Post by messenger on Apr 2, 2004 12:15:24 GMT -5
A Quick Guide To Reggae
Synopsis:
Jamaican R & B/Shuffle
Ska
Rock Steady
Reggae
Roots Reggae
Dub
Toasting
Lovers Rock
Dancehall
Ragga
Cultural
Jamaican R & B / Shuffle
American R&B was the dominant music in the 1950's Jamaica, played throughout the country in large sound systems. In response to R&B's transformation into white Rock and Roll, DJ rivals Duke Reid and Coxsone Dodds systems transformed themselves into record lables, pressing up releases by local musicians who fused R&B with Jazz and mento (a kind of Calypso) into 'Shuffle'. Other early pioneers were; Theophilus Beckford, Derrick Morgan, and Prince Buster.
Ska
According to legend, it was Prince Buster who told his guitarist Jah Jerry to emphasise the off beat (beats 2 and 4), creating the distinctive 'chug' that powered the high speed sound of Ska and its decendants. In 1962 the birth of the Island and Blue Beat Labels brought Ska to the UK and into the charts with Millie's My Boy Lollipop; by the mid 60's Ska clubs were all over the place, from Margate to Morecambe. while Ska's upbeat vibe reflected the optimism Jamaican Independence had created, its UK revival in 1978 seemed inspired by Midlands dole queue misery. Key Artist: Prince Buster; Derrick Morgan, The Wailers, The Skatalites, The Specials.
Rocksteady
By the mid 60's Ska had slowed itself down, got a bit soulful and transformed itself into Rocksteady, born out of 'Rude Boy' culture (celebrated by the Clarendonians' Rudie Bam Bam). As usual, many producers tried to take credit for the first Rocksteady record (Joe Gibbs and Duke Reid amoung them.) In the UK both Ska and Rocksteady were literally synonymous with the bluebeat label. Among the leaders were the wailers, vocal groups The Pioneers (featuring John Holt) and The Melodians.
Reggae
According to legend the term 'Reggae' was coined by Producer Clancy Eccles, though no-one's quiet sure. Faster than Rocksteady (though not as frenetic as Ska), Reggae's sound was a product of new technology (multitrack tapemachines) and new producers like Lee Perry, King Tubby and Bunny lee, with a percussive , bass heavy sound and influences from traditional Nayabingi drumming. Trojan Records imported Jamaican tracks to the UK, remixing them for radio play (scoring massive hits between 1969 and 1976 with the likes of Dave and Ansel Collins, Ken Boothe and John Holt.) while Coxsone Dodds Studio One Label became the reggae equivalent of Motown. Top tunes form Toots and the Maytals, Lee Perry (with the Upsetters), Jimmy Cliff, The Wailers.
Roots Reggae
Roots emerged in response to the political in fighting between the two rival politacal parties that were badly affecting the Jamaican working class. With 'Conscious' lyrics and a new, deeper rhythmic approach, roots was birthed by the meeting of vocal trio The Wailers (featuring Bob Marley) with rythm section Aston & Carlton Barrett, and the production genius of Lee Perry. Together the band mutated from a vocal trio to become the most potent force in Reggae, influencing all that came after; (Culture, Mighty diamonds, Johnny Clarke, Black Uhuru). With the release of Marley's Catch a Fire in 1972, the music was no longer confined to Kingston Jamaica (or Kingston, Surrey); Marley's face decorated a million student bedrooms worldwide, forcing mothers to exclaim rather loudly; "ooh that's a big cigarette dear".
Dub
Osbourne Ruddock (aka King Tubby) was engineer at Duke Reids studio when he began to cut special acetates ( one off vinyl discs also known as dub plates) of tunes with bits of vocal left out to play on his sound system. The original idea was to offer the sound system crowds different versions of dancehall favorites, but eventually dub mixes became more elaborate, adding echo, phasing and sound effects to the mix culminating in the trippy soundscapes of Prince Jammy, Scientist, Lee Perry, Agustus Pablo, Keith Hudson, and Tubby himself; the original remixers.
Toasting
With the space left by Dub versions, DJ's like Edwart Beckford (aka U Roy) started to add their own vocals, shouts and jive that drove audiences bonkers. Toasters like Big Youth, I-Roy, dillenger and so on soon got into making their own records, often using rhythm tracks from other people's songs and paving the way for Hip Hop.
Lovers Rock
While the UK was the only major market for reggae outside of Jamaica, with Lovers Rock it gave something back. Soulful and smooth as a baby's bum, Lovers Rock was an alternative to the harder , deeper roots where the undisputed King was Dennis Brown; mentioned in dispatches; Gregory Isaacs, Janet Kay, Johnny clarke, Maxi Priest, Caroll Thompson.
Dancehall
By the 80's, Reggae was returning to its dancehall roots, withthe accent on recorded music rather than live playing; vocalist like Sugar Minott, Frankie Paul, and Barrington Levy sang over acetates at sound systems. Gradually the political elements were disappearing to be replaced by bawdy tales of sexual bravado and violence (known as 'slackness') from the likes of Yellowman and General Echo.
Ragga
Based on the Sleng and Teng rhythm (lifted from a song by Wayne smith) , Ragga was hard, fast and dirty, like its protagonists. Shabba Ranks, Beenie Man , bounty Killer and the like span tales of dubious political correctness and violence over electronic rhythm tracks, influencing (again) the nascent hip hop scene, which fed back to Reggae in Sly and Robbies Productions for Chaka Demus & Pliers. More recently Elephant Man and Ward 21 have infused dancehall sounds with high energy performances.
Cultural
Dancehall's return to a more conscious, Rasta inflected approach, with more singing: from the likes of Sizzla, Buju Banton, Garnett Silk and Luciano.
Synopsis:
Jamaican R & B/Shuffle
Ska
Rock Steady
Reggae
Roots Reggae
Dub
Toasting
Lovers Rock
Dancehall
Ragga
Cultural
Jamaican R & B / Shuffle
American R&B was the dominant music in the 1950's Jamaica, played throughout the country in large sound systems. In response to R&B's transformation into white Rock and Roll, DJ rivals Duke Reid and Coxsone Dodds systems transformed themselves into record lables, pressing up releases by local musicians who fused R&B with Jazz and mento (a kind of Calypso) into 'Shuffle'. Other early pioneers were; Theophilus Beckford, Derrick Morgan, and Prince Buster.
Ska
According to legend, it was Prince Buster who told his guitarist Jah Jerry to emphasise the off beat (beats 2 and 4), creating the distinctive 'chug' that powered the high speed sound of Ska and its decendants. In 1962 the birth of the Island and Blue Beat Labels brought Ska to the UK and into the charts with Millie's My Boy Lollipop; by the mid 60's Ska clubs were all over the place, from Margate to Morecambe. while Ska's upbeat vibe reflected the optimism Jamaican Independence had created, its UK revival in 1978 seemed inspired by Midlands dole queue misery. Key Artist: Prince Buster; Derrick Morgan, The Wailers, The Skatalites, The Specials.
Rocksteady
By the mid 60's Ska had slowed itself down, got a bit soulful and transformed itself into Rocksteady, born out of 'Rude Boy' culture (celebrated by the Clarendonians' Rudie Bam Bam). As usual, many producers tried to take credit for the first Rocksteady record (Joe Gibbs and Duke Reid amoung them.) In the UK both Ska and Rocksteady were literally synonymous with the bluebeat label. Among the leaders were the wailers, vocal groups The Pioneers (featuring John Holt) and The Melodians.
Reggae
According to legend the term 'Reggae' was coined by Producer Clancy Eccles, though no-one's quiet sure. Faster than Rocksteady (though not as frenetic as Ska), Reggae's sound was a product of new technology (multitrack tapemachines) and new producers like Lee Perry, King Tubby and Bunny lee, with a percussive , bass heavy sound and influences from traditional Nayabingi drumming. Trojan Records imported Jamaican tracks to the UK, remixing them for radio play (scoring massive hits between 1969 and 1976 with the likes of Dave and Ansel Collins, Ken Boothe and John Holt.) while Coxsone Dodds Studio One Label became the reggae equivalent of Motown. Top tunes form Toots and the Maytals, Lee Perry (with the Upsetters), Jimmy Cliff, The Wailers.
Roots Reggae
Roots emerged in response to the political in fighting between the two rival politacal parties that were badly affecting the Jamaican working class. With 'Conscious' lyrics and a new, deeper rhythmic approach, roots was birthed by the meeting of vocal trio The Wailers (featuring Bob Marley) with rythm section Aston & Carlton Barrett, and the production genius of Lee Perry. Together the band mutated from a vocal trio to become the most potent force in Reggae, influencing all that came after; (Culture, Mighty diamonds, Johnny Clarke, Black Uhuru). With the release of Marley's Catch a Fire in 1972, the music was no longer confined to Kingston Jamaica (or Kingston, Surrey); Marley's face decorated a million student bedrooms worldwide, forcing mothers to exclaim rather loudly; "ooh that's a big cigarette dear".
Dub
Osbourne Ruddock (aka King Tubby) was engineer at Duke Reids studio when he began to cut special acetates ( one off vinyl discs also known as dub plates) of tunes with bits of vocal left out to play on his sound system. The original idea was to offer the sound system crowds different versions of dancehall favorites, but eventually dub mixes became more elaborate, adding echo, phasing and sound effects to the mix culminating in the trippy soundscapes of Prince Jammy, Scientist, Lee Perry, Agustus Pablo, Keith Hudson, and Tubby himself; the original remixers.
Toasting
With the space left by Dub versions, DJ's like Edwart Beckford (aka U Roy) started to add their own vocals, shouts and jive that drove audiences bonkers. Toasters like Big Youth, I-Roy, dillenger and so on soon got into making their own records, often using rhythm tracks from other people's songs and paving the way for Hip Hop.
Lovers Rock
While the UK was the only major market for reggae outside of Jamaica, with Lovers Rock it gave something back. Soulful and smooth as a baby's bum, Lovers Rock was an alternative to the harder , deeper roots where the undisputed King was Dennis Brown; mentioned in dispatches; Gregory Isaacs, Janet Kay, Johnny clarke, Maxi Priest, Caroll Thompson.
Dancehall
By the 80's, Reggae was returning to its dancehall roots, withthe accent on recorded music rather than live playing; vocalist like Sugar Minott, Frankie Paul, and Barrington Levy sang over acetates at sound systems. Gradually the political elements were disappearing to be replaced by bawdy tales of sexual bravado and violence (known as 'slackness') from the likes of Yellowman and General Echo.
Ragga
Based on the Sleng and Teng rhythm (lifted from a song by Wayne smith) , Ragga was hard, fast and dirty, like its protagonists. Shabba Ranks, Beenie Man , bounty Killer and the like span tales of dubious political correctness and violence over electronic rhythm tracks, influencing (again) the nascent hip hop scene, which fed back to Reggae in Sly and Robbies Productions for Chaka Demus & Pliers. More recently Elephant Man and Ward 21 have infused dancehall sounds with high energy performances.
Cultural
Dancehall's return to a more conscious, Rasta inflected approach, with more singing: from the likes of Sizzla, Buju Banton, Garnett Silk and Luciano.