Reggae From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia This articles lead section may not adequately summarize key points of its contents. Please consider expanding the lead to provide an accessible overview of all important aspects of the article. (January 2014) Reggae Stylistic origins Mento, calypso, R&B, jazz, ska, rocksteady, Cultural origins Late 1960s Jamaica, especially Kingston Typical instruments Bass, drums, guitar, organ, brass instrument, melodica Derivative forms Dancehall, dub, hip hop, ragga, drum and bass Subgenres Roots reggae Lovers rock Reggae en Español (complete list) Fusion genres Reggae fusion Seggae 2 Tone Samba reggae Regional scenes Africa Australia Germany Japan New Zealand Nigeria Panama Philippines Poland Other topics Music of Jamaica List of reggae musicians Music of Jamaica General topics Related articles Genres Kumina Niyabinghi Mento Ska Rocksteady Reggae Sound systems Lovers rock Dub Dancehall Dub poetry Toasting Raggamuffin Roots reggae Reggae fusion Ska Punk Nationalistic and patriotic songs National anthem Jamaica, Land We Love Regional music Anguilla Antigua and Barbuda Aruba Bahamas Barbados Belize Bermuda Bonaire Cayman Islands Cuba Curaçao Dominica Dominican Republic Grenada Guadeloupe Haiti Louisiana Martinique Montserrat Panama Puerto Rico St Kitts and Nevis St Lucia St Vincent and Grenadines Trinidad and Tobago Turks and Caicos Virgin Islands v t e Reggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. While sometimes used in a broad sense to refer to most types of popular Jamaican dance music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that evolved out of the earlier genres ska and rocksteady. Contents [hide] 1 Etymology 2 Precursors 3 History 4 Musical characteristics 4.1 Drums and other percussion 4.2 Bass 4.3 Guitars 4.4 Keyboards 4.5 Horns 4.6 Vocals 4.6.1 Lyrical themes 4.6.2 Criticism of dancehall and ragga lyrics 5 Reggae outside of Jamaica 5.1 Americas 5.2 Europe 5.3 Africa 5.4 Asia and the Pacific 5.5 Australia and New Zealand 6 See also 7 References 8 Bibliography 9 Further reading 10 External links Etymology[edit] The 1967 edition of the Dictionary of Jamaican English lists reggae as a recently estab. sp. for rege, as in rege-rege, a word that can mean either rags, ragged clothing or a quarrel, a row.[1] Reggae as a musical term first appeared in print with the 1968 rocksteady hit Do the Reggay by The Maytals, but there are many different theories as to how the term originated. The music itself was faster than rocksteady, but tighter and more complex than ska, with obvious debts to both styles, while going beyond them both.[2] Speaking to the terms origins, reggae artist Derrick Morgan stated: We didnt like the name rock steady, so I tried a different version of Fat Man. It changed the beat again, it used the organ to creep. Bunny Lee, the producer, liked that. He created the sound with the organ and the rhythm guitar. It sounded like reggae, reggae and that name just took off. Bunny Lee started using the world [sic] and soon all the musicians were saying reggae, reggae, reggae.[2] Reggae historian Steve Barrow credits Clancy Eccles with altering the Jamaican patois word streggae (loose woman) into reggae.[2] However, Toots Hibbert said: Theres a word we used to use in Jamaica called streggae. If a girl is walking and the guys look at her and say Man, shes streggae it means she dont dress well, she look raggedy. The girls would say that about the men too. This one morning me and my two friends were playing and I said, OK man, lets do the reggay. It was just something that came out of my mouth. So we just start singing Do the reggay, do the reggay and created a beat. People tell me later that we had given the sound its name. Before that people had called it blue-beat and all kind of other things. Now its in the Guinness World of Records.[3] Bob Marley is said to have claimed that the word reggae came from a Spanish term for the kings music.[4] The liner notes of To the King, a compilation of Christian gospel reggae, suggest that the word reggae was derived from the Latin regi meaning to the king. Precursors[edit] Although strongly influenced by traditional mento and calypso music, as well as American jazz and rhythm and blues, reggae owes its direct origins to the ska and rocksteady of 1960s Jamaica. The Rastafari movement was a significant influence on reggae, with Rasta drummers like Count Ossie contributing to seminal recordings.[5] One of the predecessors of reggae drumming is the Nyabinghi rhythm, a style of ritual drumming performed as a communal meditative practice in the Rastafari movement. Ska arose in Jamaican studios in the late 1950s developing from American R&B and mento.[2] Ska is characterized by a quarter note walking bass line, guitar and piano offbeats, and a drum pattern with cross-stick snare and bass drum on the backbeat and open hi-hat on the offbeats (with nothing on beats one and three). It is also notable for its jazz-influenced horn riffs. Jamaica gained its independence in 1962, and ska became the music of choice for Jamaican youths seeking music that was their own. Ska also became popular among mods in Britain. By 1968, many Jamaican musicians had begun playing the tempo of ska slower, while using more syncopated bass patterns and smaller bands. This new, slower sound was called rocksteady, a name solidified after the release of a single by Alton Ellis. There are many theories as to why Jamaican musicians slowed the ska tempo to create rocksteady; one is that the singer Hopeton Lewis was unable to sing his hit song Take It Easy at a ska tempo.[2] To some, rocksteady is indistinguishable from early reggae, although the tempo of reggae often slower, and its lyrics tend to focus more on socio-political topics such as black consciousness, Rastafari and the effects of poverty. The double skank guitar strokes on the offbeat were also part of the new reggae style. History[edit] Reggae developed from Ska and rocksteady in the 1960s. The shift from rocksteady to reggae was illustrated by the organ shuffle pioneered by Jamaican musicians like Jackie Mittoo and Winston Wright and featured in transitional singles Say What Youre Saying (1967) by Clancy Eccles and People Funny Boy (1968) by Lee Scratch Perry. The Pioneers 1968 track Long Shot (Bus Me Bet) has been identified as the earliest recorded example of the new rhythm sound that became known as reggae.[6] Early 1968 was when the first bona fide reggae records were released: Nanny Goat by Larry Marshall and No More Heartaches by The Beltones. That same year, the newest Jamaican sound began to spawn big-name imitators in other countries. American artist Johnny Nashs 1968 hit Hold Me Tight has been credited with first putting reggae in the American listener charts.[7] Around the same time, reggae influences were starting to surface in rock and pop music, one example being 1968s Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da by The Beatles.[8] Bob Marley in 1980. The Wailers, a band started by Bob Marley, Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer in 1963, is perhaps the most recognized band that made the transition through all three stages of early Jamaican popular music: ska, rocksteady and reggae. Other significant reggae pioneers include Prince Buster, Desmond Dekker and Ken Boothe. However, another pioneer was Millie Small (born 6 October 1946),[9] a Jamaican singer-songwriter, best known for her 1964 blue-beat/ska cover version of My Boy Lollipop which was a smash hit internationally. Notable Jamaican producers influential in the development of ska into rocksteady and reggae include: Coxsone Dodd, Lee Scratch Perry, Leslie Kong, Duke Reid, Joe Gibbs and King Tubby. Chris Blackwell, who founded Island Records in Jamaica in 1960, relocated to England in 1962, where he continued to promote Jamaican music. He formed a partnership with Lee Gopthals Trojan Records in 1968, which released reggae in the UK until bought by Saga records in 1974. Reggae influence bubbled to the top of the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 charts in late 1972. First Three Dog Night hit #1 in September with a cover of the Maytones version of Black and White. Then Johnny Nash was at #1 for four weeks in November with I Can See Clearly Now. In 1973, the film The Harder They Come starring Jimmy Cliff was released and introduced Jamaican music to cinema audiences outside of Jamaica. Though the film achieved cult status its limited appeal meant that it had a smaller impact than Eric Claptons 1974 cover of Bob Marleys I Shot the Sheriff which made it onto the playlists of mainstream rock and pop radio stations worldwide. Claptons I Shot The Sheriff used modern rock production and recording techniques and faithfully retained most of the original reggae elements; it was a breakthrough pastiche devoid of any parody and played an important part in bringing the music of Bob Marley to a wider rock audience.[2] By the mid-1970s, authentic reggae dub plates and specials were getting some exposure in the UK on John Peels radio show, who promoted the genre for the rest of his career. Around the same time, British filmmaker Jeremy Marre documented the Jamaican music scene in Roots Rock Reggae, capturing the heyday of roots reggae. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, the UK punk rock scene flourished, and reggae was a notable influence. The DJ Don Letts would play reggae and punk tracks at clubs such as The Roxy. Punk bands such as The Clash, The Ruts, The Members and The Slits played many reggae-influenced songs. Around the same time, reggae music took a new path in the UK; one that was created by the multiracial makeup of Englands inner cities and exemplified by groups like Steel Pulse, Aswad and UB40, as well as artists such as Smiley Culture and Carroll Thompson. The Jamaican ghetto themes in the lyrics were replaced with UK inner city themes, and Jamaican patois became intermingled with Cockney slang. In South London around this time, a new subgenre of Lovers Rock, was being created. Unlike the Jamaican music of the same name which was mainly dominated by male artists such as Gregory Isaacs, the South London genre was led by female singers like Thompson and Janet Kay. The UK Lovers Rock had a softer and more commercial sound. Other reggae artists who enjoyed international appeal in the early 1980s include Third World, Black Uhuru and Sugar Minott. The Grammy Awards introduced the Grammy Award for Best Reggae Album category in 1985. Musical characteristics[edit] Skank guitar rhythm often considered the reggae beat[10]About this sound Play straight (help·info) or About this sound Play shuffle (help·info). Stylistically, reggae incorporates some of the musical elements of rhythm and blues (R&B), jazz, mento, calypso, African, and Latin American music, as well as other genres. Reggae is played in 4/4 time because the symmetrical rhythmic pattern does not lend itself to other time signatures such as 3/4 time. One of the most easily recognizable elements is offbeat rhythms; staccato chords played by a guitar or piano (or both) on the offbeats of the measure, often referred to as the skank. This rhythmic pattern accents the second and fourth beats in each bar and combines with the drums emphasis on beat three to create a unique sense of phrasing. The reggae offbeat can be counted so that it falls between each count as an and (example: 1 and 2 and 3 and 4 and etc.) or counted as a half-time feel at twice the tempo so it falls on beats 2 and 4. This is in contrast to the way most other popular genres focus on beat one, the downbeat.[11] The tempo of reggae is usually slower than ska and rocksteady.[12] It is this slower tempo, the guitar/piano offbeats, the emphasis on the third beat, and the use of syncopated, melodic bass lines that differentiate reggae from other music, although other musical styles have incorporated some of these innovations. Harmonically the music is essentially the same as any other modern popular genre with a tendency to make use of simple chord progressions. Reggae sometimes uses the dominant chord in its minor form therefore never allowing a perfect cadence to be sounded; this lack of resolution between the tonic and the dominant imparts a sense of movement without rest and harmonic ambiguity. Extended chords like the major 7th (Waiting in Vain by Bob Marley) and minor 7th are used though suspended chords or diminished chords are rare. Minor keys are commonly used especially with the minor chord forms of the subdominant and dominant chord (for example in the key of G minor the progression may be played Gm - Dm - Gm - Dm - Cm - Dm - Cm - Dm). A simple progression borrowed from rhythm n blues and soul music is the tonic chord followed by the minor supertonic chord with the two chords repeated continuously to form a complete verse (Just My Imagination by The Temptations C - Dm7). The concept of call and response can be found throughout reggae music, in the vocals but also in the way parts are composed and arranged for each instrument. The emphasis on the third beat of the bar also results in a different sense of musical phrasing, with bass lines and melody lines often emphasizing what might be considered pick up notes in other genres. Drums and other percussion[edit] A standard drum kit is generally used in reggae, but the snare drum is often tuned very high to give it a timbales-type sound. Some reggae drummers use an additional timbale or high-tuned snare to get this sound. Cross-stick technique on the snare drum is commonly used, and tom-tom drums are often incorporated into the drumbeat itself. Robbie Shakespeare Reggae drumbeats fall into three main categories: One drop, Rockers, and Steppers. With the One drop, the emphasis is entirely on the backbeat (usually on the snare, or as a rim shot combined with bass drum). Beat one is empty except for a closed high hat commonly used, which is unusual in popular music. There is some controversy about whether reggae should be counted so that this beat falls on two and four, or whether it should be counted twice as fast, so it falls on three. An example played by Barrett can be heard in the Bob Marley and the Wailers song One Drop. Barrett often used an unusual triplet cross-rhythm on the hi-hat, which can be heard on many recordings by Bob Marley and the Wailers, such as Running Away on the Kaya album. Sly Dunbar An emphasis on the backbeat is found in all reggae drumbeats, but with the Rockers beat, the emphasis is on all four beats of the bar (usually on bass drum). This beat was pioneered by Sly and Robbie, who later helped create the Rub-a-Dub sound that greatly influenced dancehall. Sly has openly stated he was influenced to create this style by listening to American drummer Earl Young as well as other disco and R&B drummers in the early to mid-1970s, as stated in the book Wailing Blues. The prototypical example of the style is found in Sly Dunbars drumming on Right Time by the Mighty Diamonds. The Rockers beat is not always straightforward, and various syncopations are often included. An example of this is the Black Uhuru song Sponji Reggae. In Steppers, the bass drum plays every quarter beat of the bar, giving the beat an insistent drive. An example is Exodus by Bob Marley and the Wailers. Another common name for the Steppers beat is the four on the floor. Burning Spears 1975 song Red, Gold, and Green (with Leroy Wallace on drums) is one of the earliest examples. The Steppers beat was adopted (at a much higher tempo) by some 2 Tone ska revival bands of the late 1970s and early 1980s. An unusual characteristic of reggae drumming is that the drum fills often do not end with a climactic cymbal. A wide range of other percussion instrumentation are used in reggae. Bongos are often used to play free, improvised patterns, with heavy use of African-style cross-rhythms. Cowbells, claves and shakers tend to have more defined roles and a set pattern. Bass[edit] Aston Barret The bass guitar often plays the dominant role in reggae, and the drum and bass is often the most important part of what is called, in Jamaican music, a riddim (rhythm), a (usually simple) piece of music thats used repeatedly by different artists to write and record songs with. Literally hundreds of reggae singers have released different songs recorded over the same rhythm. The central role of the bass can be particularly heard in dub music — which gives an even bigger role to the drum and bass line, reducing the vocals and other instruments to peripheral roles. The bass sound in reggae is thick and heavy, and equalized so the upper frequencies are removed and the lower frequencies emphasized. The bass line is often a repeated two or four bar riff when simple chord progressions are used. The simplest example of this might be Robbie Shakespeares bass line for the Black Uhuru hit Shine Eye Gal. In the case of more complex harmonic structures, such as John Holts version of Stranger In Love, these simpler patterns are altered to follow the chord progression either by directly moving the pattern around or by changing some of the interior notes in the phrase to better support the chords. Guitars[edit] Al Anderson The guitar in reggae usually plays on the off beat of the rhythm. So if one is counting in 4/4 time and counting 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 +, one would play a downstroke on the and part of the beat.[13] A musical figure known as skank or the bang has a very dampened, short and scratchy chop sound, almost like a percussion instrument. Sometimes a double chop is used when the guitar still plays the off beats, but also plays the following 8th beats on the up-stroke. An example is the intro to Stir It Up by The Wailers. Artist and producer Derrick Harriott says, “What happened was the musical thing was real widespread, but only among a certain sort of people. It was always a down-town thing, but more than just hearing the music. The equipment was so powerful and the vibe so strong that we feel it.”[14] Keyboards[edit] From the late 1960s through to the early 1980s, a piano was often used in reggae to double the rhythm guitars skank, playing the chords in a staccato style to add body, and playing occasional extra beats, runs and riffs. The piano part was widely taken over by synthesizers during the 1980s, although synthesizers have been used in a peripheral role since the 1970s to play incidental melodies and countermelodies. Larger bands may include either an additional keyboardist, to cover or replace horn and melody lines, or the main keyboardist filling these roles on two or more keyboards. The reggae organ-shuffle is unique to reggae. Typically, a Hammond organ-style sound is used to play chords with a choppy feel. This is known as the bubble. This may be the most difficult reggae keyboard rhythm. The organ bubble can be broken down into 2 basic patterns. In the first, the 8th beats are played with a space-left-right-left-space-left-right-left pattern, where the spaces represent downbeats not played—that and the left-right-left falls on the ee-and-a, or and-2-and if counted at double time. In the second basic pattern, the left hand plays a double chop as described in the guitar section while the right hand plays longer notes on beat 2 (or beat 3 if counted at double time) or a syncopated pattern between the double chops. Both these patterns can be expanded on and improvised embellishments are sometimes used. Horns[edit] Horn sections are frequently used in reggae, often playing introductions and counter-melodies. Instruments included in a typical reggae horn section include saxophone, trumpet or trombone. In more recent times, real horns are sometimes replaced in reggae by synthesizers or recorded samples. The horn section is often arranged around the first horn, playing a simple melody or counter melody. The first horn is usually accompanied by the second horn playing the same melodic phrase in unison, one octave higher. The third horn usually plays the melody an octave and a fifth higher than the first horn. The horns are generally played fairly softly, usually resulting in a soothing sound. However, sometimes punchier, louder phrases are played for a more up-tempo and aggressive sound. Vocals[edit] UB40s former frontman Ali Campbell performing in 2009. The vocals in reggae are less of a defining characteristic of the genre than the instrumentation and rhythm, as almost any song can be performed in a reggae style. However, it is very common for reggae to be sung in Jamaican Patois, Jamaican English, and Iyaric dialects. Vocal harmony parts are often used, either throughout the melody (as with vocal groups such as the Mighty Diamonds), or as a counterpoint to the main vocal line (as with the backing vocalists, the I-Threes). More complex vocal arrangements can be found in the works of groups like The Abyssinians and British reggae band Steel Pulse. An unusual aspect of reggae singing is that many singers use tremolo (volume oscillation) rather than vibrato (pitch oscillation). Notable exponents of this technique include Horace Andy and vocal group Israel Vibration. The toasting vocal style is unique to reggae, originating when DJs improvised spoken introductions to songs (or toasts) to the point where it became a distinct rhythmic vocal style, and is generally considered to be a precursor to rap. It differs from rap mainly in that it is generally melodic, while rap is generally more a spoken form without melodic content. Lyrical themes[edit] Reggae is noted for its tradition of social criticism in its lyrics, although many reggae songs discuss lighter, more personal subjects, such as love and socializing. Many early reggae bands covered Motown or Atlantic soul and funk songs. Some reggae lyrics attempt to raise the political consciousness of the audience, such as by criticizing materialism, or by informing the listener about controversial subjects such as Apartheid. Many reggae songs promote the use of cannabis (also known as herb, ganja, or sinsemilla), considered a sacrament in the Rastafari movement. There are many artists who utilize religious themes in their music — whether it be discussing a specific religious topic, or simply giving praise to God (Jah). Other common socio-political topics in reggae songs include black nationalism, anti-racism, anti-colonialism,[15] anti-capitalism and criticism of political systems and Babylon. Criticism of dancehall and ragga lyrics[edit] See also: Stop Murder Music Some dancehall and ragga artists have been criticised for homophobia,[16] including threats of violence.[17] Buju Bantons song Boom Bye-Bye states that gays haffi dead. Other notable dancehall artists who have been accused of homophobia include Elephant Man, Bounty Killer and Beenie Man. The controversy surrounding anti-gay lyrics has led to the cancellation of UK tours by Beenie Man and Sizzla. Toronto, Canada has also seen the cancellation of concerts due to artists such as Elephant Man and Sizzla refusing to conform to similar censorship pressures.[18][19] After lobbying from the Stop Murder Music coalition, the dancehall music industry agreed in 2005 to stop releasing songs that promote hatred and violence against gay people.[20][21] In June 2007, Beenie Man, Sizzla and Capleton signed up to the Reggae Compassionate Act, in a deal brokered with top dancehall promoters and Stop Murder Music activists. They renounced homophobia and agreed to not make statements or perform songs that incite hatred or violence against anyone from any community. Five artists targeted by the anti-homophobia campaign did not sign up to the act, including Elephant Man, TOK, Bounty Killa and Vybz Kartel.[22] Buju Banton and Beenie Man both gained positive press coverage around the world for publicly renouncing homophobia by signing the Reggae Compassion Act. However, both of these artists have since denied any involvement in anti-homophobia work and both deny having signed any such act.[23] Reggae outside of Jamaica[edit] Reggae has spread to many countries across the world, often incorporating local instruments and fusing with other genres. Americas[edit] Reggae en Español spread from mainland South American Caribbean from Venezuela and Guyana to the rest of South America. It does not have any specific characteristics other than being sung in Spanish, usually by artists of Latin American origin. Samba reggae originated in Brazil as a blend of samba with Jamaican reggae. In the United States, bands like Rebelution, Slightly Stoopid, and SOJA are considered progressive reggae bands. For decades, Hawaiian reggae has had a big following on the Hawaiian islands and the West coast of the US.[24] In recent years, Matisyahu gained prominence by blending traditional Jewish themes with reggae.[25] Compounding his use of the hazzan style, Matisyahus lyrics are mostly English with more than occasional use of Hebrew and Yiddish. Europe[edit] The UK was a primary destination for Caribbean people looking to emigrate as early as the 1950s. Because of this, Caribbean music in the United Kingdom, including reggae, has been popular since the late 1960s, and has evolved into several sub-genres and fusions. Most notable of these is lovers rock, but this fusion of Caribbean music into English culture was seminal in the formation of other musical forms like drum and bass and dubstep. The UK became the base from which many Jamaican artists toured Europe and due to the large number of Jamaican musicians emigrating there, the UK is the root of the larger European scene that exists today. Many of the worlds most famous reggae artists began their careers in UK Singer and Grammy Award winning reggae artist Maxi Priest began his career with seminal British sound system Saxon Studio International. Also British reggae is played by UB40 and Ali Campbell. Other UK based artists that had international impact include Aswad, Misty In Roots, Steel Pulse, Janet Kay, Tippa Irie, Smiley Culture and more recently Bitty McLean. There have been a number of European artists and bands drawing their inspiration directly from Jamaica and the Caribbean community in Europe, whose music and vocal styles are almost identical to contemporary Jamaican music. The best examples might be Alborosie (Italy) and Gentleman (Germany). Both Gentleman and Alborosie have had a significant chart impact in Jamaica, unlike many European artists. They have both recorded and released music in Jamaica for Jamaican labels and producers and are popular artists, likely to appear on many riddims. Alborosie has lived in Jamaica since the late 1990s and has recorded at Bob Marleys famous Tuff Gong Studios. Since the early 1990s, several Italian reggae bands have emerged, including Sud Sound System, Pitura Freska and B.R. Stylers. Another Italian famous reggae singer was Rino Gaetano. In Iceland reggae band Hjálmar is well established having released six CDs in Iceland. They were the first reggae band in Iceland, but few Icelandic artists had written songs in the reggae style before their showing up at the Icelandic music scene. The Icelandic reggae scene is expanding and growing at a fast rate. RVK Soundsystem is the first Icelandic sound system, counting 5 DJs. They hold reggae nights in Reykjavík every month at clubs Hemmi og Valdi and more recently in Faktorý as the crowd has grown so much. The first homegrown Polish reggae bands started in the 1980s with groups like Izrael. Singer and songwriter Alexander Barykin was considered as the father of Russian reggae.[26] In Sweden, Uppsala Reggae Festival attracts attendees from across Northern Europe, and features Swedish reggae bands such as Rootvälta and Svenska Akademien as well as many popular Jamaican artists. Summerjam, Europes biggest reggae festival, takes place in Cologne, Germany and sees crowds of 25,000 or more. Rototom Sunsplash, a week long festival which used to take place in Osoppo, Italy, until 2009, is now held in Benicassim, Spain and gathers up to 150,000 visitors every year. Africa[edit] Reggae in Africa was much boosted by the visit of Bob Marley to Zimbabwe on Independence Day 18 April 1980. Nigerian reggae had developed in the 1970s with artists such as Majek Fashek proving popular. In South Africa, reggae music has played a unifying role amongst cultural groups in Cape Town. During the years of Apartheid, the music bonded people from all demographic groups. Lucky Dube recorded 25 albums, fusing reggae with Mbaqanga. The Marcus Garvey Rasta camp in Phillipi is regarded by many to be the reggae and Rastafarian center of Cape Town. Reggae bands play regularly at community centres such as the Zolani center in Nyanga. In Ethiopia, Dub Colossus and Invisible System emerged in 2008 sharing core members, and have received wide acclaim.[27][28][29] In Mali, Askia Modibo fuses reggae with Malian music. In Malawi, Black Missionaries produced nine albums. In Ivory Coast a country where reggae music is extremely popular, Tiken Jah Fakoly fuses reggae with traditional music. Alpha Blondy from Ivory Coast sings reggae with religious lyrics. In Sudan, beats, drums and bass guitar from reggae music has been adopted into their music as reggae is a very popular among the generations from young to old, some spiritual (religious) groups grow their dreadlocks and have some reggae beats in their chants. Asia and the Pacific[edit] In the Philippines, several bands and sound systems play reggae and dancehall music. Their music is called Pinoy reggae. Japanese reggae emerged in the early 1980s. Reggae is becoming more prevalent in Thailand as well. Reggae music is quite popular in Sri Lanka. Aside from the reggae music and Rastafarian influences seen ever more on Thailands islands and beaches, a true reggae sub-culture is taking root in Thailands cities and towns. Many Thai artists, such as Job 2 Do, keep the tradition of reggae music and ideals alive in Thailand. By the end of the 1980s, the local music scene in Hawaii was dominated by Jawaiian music, a local form of reggae. Indonesia also has a thriving reggae scene, with the music brought by tourists to Bali in the 1970s and 1980s. Tony Q, and Steven and TheCoconutTreez are leading the charge for Indonesian reggae. Famous Indian singer Kailash Kher and music producer Clinton Cerejo created Kalapi, a rare fusion piece of Reggae and Indian music for Coke Studio India.[30] Other than this high profile piece, Reggae is confined to a small, emerging scene in India.[31] Australia and New Zealand[edit] Reggae in Australia originated in the 1980s. Desert Reggae is a developing contemporary style possibly originating in Central Australia. Lyrics are often sung in Australian Aboriginal languages.[32] However, possibly the best known Australian reggae groups are Blue King Brown and Astronomy Class, who both use English language lyrics. New Zealand reggae was heavily inspired by Bob Marleys 1979 concert in the country, and early reggae groups such as Herbs. The genre has seen many bands like Fat Freddys Drop and Katchafire emerging in more recent times, often involving fusion with electronica
Posted on: Fri, 24 Jan 2014 17:48:41 +0000
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