50 years of musical innovation...
It’s hard to overstate the impact that Jamaican musicians have had on popular culture.
Simply put: the songwriting techniques, the studio techniques, the sheer attitude which lies underneath some of the finest records ever made were inspired (directly or otherwise) by that tiny Caribbean island.
Britain knows this better than most. Beginning with the docking of the Empire Windrush in 1948, Jamaican culture has interwoven with British life sparking generations of new music in the process. Today (August 6th) Jamaica toasts the 50th anniversary of its independence, so we have gathered several pieces from our archive to act as a cross section of Jamaican music.
Mento: Reggae’s Forgotten Past
“Mento is sticksman music, with sticksman lyrics and sticksman instruments, which survived for at least half a century outside the studio and in the cane fields of St. Elizabeth and Clarendon. It would be played at ‘nine-night’ funeral wakes, gospel meetings at abandoned crossroads, and on corn night, when the ripe sheaves were harvested and mento played till day...” (FULL FEATURE)
Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry Interview
“At the feet of Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry is laid a lifetime’s work, burnt to ashes, beyond any hope of recognition or salvation. Behind him is a career as the king of the soundsystems, the man who taught Bob Marley righteousness and invented dub reggae. In front of him lies one of modern music’s most bizarre back catalogues, stretching what is possible with both sound and the human imagination...” (FULL FEATURE)
Dread Beat And Blood: The DNA Of Dub
“When the Jamaicans evoked their mutations of dub in 1968, little did they know that their advances in studio technology and revolutionary tinkering would coerce so many subsequent music genres. From western rock’s adoption of Lee Perry’s maverick mixing desk manoeuvres, house music’s espousal of Tubby’s remix ethos or the low-end obsession in sound-system culture that would fuel the UK’s hunger for bass culture that’d spawn jungle, garage, dubstep and beyond, dub’s influence carries far...” (FULL FEATURE)
Adrian Boot Interview
“Adrian Boot is perhaps the most prolific and celebrated reggae photographer alive today. It was through their mutual love of this music that he was put together with The Clash for a series of sessions; the locations would vary from war-torn Belfast, Camden Town rehearsal spaces and the blues dance decay of seventies Notting Hill...” (FULL FEATURE)
The Birth Of Lovers Rock
“As soul music from the sound systems mingled with reggae, and the British boys upwardly wanted to dance with girls who craved a pop hit, a distinct new British link in the bass culture linage was born. Enter stage left the sound of Lovers Rock...” (FULL FEATURE)
Simply put: the songwriting techniques, the studio techniques, the sheer attitude which lies underneath some of the finest records ever made were inspired (directly or otherwise) by that tiny Caribbean island.
Britain knows this better than most. Beginning with the docking of the Empire Windrush in 1948, Jamaican culture has interwoven with British life sparking generations of new music in the process. Today (August 6th) Jamaica toasts the 50th anniversary of its independence, so we have gathered several pieces from our archive to act as a cross section of Jamaican music.
Mento: Reggae’s Forgotten Past
“Mento is sticksman music, with sticksman lyrics and sticksman instruments, which survived for at least half a century outside the studio and in the cane fields of St. Elizabeth and Clarendon. It would be played at ‘nine-night’ funeral wakes, gospel meetings at abandoned crossroads, and on corn night, when the ripe sheaves were harvested and mento played till day...” (FULL FEATURE)
Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry Interview
“At the feet of Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry is laid a lifetime’s work, burnt to ashes, beyond any hope of recognition or salvation. Behind him is a career as the king of the soundsystems, the man who taught Bob Marley righteousness and invented dub reggae. In front of him lies one of modern music’s most bizarre back catalogues, stretching what is possible with both sound and the human imagination...” (FULL FEATURE)
Dread Beat And Blood: The DNA Of Dub
“When the Jamaicans evoked their mutations of dub in 1968, little did they know that their advances in studio technology and revolutionary tinkering would coerce so many subsequent music genres. From western rock’s adoption of Lee Perry’s maverick mixing desk manoeuvres, house music’s espousal of Tubby’s remix ethos or the low-end obsession in sound-system culture that would fuel the UK’s hunger for bass culture that’d spawn jungle, garage, dubstep and beyond, dub’s influence carries far...” (FULL FEATURE)
Adrian Boot Interview
“Adrian Boot is perhaps the most prolific and celebrated reggae photographer alive today. It was through their mutual love of this music that he was put together with The Clash for a series of sessions; the locations would vary from war-torn Belfast, Camden Town rehearsal spaces and the blues dance decay of seventies Notting Hill...” (FULL FEATURE)
The Birth Of Lovers Rock
“As soul music from the sound systems mingled with reggae, and the British boys upwardly wanted to dance with girls who craved a pop hit, a distinct new British link in the bass culture linage was born. Enter stage left the sound of Lovers Rock...” (FULL FEATURE)
