Mento Music
Jamaican folk music. The music we listen to has derived from slave culture. Slaves were taken from the east coast of Africa, and shipped over to the Caribbean. The slave sound was admired by Western Cultures. If the artist layered and interchanged the instruments with western instruments, it became part of popular music. Harry Belafonte achieved this integration of slave music with his song ‘Banana Boat Song (Day O)’.
This music evolves over a period of time, it changes from calypso / mento
to Ska
to Rocksteady
Reggae
Dancehall
Dub is a genre of electronic music[1] which grew out of reggae music in the 1960s, and is commonly considered a subgenre,[2] though it has developed to extend beyond the scope of reggae. Music in this genre consists predominantly of instrumental remixes of existing recordings[3] and is achieved by significantly manipulating and reshaping the recordings, usually by removing the vocals from an existing music piece, and emphasizing thedrum and bass parts (this stripped-down track is sometimes referred to as a ‘riddim‘)
Sound speakers had a profound influence on bass culture, in the development of Jamaican music. Accented English speaking was enhanced. The competition for the best music was driven to challenge the artists. There were no copyrights that held back, and often artists would scratch and paint over the records, to hide their finds. Jamaicans could not hear these sounds through radios, and had to hear them through sound systems. This led to wars between the sound systems.
A walking bass line, accented jazz rhythms on the upbeat with a constant flow.
Another upbeat, walking beat.
Ethiopia is the geographical Israel, but the Rastafarian philosophy also means this can be a mental state. Babylon usually refers to the downpressors of the
rastafari, meaning capitalist civilisation.
This song is an expression of the downpression by babylon and perhaps a pining for the Israelites of Africa to be free. The ultimate goal of Rastafari is to get back to Zion, meaning a natural coalition with the Earth, set in Africa.
The movement is essentially an interpretation of the bible, suggesting that it focused on the wrong set of people. The movement is centered around Haile Sellase, the Empororer of Abyssinia (Ethiopia) who was believed to be God incarnate, and who is believed to return.
Desmond Dekker said he wrote the song while walking home as he overheard a couple arguing about money, the man couldn’t make enough money to provide for his wife and kids.
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Decker (from The Metro newspaper, April 18, 2005): “It all happened so quickly. I didn’t write that song sitting around a piano or playing a guitar. I was walking in the park, eating corn. I heard a couple arguing about money. She was saying she needed money and he was saying the work he was doing was not giving him enough. I relate to those things and began to sing a little song – “You get up in the morning and you slaving for bread.” By the time I got home it was complete. And it was so funny, that song never got out of my mind. It stayed fresh in my head. The following day I got my little tape and I just sang that song and that’s how it all started.”
Lee Scratch Perry ensured that the Reggae song structure was tight.
Creating new sounds, with circuitry. King Tubby created his own sounds. The sound of Dub, a slowed down ska, with elements of calypso jazz, often trumpets, set through delays. The bass was generally low, and worked in a circular rhythm.
Melodic sounds, Augustus Pablo inspired a generation of slow tempo, chillout, slow jazz sounds. The harmonium became a huge influence in bands like Massive Attack, Portishead, Gorillaz to name a few.
Dancehall evolved through the mix of these things. Walking bass has evolved into a dance and funky sound. Synths are more prevalent in this music. Vocals are still quite soaring and sit at the back, similar to reggae, yet the clarity is crisp. The studio work is much tighter, and the quality of the music is extremely high. Texter of layers. Influenced people like Tricky.
Dawn Penn
Same walking bass lines, offbeats, and same soaring vocal. I think of bands like the Fugees, or even modern r&b music, Rihanna, and even offshoots into Neo Soul, with artists such as Erikah Badu.
gubremix 