Near, far, wherever they are, residents in one New Zealand city say they can’t get away from the late-night blaring of Celine Dion and reggae music.
A “subculture” is emerging in Porirua, a city on the North Island of New Zealand, where people rig speakers to cars or bikes and compete to see who can blast the loudest and clearest music.
“I’m sick of the disturbing of the peace that sometimes goes on for hours,” said one resident who signed a petition calling for the City Council and mayor to silence the nighttime battles.
“Although I enjoy Celine Dion in the comfort of my lounge and at my volume, I do not enjoy hearing fragments of it stopping and starting at any time between 7 pm and 2 am,” they moaned.
Dion’s songs — like “My Heart Will Go On” — have high treble and little bass, which make them good beats to blast, as is reggae, which doesn’t sound distorted when blared, Paul Lesoa, a founding member of the group Switching Without A Trace told New Zealand site The Spinoff.
S.W.A.T. refers to the group’s ability to “switch” or play their “siren jams,” a style of music consisting of high-pitched remixes of songs played over loud sound systems or “sirens,” according to the outlet.
“They play half a song and tweak it on their things and make a screeching noise so it is not like you’re even listening to good music,” Mayor Anita Baker told The Guardian. “I don’t mean to be awful but it’s not even a complete song.”
“It’s vibrating all over the city wherever they do it because we’re in a basin. It’s really frustrating.”
More than 300 residents signed a petition to “Stop the car meets blasting excessively loud music and siren noises in Porirua.”
“My Heart Will Go On” can’t go on any longer, they say.
“Enough is enough,” said one signer. “Porirua City Council must act and stop the gathering of car meets blasting music and emergency sirens noises at all hours of the night.”
“F–k Celine Dion,” said another.