Bronx Music Hall Presents NYC Premiere of Acclaimed Reggae Documentary

(BRONX, NEW YORK) — The new Bronx Music Hall (BMH) will host the New York City premiere screening of the acclaimed 2019 documentary STUDIO 17: THE LOST REGGAE TAPES. Produced by Widestream Films and Iambic Dream Films in association with BBC Music, STUDIO 17: THE LOST REGGAE TAPES opens a door into the creation of a musical form that changed the sound of popular music around the world and takes a hard look at the real lives of the poor musicians who created it.

The New York City premiere screening event at the BMH will begin with a reception featuring DJ Madout and Jamaican food by 2 Girls & a Cookshop. The film screening will be followed by a discussion with filmmaker Reshma B, Studio 17 recording artist Carl Malcolm, and Sirius XM’s Pat McKay. Tickets are on sale for $15 at bronxmusichall.org

“We’re excited and honored to host the New York City premiere of STUDIO 17: THE LOST REGGAE TAPES at The Bronx Music Hall,” said Elena Martínez, Co-Artistic Director of the Bronx Music Heritage Center, which is headquartered at the BMH. “This is a fascinating film about one of Jamaica’s most legendary recording studios with amazing songs that are now finally able to reach the audiences they deserve.”

A newly discovered treasure trove of tapes from Studio 17, or Randy’s Records, is the starting point for this remarkable story about a Chinese Jamaican family who helped create the music we now know as reggae. Located in the heart of downtown Kingston, Studio 17 was a nerve center of Jamaica’s vibrant music scene. 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.

Shot in Jamaica, London, and Hamburg, STUDIO 17: THE LOST REGGAE TAPES follows Clive Chin’s battle to secure the rights to the studio’s archive so that the music will be heard by future generations. It also depicts his emotional struggle to overcome the murder of his son Joel Chin, who was head of A&R for VP Records and worked closely with dancehall stars like Sean Paul and Beenie Man.

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.

The BMH, developed by the nonprofit Women's Housing and Economic Development Corporation (WHEDco), opened in October 2024 as the Bronx’s first newly constructed, independent music performance venue in more than 50 years. The $15.4 million, 14,000 square-foot BMH is a performance venue and community cultural center dedicated to honoring, showcasing, and cultivating music, dance, theater, and interdisciplinary arts in the Bronx. The facility is also the new permanent home of Bronx Music Heritage Center (BMHC), which was founded by WHEDco in 2010 to preserve and promote Bronx music, cultivate Bronx artists, spur neighborhood revival, and provide cultural programs for the community.