For me, ‘proper’ reggae is the 60s and 70s (and some early 80s) stuff with that slower, happier, sweeter sound and vibe. Stories about love, nature, spirituality, struggles and of course, the herb. A lot of it sounds live on the record, that innocent rawness to the sound, you can “feel” the music.
okay, i think i have your drift now, mate.
i just needed to be certain of where exactly you are coming from.
when you said to me,
"it's not reggae because it sounds fuck all like it"
you were referring solely to, as you call it, proper reggae.
if i am right on that,
you simply meant it doesn't sound like original reggae,
or as i'd call it, traditional reggae.
i cannot disagree with that, nor would i want to do.
but i don't think reggae ended in 1970's when new influences and factors came mixing into the brew.
Dancehall originated from that vibe but as recording techniques and technology improved, the sound switched to a faster tempo, more “produced” sounding, and much of it not even recorded from real instruments. The topics changed, it became a lot more sexualised, derogatory towards women, glorifying violence and guns, and in some cases, a switch from the herb to cocaine being the underlying inspiration. The vocal style changed from that really rootsy crooning and harmonies to more harshly delivered, “loud talking” (not quite rapping but not far off), but not much actual singing. A more aggressive and macho vibe.
I enjoy both but I much prefer reggae. I can easily do a full day of reggae when I’m working from home. Dancehall, I have to dip in and out and have breaks.
for me dancehall is still reggae of a sort.
i also don't care for the content of some of the lyrics,
but i still see it as being reggae.
that's where we are at odds.
i didn't shut the door with the early 1970's changes.
when i was living in hulme in the mid to late 80s i used to go to the psv club.
downstairs they would play dancehall interspersed with traditional reggae.
upstairs was mostly dub.
like i said,
i see all the off-shoot genres as still falling under the umbrella of the word reggae.
i don't think i'm alone in that and i doubt david rodigan does either, although i shouldn't speak for other people.
also like i said,
i deliberately posted recent stuff.
you are right, it sounds fuck all like (as we have now established) traditional reggae,
but i still see it as falling under the label reggae.
that's just my opinion and the opinion of respected journalists, producers, fans, and more importantly, traditional reggae artists who are collaborating with mungo's hifi.
do you see bob marley's popular (later in his career) records as reggae?
you suggest the shift towards more produced sounding records was someting (that was a typo but i'm going to leave it hahaha some ting) of an off-putter for you.
he certainly lost that early raw, real instrument sound that you say troubled you a little with dancehall being labelled as reggae.
going back to the early 70s.
when folk like lee scratch perry were popularising dub.
my obvious question is,
do you see dub as reggae or something separate?
and just to offer you something new that might not offend your tastebuds,
this is from 2years ago.
they are from copenhagen and i think they are wonderful wonderful :)
what would you class their music as?
(john cleese's grandson on drums)
