hours of the night to play the likes of "My Heart Will Go On," "It's All Coming Back to Me Now" and, naturally, "I Drove All Night" for sirens jams — a new musical style primarily consisting of high-pitched reggae remixes played over horn speakers or PA systems.
"I guess the biggest misunderstanding is where we get our sirens from," Paul Lesoa, a founding member of S.W.A.T. Team, which stands for Switching Without a Trace, told journalist Justin Latif. "We either buy them from overseas or from some suppliers in Penrose. There are a minority who might steal products, but the vast majority do it legally."
He continued, "Basically everyone has a hobby and while our hobby can be quite disturbing and we understand how disturbing it can be, we just want our own proper, safe space away from people to do it." Manyu see it as an alternative to clubbing and gang activity, with battles taking weeks of preparation —as well as vast amounts of technical skill in wiring and soldering anywhere from seven to 10 sirens and multiple amps.
"We hold battles and compete for different titles and categories. The battle involves three rounds which are scored by judges and one of the main things judged is the clarity — so any distortion or reverberation will make you lose," Lesoa explained. "Céline Dion is popular because it's such a clear song — so we try to use music that has high treble, is clear and not much bass. Reggae is our go-to as it has nice beats and doesn't sound distorted."
While the S.W.A.T. Team founder has applied for a permit from Auckland Council, he has yet to hear back. In the interim, petition author Wes Gaarkeuken has claimed that taxpayers are "tired of the inaction and dismissive attitude shown by the council and the mayor concerning this issue."
So far, the petition has amassed hundreds of signatures calling on the Porirua City Council to prevent siren-ified Dion from serenading residents at imaginably high decibels all night long. The city council had previously reached an agreement with siren battlers where they would hold their gatherings in industrial areas and finish by 10 p.m. — but the groups have returned to town, and RNZ writes that police have received over 40 reports of incidents this year.
