| Roots
Rock Reggae was shot during the golden years
of Rockers Reggae, and contains many
precious fragments from Reggae Greats
singing and playing in the studio.
In a friendly way, you're introduced to
the poverty and political turmoil that
terrorizes the island ever since it's
original inhabitants were killed to make way
for the European planters and African
slaves.
Many people in the western world are
waking up to the fact that Reggae Music is
the most catchy rhythm on the face of the
planet. They don't know why, but they do
"dig the vibes".
That means, countless aspects of Reggae
Music are not easily explained or overstood
in the western world though.
And so it can be, that you buy an
"album" from this
"band" you really like. But it
turns out to be a disappointment, as it
wasn't quite the music you expected from
that "band".
Or you find yourself in the middle of a
group of musically talented people and you
want to make your own "band".
Highly motivated you try to cover the
"songs" from the "bands"
you like.
After years it turns out that you don't
actually have learned how to play your own Reggae
Riddims and people are tired of
listening to strange versions of music they
already have on CD.
Are there "secrets" you need to
know, in order to have the ability to get
the right music out of the record shop and
making your own crucial oeuvre in music?
Asking the question is answering them, of
course. Asking the question as a central
point in a great video on Jamaican Culture
is answering them even more clear.
Yes, there are "secrets".
The first one is that Jamaica really is a
small Island, a very poor island. There are
a dozen studio's and an equal number of
studio bands.
Small, when you compare it to other
"great styles of the world" such
as rock 'n' roll or house.
The number of known Reggae vocalists are
not that small, though. Especially not when
you keep realizing that Reggae has it's
place among the "Great Styles Of The
World"!
And where in most of these other styles
every vocalist has his own band, limiting
itself to the "songs" of the
singer, in Reggae Music this is totally
different.
Which has it's obvious effect on the
music.
Because the truth is, that many of the
"bands" are in fact harmony groups
singing over pre-recorded riddims
played by a relatively small amount of
studio bands.
And the "sound" of these
"bands" are simply the results of
the wishes from the owner of the studio's.
Or the Dub engineer. Or the producer.
So while you might be looking to the name
of the singer in order to see if you like an
album or not, the truth is that it's much
more important to look at the time, studio
and engineer.
And that's where this video might not
only entertain you, but also help you out.
Because it's one thing to read all of
this in a review, but quite something
different when it happens for your very
eyes!
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