Reggae (reggae, reggae [1] [2] ; English reggae ) is the direction of modern music that emerged in Jamaica in the late 1960s and has been widely adopted since the early 1970s [1] .
Reggae | |
---|---|
Direction | Reggae |
Origins | Ska , Rocksteady , Rhythm and Blues , Jazz , Mento , Cumbia , Calypso |
Place and time of occurrence | Jamaica , especially Kingston , 1960s |
Heyday | Jamaica , Great Britain 1969-1972 |
Subgenres | |
Dub , Ragga , Dunshall , Skinhead Reggae | |
Related | |
Reggaeton , 2 Tone Euro-reggae | |
Derivatives | |
Hip-Hop , Trip-Hop , Drum and Bass , Dubstep , Techno | |
see also | |
Jamaican Sound System , Riddim |
Crooked cop | |
Lance sitton | |
Replay Assistance |
Reggae can be both dance, relaxation and protest music, which follows from the traditions of African culture, in which rhythm, dance and music coexist with other phenomena and events [1] . The composition used is electric guitar , bass guitar , drums, electric organ, sometimes - a group of wind instruments. The main feature of reggae is the leading role of rhythm elements, mainly bass guitar, the figure of which forms the basis of the composition both rhythmically and melodically (the parts of the other instruments are built around the bass part). Reggae also notes: moderate (maybe fast, but not aggressive) pace, size - 4/4, accents in the accompaniment on the 2nd and 4th beat, breaks on high tones or timbals . [3] The recognized king of reggae is singer and songwriter Bob Marley . Reggae songs built on Rastafarian ideology and saturated with symbols of this religious and philosophical movement received great popularity, but songs about love, everyday problems, political and protest songs are no less popular among the performers of the style. [one]
In 2018 entered the UNESCO list of cultural heritage [4] [5] .
Title
The origin of the term "reggae" is explained in different ways. According to one version, it is associated with the English phrase "reggid rhythm" ( English ragged rhythm - ragged, torn rhythm), according to another - with the slang name of a street woman in Kingston (capital of Jamaica) - "Streggey" (streggae). The reggae , a Negro tribe speaking one of the Bantu languages, is also mentioned. In musical terms, the word “reggae” first appeared in 1968 in connection with the group “Maytals”, the disc of which was called “Do the Reggae” [3] .
Origin
In the first half of the 20th century, mento was the most common musical genre in Jamaica. These were songs performed by wandering musicians, a mix of spiritual hymns of hymns, working songs, calypso style and the whole diversity of Caribbean traditions. Mento was folk music similar to American rural blues [1] .
After the Second World War, a lot of new music penetrated the island, mainly from the USA. This was mainly due to the fact that radio receivers and, more rarely, players were in mass use. Jamaicans were especially close to the recordings of rhythm and blues artists - Bo Didley (Bo Didley), Fats Domino, Louis Jordan (Louis Jordan), James Brown, and then rock and roll (rock-n-roll) - Chuck Berry, Little Richard (Little Richard) and others [1] .
In the 1950s, a phenomenon appeared in Jamaica, which was called the “ Jamaican Sound System ”. The majority of the island’s population, living in extreme poverty, could not afford to have a record player. Some enterprising and inventive Jamaican people bought or designed with their own hands powerful enough sound systems consisting of a turntable and amplifying equipment. They put the resulting set on a cart and drove it around the city and countryside, arranging improvised discos in the square, street corner, etc. [1] .
In the late 1950s, some entrepreneurs or well-known owners of “sound systems” began to open private music studios in which local artists were recorded and their records were released. With this, the Jamaican music industry itself began to develop, the center of which was the capital of the country - Kingston . On the first records released in Jamaica, there were records of local “stars” of rhythm and blues: Derrick Morgan (Derrick Morgan), Owen Gray (Owen Gray), Jackie Edwards (Jackie Edwards) and others [1] .
Adapting the American rhythm and blues to the features of the Caribbean rhythm, Jamaican musicians invented a new style. The new style, called ska (ska), was characterized by the same wiggling and accentuation of the weak beat, which later turned into reggae. The melodic line was led mainly by the brass section. The greatest popularity was gained by groups: Skatalites (Skatalites), Ska Kings (Ska Kings) and Soul Vendors (Soul Vendors). Vocal groups (Soulettes / Soulettes, Blue Busters / Blue Busters) and individual singers who performed with the support of instrumental groups (Jimmy Cliff, Stranger Cole / Jimmy Cliff) also received distribution. In the mid-1960s, Bob Marley made several recordings with Scattallys [1] .
While playing ska-songs at discos, the owners of “sound systems” often accompanied them with their comments, saying phrases over the sound of the music. This is how the toasting came into being, which had a considerable influence on the formation of hip-hop [1] .
By adapting the vinyl records to the needs of discos, the performers tried in every way to modify their original sound. They brought some tools to the foreground and muffled others. Thus, a new direction of Jamaican music - dub (dub). Among the very first experimenters in dub were King Tubby and Lee Scratch Perry (Lee “Scratch” Perry) [1] .
In the second half of the 1960s, the connection of ska with gospel music and soul (soul) gave a new style of rock stage (rock steady), which is the immediate forerunner of reggae. Almost all the main features of reggae showed up in him, except for the fact that he was faster than reggae in tempo. The main audience of rock-style style was the poor youth of the urban neighborhoods of Jamaica [1] .
In the second half of the 1960s, the top lines of the Jamaican charts were occupied by such groups as "Antacheblz" (Untouchables), "Mattolz" (Maytals), "Maytonz" (Maytones), "Slickers" (Slickers) and "Heptons" (Heptones ). Among the performers are Desmond Dekker , Delroy Wilson and Alton Ellis. Since then, Jamaican music began to penetrate the United States and Europe. A typical example is the song “The Beatles” Ob-La-Dee Ob-La-Da, 1968, which is an imitation of rock-stage. In the late 1960s, the pace of rock stud became slower and slow. Thus, the style which was called reggae [1] gradually took shape.
The aggravation of the struggle of the black population of the United States for their rights, the time of the Black Revolution and the flourishing of the Black Power movement also affected Jamaican music. The protest songs written in the late 1960s called for a return to the roots and to resist the black man’s overwhelming system. Reggae songs instead of harmless lyrics were increasingly filled with Rastafarian symbolism and biblical images and plots [1] .
The most famous reggae groups of the 1960–1970s were Apetters (The Upsetters), Burning Spear (Burning Spear), The Wailers and The Abyssinians [1] .
In the early 1970s, Bob Marley’s The Wailers band was brought to the forefront, whose third studio album became a world sensation [1] .
Since the mid-1970s, reggae has become a global cultural phenomenon, and Bob Marley is a symbol of this phenomenon. Reggae elements penetrate different musical styles, and its rhythm attracts many listeners and musicians. [one]
Directions
Closely related to reggae is ska and toasting , which preceded hip-hop . Toasting - pronouncing his comments on the song on top of sounding music during improvised street discos that sound system owners organized in Jamaica [1] .
- Early reggae . Date of appearance: 1968 Artists: The Maytals, The Pioneers, Desmond Dekker , Jimmy Cliff and others. He was later sometimes called the Skinhead reggae . This is due to the fact that in Britain early reggae was popular in the subculture of traditional skinheads . Performers: Laurel Aitken , Judge Dread , Symarip and others.
- Roots reggae ( Roots reggae ) - a style that emerged from early reggae and the rhythms of the Nayabing drums (ritual drum sessions, named after the mythological princess Nayabing), the main rhythm was “one drop”, later “ half-drop and half- rockers , but one-drop still dominates. Subject texts - religious, Rastafarian. Time of occurrence: the end of the 1960s. Artists: Alpha Blondi , The Abyssinians, Burning Spear, Culture, Lee Scratch Perry , Bob Marley , Steel Pulse and others.
- Dub ( Dub ) - instrumental arrangement of reggae music, where the rhythm section comes to the fore, and all other instruments and, sometimes, vocals come in periodically. The latter are characterized by the use of various sound effects (echo, reverberation, phaser, frequency filters), which gives the music a mystical, meditative and psychedelic character. The main characters of dub-music are not performers, but sound producers. It was the experiments with mixes tracks that led to the emergence of a new style. Artists: Lee Scratch Perry , Scientist , King Tabby and others. In the future, the style acquires its own branches, sometimes unrelated to reggae, departing from the original experiments of Jamaican sound producers to give reggae works a new sound, becoming a separate direction, closer to electronic music . The origin of the dub is associated with the street discos mentioned above, for the purposes of which the music was processed [1] .
- Dancehall ( Dancehall ) - dance direction, which arose in the early 1980s.
- Euro Reggae ( Euro Reggae ) is a style that emerged as a result of the evolution of reggae fusion in the early 1990s and is directly related to Eurodance music of this period. The genre is best known for the worldwide hit "All That She Wants" of the Swedish Euro-dance group Ace of Base . Many performers (for example, DJ BoBo , E-Rotic , Fun Factory , Mr. President , Rollergirl , Yaki-Da ) used elements of Euro-reggae and reggae pop in their music.
Rastafari
Reggae in Jamaica is mostly associated with Rastafarianism , a religious movement that spread in the 20th century on the island and represents a peculiar blend of Christianity with Judaism, and, not least, with a certain racial bias. In the characteristic manner of the new African-American religious movements, which appeared in numerous in the first half of the 20th century, Rastafarianism insists that Jesus Christ and all biblical heroes were black, the chosen Judean people are a Negroid race, and the Promised Land is Ethiopia . By Babylon , in which captive Rastafarians are forced to dwell (and from which Exodus is expected), is meant the entire Western world enslaved by the capitalist system. Ethiopian emperor Haile Selassie I was considered the representative of God Jah (Jah - short for Jehovah ) on Earth, before Rath Tafari Mekonnyn (that is, Prince Tafari Mekonnyn) took the throne on the throne in 1930 - hence the term “Rastafarianism” [1] .
Other Directions
- Mento ( eng. Mento ) - Jamaican folk music style, the predecessor of ska and reggae. Acoustic instruments are commonly used in mento: acoustic guitar , banjo , hand drum and marimbula - a box-shaped instrument on which to sit while playing. Mento is often confused with calypso , a musical style from Trinidad and Tobago . Both styles have much in common, but differ in shape. Mento combines traditional African motifs and influences from European music. In the texts, mento is humorous about the life of a poor person. Mento was most developed in the 1950s, in the 1960s it moved to ska, although it is still played in Jamaica , especially in tourist areas.
- Calypso , an Afro-Caribbean style of music formed in Trinidad and Tobago in the 20th century , originated from West African Kaizo , was popular in the 1950s . The roots of calypso originated in the 19th century among African slaves in sugar plantations. Calypso artist (“Growling Lion”) in his book “Calypso from France to Trinidad, 800 Years of History” ( eng. Calypso from France to Trinidad, 800 Years of History ) says that Calypso comes from medieval music French troubadours. It rises in its origins to traditional African genres of “ironic” singing (calypso texts, as a rule, are satirical, moralistic, or even socially critical, commenting on topical, news, and topical themes, often devoted to the heavy proportion of blacks in Trinidad). Calypso artists expanded the boundaries of freedom of speech, the lyrics of their songs conveyed all the news about life on the island, including political ones. When the English authorities on the island intensified, censorship began to carefully track the words of the songs, but calypso continued to be a source of news. Calypso is characterized by a question-answer form of singing (singing and chorus), the use of polymetry and polyrhythmia, and a deliberately accelerated pronunciation of the text. The first Calypso recordings made by the “Lovey's String Band” appeared in 1912. The first stars appeared in the late 1930s: it was Attila DeHoun, Roaring de Leon and Lord Invader, under the direction of Lord Kitschener, that they recorded until 2000. Elements of calypso also infused into jazz , which is observed in a style such as calypso-jazz.
- Rockstadi (“rock steady”, “rocksteady”) is a musical style that existed in Jamaica and in England in the 1960s . The basis of the style is 4/4 Caribbean rhythms, with increased attention to keyboards and guitars . Roxtedy appeared in Jamaica at the end of the first wave of ska . Rocksteady was slower and smoother than ska, bass guitar drawings became more pronounced and melodic (as opposed to mostly “walking” bass ska), and the guitar is only even. The drums of the new form were used, and the role of brass was reduced (probably due to the high cost of instruments). There is a legend that the summer of 1966 was too hot, and visitors to the ballrooms could not dance fast, as ska required. Texts became another main difference between the Rockstede and the ska. They were somewhat moralistic, praising moral values ( love , friendship, work) in a language understandable to ordinary people (for example, lumpenized Kingston ore battles ). This moralizing was inherited by reggae. The famous Rockstead performers were Bob Marley , Derrick Morgan, Phyllis Dillon and others. One of the most popular songs was the song "Rocksteady" by Elton Ellis. In the late 1960s, the Rocksted performers began to go on tour to England , where, especially in the port cities, the Jamaican diaspora was strong. Soon white workers began to listen to the Rocksteady. With the emergence of the skinhead subculture, the rhythms of the roksteady entered skinhead reggae .
- Ska ( eng. Ska ) - a musical style that appeared in Jamaica in the late 1950s. The style is characterized by a swinging rhythm 2/4, when the guitar plays on even drums , and the double bass or bass guitar emphasizes the odd ones. The melody is performed by wind instruments such as trumpet , trombone and saxophone . Among the melodies of ska you can meet jazz melodies. In 1964, as a musical symbol of Jamaica, ska performers were presented as part of the World's Fair in New York . If ska was originally influenced by American rhythm and blues and rock and roll , then from the mid-60s ska began to take in soul elements, which led to the transformation of ska into Roksteady ( 1966 - 1968 ) - music with another, more slow rhythm
- Ragga , raggamuffin ( eng. Raggamuffin - “ragged”) is the erroneous name of the 80's digital dancehall, a style of dance music originally Jamaican , which is a variation of reggae, and featuring a recitative vocal, mostly to the accompaniment of electronic instruments. The name gained popularity among the tourist environment in 70-80 years. "Ragga" tourists called all possible directions of Jamaican music. The original "raggamuffin" is a ragged ghetto resident. The incident was apparently caused by the fact that reggae is “ragga” for the Jamaican, i.e. music of the poor, music from the ghetto
- Reggaeton ( Spanish reggaetón , English reggaeton ) is a musical style and dance that arose in Panama and Puerto Rico under the influence of reggae, dancehall and hip-hop , and was widely spread in Latin American countries of the Caribbean , as well as among Latin Americans living in United States . Reggaeton emerged in the early 1990s , incorporating the influence of Jamaican reggae music, techno music, rap, as well as traditional styles of Puerto Rican music - bombs and captives . Similar to North American hip-hop : rhythmic music combined with a rap recitative; the latter is usually read in Spanish . In the mid-90s, the style penetrates the environment of Latin Americans living in the United States , while local youth perceive this direction of music with great enthusiasm - partly due to the modern sound, and partly due to its Latin American origin. Although reggaeton was greatly influenced by hip-hop, it would be wrong to consider it just an “Hispanic” version of this style, since reggaeton has a slightly different rhythm . Reggeton easily combines several different styles. From reggae there is little in it, despite the fact that those involved in it claim that its rhythm is a new step in the evolution of the reggae rhythm. The second component of reggaeton is actually rap or recheck (fraseo), which in the city of Colon ( Panama ) is called “el ton” (tone).
Movies
- Reggae (1970) - Documentary
- " The Thorny Path " ( eng. The Harder They Come ) (1972) - artistic
- " Rockers " ( eng. Rockers ) (1978) - artistic
- " Babylon " ( eng. Babylon ) (1980) - artistic
- " Countryman " ( eng. Countryman ) (1982) - artistic
- Reggae - The Story of Jamaican Music (2002) - Documentary
- “Rainbow” (2005) - documentary
- Made in Jamaica (2006) - Documentary
- "Roots Time" (2006) - artistic
- Marley (2012) - documentary
Literature
- In Russian
- Gorbut A.V. Jamaican Patois and the power of language in Reggae music // Summa philosophy. Issue 7. - 2007.
- Rakhmanina M. Popular youth subcultures of the end of the XX-beginning of the XXI centuries // Editing Board. - p. 128.
- Sosnovsky N. Haile Selassie, reggae songs and myths of historical consciousness // Foreign Literature. - 1992. - no. 8-9. - p. 281-288.
- In other languages
- Stephen Davis and Peter Simon, Reggae International (1982)
- Stephen Davis and Peter Simon, Reggae Bloodlines, rev. ed. (1979, reissued 1992)
- Malika Lee Whitney and Dermott Hussey, Bob Marley: Reggae King of the World, 2nd ed. (1994)
- Kevin O'Brien Chang and Wayne Chen, Reggae Routes (1998)
- Chuck Foster, Roots, Rock, Reggae: Music from Ska to Dancehall (1999)
- Lloyd Bradley, Prince Buster. This is Reggae Music: The Story of Jamaica's Music. Grove Press (2001)
- Steve Barrow, Peter Dalton. The Rough Guide to Reggae. Rough Guides; 2nd edition (2001)
- Dave Thompson, Reggae & Caribbean Music (2002)
- Jonathan Runge. Rum & Reggae's French Caribbean. (Rum & Reggae series). Rum & Reggae Guidebooks Inc (2003)
- Lou Gooden. Reggae Heritage: Jamaica's Music History, Culture & Politic. 1stBooks Library (2003)
- Steve Barrow and Peter Dalton, The Rough Guide to Reggae, 3rd ed., Rev. and expanded (2004)
- Peter Manuel with Kenneth Bilby and Michael Largey, Caribbean Music: Rumba to Reggae, rev. and expanded (2006)
Notes
- ↑ 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 Zaitsev Alexander. Reggae . Round the world . The appeal date is March 13, 2012. Archived May 31, 2012.
- ↑ Russian spelling dictionary of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Ed. ed. V. V. Lopatin.
- ↑ 1 2 Reggae Unsolved . A concise encyclopedic dictionary of jazz, rock and pop music. The appeal date is March 13, 2012. Archived May 31, 2012.
- ↑ Reggae have been added to the UNESCO World Heritage List (Russian) , euronews (November 29, 2018). The appeal date is November 30, 2018.
- ↑ Reggae music of Jamaica - intangible heritage - Culture Sector - UNESCO (English) . ich.unesco.org. The appeal date is November 30, 2018.
See also
- Rastamans
- Voodoo
- Bob Marley
Links
- Reggae in the open DMOZ catalog
- The history of Jamaican music in podcasts
- Andrey Gorokhov. Muzprosvet . The appeal date is March 12, 2012. Archived on May 31, 2012.