G324 - Advanced Portfolio
George Pearson
Mossbourne Community Academy
Candidate number:5150
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GSD Productions
Page Title
Reggae - A form of pop music that originated in Jamaica, combining elements of calypso and rhythm and blues (see blues) with a strongly accentuated offbeat. Bob Marley was the first internationally known reggae musician.
The term 'Reggae' properly denotes a particular music style that was strongly influenced by traditional mento as well as American jazz and rhythm and blues
Reggae is a music unique to Jamiaca, but it ironically has its roots in New Orleans R&B. Reggae's direct forefather is ska, an uptempo, rhythmic variation based on the New Orleans R&B Jamaican musicians heard broadcast from the US on their transistor radios. Relying on skittering guitar and syncopated rhythms, ska was their interpretation of R&B and it was quite popular in the early '60s.
Reggae Heavyweights:
Bob Marley - Known as the originator of the Reggae music genre with some of the most well - known Reggae tracks of all time such as 'Redemption Song' and 'Jammin' to name a few
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Jimmy Cliff - Jimmy Cliff (born James Chambers; 1 April 1948) is a Jamaican ska & reggae musician, multi-instrumentalist, singer and actor. Cliff is best known among mainstream audiences for songs such as 'Wonderful World, Beautiful People'
Popularity and influence:
It has crossed into the mainstream through the bright, bouncy "reggae sunsplash" festivals and pop-oriented bands like UB40, but more adventurous reggae artists, such as Marley and Perry, have influenced countless reggae, folk, rock and dance artists. Their contributions resonate throughout popular music.
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Ska - Ska combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues. It is characterized by a walking bass line accented with rhythms on the off-beat. Ska developed in Jamaica in the 1960s when Prince Buster, Clement "Coxsone" Dodd, and Duke Reid formed sound systems to play American rhythm & blues and then began recording their own songs.
Rocksteady -
Rocksteady is a music genre that originated in Jamaica around 1966.[1] A successor of ska and a precursor to reggae, rocksteady was performed by Jamaican vocal harmony groups such as The Gaylads, The Maytals, The Heptones and The Paragons.
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Reggae outside of America - Reggae has spread to many countries across the world, often incorporating local instruments and fusing with other genres.
The UK was a primary destination for
Caribbean people looking to emigrate as
early as the 1950s. Because of this,
Caribbean music in the United Kingdom
, including reggae, has been popular since
the late 1960s, and has evolved into several
subgenres and fusions. Most notable of these
is lovers rock, but this fusion of Jamaican
music into English culture was seminal in the
formation of other musical forms like drum and
The first homegrown Polish reggae bands started in the 1980s with groups like Israel. Singer and songwriter Alexander Barykin was considered as the father of Russian reggae.
In Germany, the three successful Reggae JSnrfti mer Jam open-air fastivals were crucial parts of the renaissance of Caribbean music in Germany but at that year (1990) war broke out between the two main German promoters who had cooperated so well during the previous seasons.
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Jimmy cliff Bob Marley
Redemption song - Bob Marley
How has Reggae evolved?
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Early Days
Reggae started as a depiction of Jamaican culture by combining rhythmic blues and calypso using saxophones, flutes, bamboo fifes, PVC pipes, banjos, violins, bamboo fiddles, guitars, rhumba boxes, double-basses, rhythm sticks, shakkas and drums, played with both sticks and hands. It was heavily influenced by American culture such as blues, jazz and Rock and roll. Artists such as Bob Marley himself have admitted to being inspired by 'the Platters' and had incorporated their music into his. It was unique because of its simplicity and use of unique instruments as a form of sticking to the roots of Kingston, Jamaica. The music is also used as a sign of protest as Reggae artists loved to express the difficult conditions of Jamaica.
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Modernisation
However, more modern forms of Reggae
aim to combine their music with electronic
forms of music to 'keep with the times'.
Artists like Damian Marley (Bob Marleys son)
have evolved the genre by modernising it.
The gene was taken to an extreme dub
reggae style which was essentially drum
, bass and the use of references from
other well - known tracks. It has been
influenced by other genres, mainly Hip Hop
, in which beats will be rapped over in a
reggae style. Artists will often fuse with
modern artists to make the songs more
applicable to audiences of today. There
is a vast difference between the slow beats
of Bob Marley and the faster more dance
music of Damian Marley that is evident today.
Damian Marley and Nas
Damian Marley ft Skrillex 'Make it Bun Dem'.
Example of modern Reggae.
Click for a Reggae timeline
Sound:
- Sound used is up -beat which relates to the images shown as it adds to the vibrancy.
- Lyrically positive 'the life we live' refers to the value of life that reggae artists frequently refer to.
Mise en scene:
- Colourful clothing shown which is hereditary to the islands of Jamaica.
- Location is set in Jamaica as Reggae artists like to remember where they are from.
Editing:
- Many cuts shown to depict the nature of Jamaica
- Cross - Dissolves between used as transitions between shots which adds to the 'beauty' of the Jamaica over a series of shots.
Camera:
- Abundance of panning shots showing the 'beauty' of the location
- Jolty camera movement creates a hand held realism to the video which makes you immersed in the hereditary values that the video shows.
