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Reggae and World Music
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Africans have been making real "roots" reggae for 20 years, and it's fantastic stuff, largely unnoticed by an international market.
Reggae has always been big in Africa. But the musical genre really took
off sometime after Bob Marley's concert on Zimbabwe's independence.
Africans still talk about that 1980 concert in Harare, much like
Americans talk about the 1964 Beatles' tour of this country. Today,
reggae bands play in every region, with most of the activity in South
Africa, Ivory Coast or Nigeria. Although it may seem like there is
little difference in the African versus the Jamaican sound, when you
listen to a lot of reggae music, the difference is considerable.
For one, reggae
exported from Jamaica often identifies with the American sound. In the
1970's, Bob Marley tried desperately to capture the American R&B
market. These days, Kingston artists shadow their Urban music
counterparts here in the States. Slack-ness (obscenity) is the key, and
the ragga (rap) style permeates intoevery song. Lyrics glamorize sex
and violence, while the roots sound had, until recently, been left to
the dinosaurs. The Jamaican studios are a highly prolific lot, but turn
out more garbage than gold. This industry is primarily a singles market,
with many of the "good" singles---the
ones that have made it big at dancehalls---thrown together as part of
collections. You
have no doubt seen the CDs. The covers sport some dancehall queen, with
the music on the inside produced by an electronic sequencer---often just
a simple rhythm track. The DJ toasts in the raggamuffin style. And
that's it. You may even hear the same rhythm track used two or three
times with a different DJ.
Whereas, the Africans
have carried on the tradition that was planted in Harare by Bob Marley,
although it would be unfair to say that ragga has not increased in
popularity. The overall result is a fresher, livelier, and innocent
sound, yet embracing controversial topics, such as Alpha Blondy's
"Abortion is a Crime," that one cannot help but admire their
idealism. The sound identifies less with American music and more with
the current trends in popular African music. For example, Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast)
native, Alpha Blondy incorporated West African rhythms in his album
"Apartheid is Nazism," an album that launched his
international career in the early 1980's. More recently, Malian native
Askia Modibo, took on a very traditional approach, melding reggae
with the pentatonic music of the Wassoulou on "Wass-Reggae," released in 1995. Even the
more Jamaican sound of the Nigerian band The Mandators, and later of
their lead guitarist Majek Fashek (pronounced "ma-JEEK fa-SHEEK")
still emotes an African ambiance. Besides better
quality production, the songwriting is clearly superior.With the obvious
differences in lyrical sound and crisp production, African reggae stands
out as a refreshing alternative to what has become Big Business in
Kingston.
From: An overview by Wayne
Whitwa
Sounds of the World
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D-Revelation
Belize natives groove
Christian, reggae-ska, and world beat sounds.
.Black
47
Politically
radical rock band influenced by traditional Irish and reggae
music |
.Roots
and Culture
This
site is devoted to Rastafarians, reggae music and the
African heritage of King Selassie I of Ethiopia. It
contains picture galleries, selected quotes, a spot
dedicated to the debate over Afrocentrism and links to
related sites. |
.Toneburst
Promotions
Multimedia
reggae event promoter devoted to all things reggae.
View listings of upcoming performances and link to
various music sites. |
.Reggae
Connection Festivals
Festival
and concert information for all types of reggae
music throughout New England. Link to a worldwide
festival search site. |
.Reggae
Festival Finder
Devoted
to festivals and events with listings by genre,
date, and location. Features links to other
relevant festival and music sites. |
Blood
and Fire
Blood
and Fire is a small company that reissues rare
and early reggae recordings on vinyl and compact
disc. At this Web site users can access their
catalog, music reviews and links to other reggae
sites and newsgroups. |
Steppin
Razor Reggae
Explore
a collection of links to artists, both reggae
and ska, plus rasta cultural and social sites,
or check out pictures and music reviews. |
Australian
Independent Music
This
site offers a wide selection of Australian
independent music on-line. Jazz, funk, a
cappella, rock, electronic, reggae, and more. |
Sublime
Official
site for this three-piece whose popular music
blends reggae and dance-hall sounds. Includes
band history, discography, and CD sales. |
AudreyHall,
Read
about this sultry diva of reggae music. Find
music sample tracks, a biography, and CD
sales. |
Freedom
Band, The
Pittsburgh,
PA based reggae band resource. Find a performance calendar,
band member biographies, pictures, and music samples on
RealAudio.Chronic
Chuckie Fresh
Yardley,
PA based reggae band. Find sound samples, band information,
and CD sales.
Reggae
Music Mon
Browse
pictures of Bob Marley, check out interviews and pictures of
Haile Selassie, join the reggae and Rastafarian chat or view
links to bands.
Rasta
Radio 106.7 FM
Melbourne,
Australia radio show features dub, ska, rocksteady, dancehall,
and jungle reggae music. Find playlists, photos, and a top ten
chart.
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Africassette
Music
Africassette is
distributor, wholesaler and recorder of African and world
music. At this site users can examine the label's catalog or
listen to music samples. |
EarDrum
World Music
Broadcasts via RealAudio 24
hours a day. Explore program details, artist interviews, and
statistics on various countries. |
Iranian
Classical Music
Ethnomusicology-oriented site
presents overview of Iranian classical music and lists recommended
recordings. |
Blindfrog
Sound clips and features on
new, emerging musical talent from around the world. |
The
Wheel
Online resources about
musician Peter Gabriel, his company Real World, and the people
and places of world music are featured at this personal site. |
International
Music Archives
Features information
about a variety of musical styles and instruments from around
the world. Read interviews of musicians and get current news. |
.Ara-Music
Ara-Music is an online
music store where users can purchase Arabic music CDs. |
.Music
From Around the World
A directory of folk
music sites from Africa, Asia, the Americas, the Carribbean,
Europe, India, Indonesia, Australia and the Middle East. |
World
Rhythm Training
MIDI files of
world music rhythms are presented here for practice
purposes, along with information on the musical
traditions of West Africa, Bali and other countries. |
.Jazz
Roots Rhythm
Find
information, news and reviews on jazz, soul, blues,
gospel, world music and the global music scene. |
.World
Music
Collection of
discographies from world music artists sorted by
region. Includes some sound files and links to
related sites. |
.Music
This
pageprovides an annotated index of links to
Internet resources dealing with music of
Africa |
.Groove
Site
Features
World music broadcasts. Find featured artists,
African sounds, European sounds, news, reviews,
a calendar, and games. |
.Echodisc
Echoes is a nightly
music program broadcast on public radio stations across the
United States. This site provides a listing of radio
stations that carry the show, and an online catalog where
users can buy ambient, techno, new age and world music CDs. |
.Clarion
Music
Company offers
large selection of musical instruments from all over the
world. Browse inventory using index or clickable world map |
.Music
Club
British label
offers over 300 titles in print, including reggae,
blues, ska, and a large, eclectic mix. |
.Kabala
Discover how
these Colombian musicians blend waves of punk, ska,
and reggae into danceable grooves. Sample music tracks |
.Citrus
Records
Florida
record label showcasing ska, reggae and world beats.
Latest news and releases |
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Celtic,
American and
World Folk Music
Preview
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