Heah everyone,
I had to create some content for my elective course.
I thought I would share it with you guys.
Enjoy.
Carnival Songs I Like -2018 (Trinidad)
Trinidadian Carnival has rolled around again. And here are a few songs that I really like. These songs are not necessarily the most popular songs of the year but just ones that caught my ear.
- Olatunji – Bodyline
This song is by far my favourite of the 2018 class. Olatunji, known for his previous experiments with Afro-pop, divorces that style for a joyous romp into swing music. I love the concept and the video is even cooler especially considering I was involved with one like this in 2017 with the 1688 Collective and Jabari Browne.
2. Kes – Hello
I know I said in the intro that this list might not include the most popular songs, but this one by Kes is definitely one of the front-runners of 2018. Here Kes the Band is on the Afro-Pop fusion vibe and this one easily calls out to the work of Flavour, Davido and the other members of the Afro-pop legion.
3. Full of Vibe – Voice and Marge Blackman
Kes is has a great voice and once again I like his contribution with Marge Blackman. This one fits into the more traditional Ragga Soca/Groovy Soca model. It has a solid beat and great vocals which means that it fits neatly into any Soca playlist.
4. Machel Montano and Superblue
The of the biggest names in Soca in Trinidad have joined forces this year and this song pretty defines the genre in 3 minutes and 22s. There is nothing more Soca than this. It probably will win road march as well.
Ok, so I chose some really popular ones here…
What songs do you like?
JAB to the JAB
Jab Jab is a certified sub-genre of modern Soca
The Jab character is a staple of J’ouvert carnival celebrations and looks like the guy below.
The music itself is characterised by melodies with small ranges usually in minor with little harmonic movement. Check a Jab classic by the Grenadan boss Tall Pree below which explains the whole thing.
When it comes to Jab Jab tunes, the certified capital of the world is Grenada. and no one does Jab Jab like them.
So here are some of my favourite Jab Jab tunes from Grenada carnival 2017. ENJOY!
School + Caribbean Culture
Every two years I teach Caribbean Music and Culture to students from the University of Delaware.
These sessions are a mixture of theory and practice. And when I say practice I mean practice.
Check this Bajan Dancehall session below led by the amazing Shameka Walters.
Isn’t this great?
This to me this is the gift of all Afro musics, the lived community!
Big shout out to Juanita Clarke on drums who also made this session happen.
What is the difference between Soca and Calypso anyway? Check these 5…
It is carnival season in the Catholic Caribbean.
And in the English-speaking areas,
the music of choice will be soca.
It wasn’t always this way
40 years ago it was all calypso.
In fact, many today still tend to refer to all singers at carnival time as calypsonians whether they do calypso or soca. But the difference between the two genres could not be more distinct.
And just to help out those that are still confused, here are the differences between soca and calypso.
1. Lyrics-no-lyrics
Soca music has and always will be a party music. As a result, it keeps the beats heavy and the words light. Calypso, on the other hand, is the old guy who use to party but spends his time philosophizing about life.
If it says “Jump, wine , wave,bacchanal, carnival, jump” it is Soca.
If it says “existential threats to the diaspora need a panacea,” then chances are you are listening to a calypso. See Chalkdust singing a calypso below.
2. Hook line and sinker
If you missed the hook you definitely do not have a soca stream on. Soca repeats itself.
Even though there is repetition in calypso, it does not even come close to soca’s jump and wave stammering. Hear this classic repetition by Barbadian soca star Blood.
3. Brass less – drum machine more
Calypso songs generally have different instrumentation to soca, especially post 90s soca. Calypso songs are generally more organic (although not all the time) and usually feature a brass section of some type.
Here is calypso plus brass plus Singing Sandra.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A-ZH27vGntg
Soca, on the other hand, is minimalist (not many instruments) with the drum machine, and laptops running Ableton, prominent. They also tend to be more synthesized.
Take “Advantage” of what I mean below ;).
4. Tempo
Since the 90s, soca has been in two different time zones, mid-tempo and break-your-neck speed. An example of break-your-neck speed is Advantage above.
Calypsos NEVER EVER REACH these tempos.
So if you hear a song over 150 b.p.m. then it is CERTAINLY a SOCA song. Anything under 130 b.p.m, then it at least has a chance of being a calypso.
(Then you have to go from #1-3 to see if it actually is of course.)
5. Beats (Check out my book Caribbean Composers Handbook on Amazon for more)
Soca uses a number of beats and these have changed over the years. However, if you hear the following beats then you are dealing with a soca song.
Calypso is more than comfortable to maintain the beat like the one below and it has done so for many a year.
So wherever you are from, enjoy the carnival in the Catholic Caribbean but whatever you do, don’t call the soca a calypso.
Downtown Kingston – 4 Not So-Straightforward Global Influences
Downtown Kingston has to be the most influential piece of musical real estate in the world.
Please note I said Kingston and not Jamaica because the majority of music which exploded globally came from inner city Kingston and not the country at large. In fact, all Jamaican music you can think of, with the possible exception of mento, has its roots firmly planted Downtown.
The impact of their artists, Rastafarianism and weed use are well-known. However, I want to look at other things.
So here are 4 not so-straightforward ways Downtown Kingston has influenced the world.
1. Showing Communities you can do it too – Reggae en Español
Many dancehall and dub producers were NEVER professionally trained and by demonstrating that technical expertise does not limit expression, Kingstonians opened the door for all with tape recorders to immortalize themselves and their neighbourhoods.
Here is a typical lo-fi example:
Reggae en Espanol from Panama*.
2. Giving people not considered singers chances to perform.
Kingston’s music gave those without access to music education a chance to participate by opening up the aesthetics of music. By using devices such as speech rhythm, it allowed many people to perform who might have never had the chance to because they thought they couldn’t sing.
Here is Rankin Taxi from Japan who clearly shows what I am talking about.
3. You could look like anything once you are unique
Reggae and dancehall have all types performing within it. Unlike other popular music, you don’t have to have a look, you just need a UNIQUE voice. To show you what I mean take a look at some big Kingston stars below.
4. Soundsystem
The biggest piece of technology that Kingston has given to the world is the soundsystem. This record player hooked up to speakers created a sense of belonging for so many neighbourhoods across the world and created billions. Here is an example of one in the Philippines which obviously took the soundsystem culture and ran with it.
The 4 influences here show how much of a sledgehammer Downtown Kingston music has been on world culture.
Thank you Kingston
Can you think of anymore?
- *The influence of Jamaican genres has been particularly strong in areas with similar ethnic or economic circumstances to Downtown Kingston. So far example in the barrios of Panama, where there are large Afro communities, reggae music has a strong following. See the story of reggae-en-espanol.
Crop Over Blog V – The Aural History of Calypso
The wide genre known as calypso has been a major part of the Crop Over festival in Barbados since its inception.
Here is part I of a video that traces its aural history in Trinidad. Unlike most Calypso history documents that I have come across, this one actually has music. Enjoy and educate yourself, in fact, enjoducate yourself!
Here it is below.
Subscribe to my channel if you like what you see so you won’t miss part II.
*Oh yeah and here is the slide presentation from it in case you want to teach this or have really great parties.
stefanwalcott.com 