Reggae Music

[prog4all]

So are there more people here in to reggae? Beside electronic music, this is probably one of the styles I listen to the most.

 

Bob Marley is a legend to me, the godfather of reggae. Like just about all his songs and all of them have a positive message to bring across. Some other notable artist I listen to are Alborosie, Damian Marley, Israel Vibration etc.

 

I have a lot of reggae albums, but always looking for suggestions!

[Guest neurogen]

I love reggae, however I really dont like roots reggae. (i.e bob marley etc)

 

i love dancehall like Barrington Levy, Don Carlos, EekAMouse, Alpha Blondy , to name a few

 

however I dont really listen to it anymore, was more in my weed-pereoid some 10 years ago.

[Dolmot]

Reggae, well it's alright. Basically it's pop music with a different basic rhythm - and a good one too. Western music transformed from big band swing to half-groovy classic rock and eventually to very straightforward first-beat oriented pop/rock. It still remains like that. Meanwhile, Jamaica went for a back beat and double back beat. I've often thought that basic 4/4 is dance music for people who can't dance. Lack of real rhythm is often compensated with speed and a heavier kick. Reggae slows it down, letting you to discover the different rhythms and improvise.

 

Anyway, apart from that it's Jamaican pop. Sometimes it's religious but often simply about partying, boozing, driving, working, shooting people, getting rich, looking for girls, banging girls, losing girls and missing girls. Not too different from other pop. Well, it's also a licence to smoke pot. Putting on a Marley record still turns you from a random loser into a deep, religious, multicultural and conscious thinker.

 

BUT the greatest feat of reggae is that it gave us dub. Seriously. Again, if we look at western music, in the 40s it was often instrumental. We had big bands, excellent musicians, exciting solos and all that. Singers often performed only one verse. Then it was all about music again for the rest of the "song". Since the 50s, it's been all about lyrics and occasional guitar solos. Well, early ska and reggae was a lot like that. Then guys like King Tubby and Lee Perry came up with dub. Suddenly the focus was on rhythm and sound again. Dancers loved it. DJs (or MCs in today's terminology) loved it. And it was half-electronic music twisted by engineers - strange, eerie, deep, catchy, hypnotic.

 

You take this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9h3Xx-MmpBs

 

And turn it into this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s9gPuh80ByI

 

And that's what true electronic music is all about. What they did was vastly more important than replacing dubbed disco beats with a 808. Your modern psydub artists may have craploads of high-end gear but often they just try to replicate the weirdness of original dub created with two buttons, three pieces of wire and a tape recorder cobbled together. I'm not sure if they're really successful in that.

 

All hail King Tubby. We owe everything to him.

 

That's all.

[Sideffect...]

I used to be a big fan of reggae, rock steady, dance hall, dub and i'm still listening to it,

but not that much as I used to be...

 

I still like the classics like Steel pulse, culture, bob marley (off course), Alberosie, Soldiers of jah etc...

Also ragga like Gentlemen, Mr. vegas, Red rat, Capleton, Ward 21 are still in my playlist.

 

I've used to go to festivals and have the intention to go again, I love the relax positive vibe

[prog4all]

Good to see there are some people like minded. I used to listen to the more dancehall sounds also, like Capleton and such. A lot of it is good but some of it is a little to aggressive. Reggae festivals are great. I went to one some months ago. Smoking weed 3 days long non stop and everyone is so laid back.