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The Casio employee behind the “Sleng Teng” riddim that revolutionized reggae

nippon.com

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Re: The Casio employee behind the “Sleng Teng” riddim that revolutionized reggae

#11

Post by tpmx »

This is the rare kind of advertorial that's well worth reading.

From the same author (the editor of the site):

Tough and Timeless: Ibe Kikuo and the Development of the [Casio] G-Shock

https://www.nippon.com/en/japan-topics/g01192/tough-and-time...

....

Background on nippon.com:

The site has its background in https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japan_Echo which was funded by Japan's Foreign Affairs Ministry.

Later on it was funded by the Nippon Foundation, and renamed into the Nippon Communications Foundation:

https://foundation.nippon.com/en/about/outline.html

Funded by a generous grant from the Nippon Foundation ...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nippon_Foundation

(eh, read for yourself; it turns weird and dark.)

Re: The Casio employee behind the “Sleng Teng” riddim that revolutionized reggae

#12

Post by TacticalCoder »

Simon_O_Rourke wrote: post #8

There's no decent reggae after the early 1980s, apart from UB40 knock off bands. Give me the Pioneers, Dave and Ansel Collins or Justin Hinds any day.

> There's no decent reggae after the early 1980s ...

Big reggae fan here (old reggae) but Mike Love, "Permanent Holiday" is quite something:

https://youtu.be/fU7hZ3smj0g

Re: The Casio employee behind the “Sleng Teng” riddim that revolutionized reggae

#14

Post by lelandfe »

teachrdan wrote: post #4

For those who don't know, "Riddim is the Jamaican Patois pronunciation of the English word 'rhythm'. In the context of reggae and dancehall it refers to the instrumental accompaniment to a song and is synonymous with the rhythm section... A given riddim, if popular, may be used in dozens—or even hundreds—of songs, not only in recordings but also in live performances." The actual riddim sounds completely uninteresting…

> The actual riddim sounds completely uninteresting to my American ears

Dub and reggae are a part of the so-called soundsystem culture. That booming bass line is meant to be heard over an enormous PA system (often home built) designed to rattle your bones!

Re: The Casio employee behind the “Sleng Teng” riddim that revolutionized reggae

#16

Post by matmann2001 »

bravura wrote: post #7

The Sleng Teng riddim is one of my favorite reggae riddims. Americans might best know it as the bassline from Sublime's Caress Me Down ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k_LP4IU6XD4 ). But you might really love the lyrics of Tenor Saw's Pumpkin Belly, which a song of the "old time proverbs": "Whatsover you want / You have to work very hard to gain." https://genius.com/Tenor-saw-pumpkin-belly-lyrics

Also reminds me of the intro to Creature Comfort by Arcade Fire.

Re: The Casio employee behind the “Sleng Teng” riddim that revolutionized reggae

#17

Post by xxpor »

felix318 wrote: post #6
omar_alt wrote: post #3

Most late 20th century western musical movements and the cultural changes that came with them was down to manufacturers of instruments. It was usually a box, synthesizer or effects unit. Surely the R&D for new sounds is what music depends on?

I think it was always the case that the development of instruments is a major influence on musical styles. Sacred music and the church organ, Baroque music and the harpsichord, Romantics and the piano, Jazz and sax, the list goes on and on. Today however, synthesizers can create any sound imaginable so we probably reached the end of the cycle. Who knows what will guide the future of music.

For the actual pure sounds that's right, but I believe there's still more to be done in the effects area (autotune etc) and instrument interfaces.

Re: The Casio employee behind the “Sleng Teng” riddim that revolutionized reggae

#18

Post by joezydeco »

jrm4 wrote: post #10
omar_alt wrote: post #3

Most late 20th century western musical movements and the cultural changes that came with them was down to manufacturers of instruments. It was usually a box, synthesizer or effects unit. Surely the R&D for new sounds is what music depends on?

This implies that the manufacturers had a decent grasp of "where things would go," and I think that couldn't be further from the truth? All the good (or at least interesting) stuff came from "hackers," aka the scratching DJs, the guys who had to scrape for beat machines, etc. etc. Limitations being the inspiration and all that.

Or, in the case of New York hiphop, a blackout:

http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_eye/2014/10/16/roman_mars_99_...

Re: The Casio employee behind the “Sleng Teng” riddim that revolutionized reggae

#20

Post by [deleted] »

bravura wrote: post #7

The Sleng Teng riddim is one of my favorite reggae riddims. Americans might best know it as the bassline from Sublime's Caress Me Down ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k_LP4IU6XD4 ). But you might really love the lyrics of Tenor Saw's Pumpkin Belly, which a song of the "old time proverbs": "Whatsover you want / You have to work very hard to gain." https://genius.com/Tenor-saw-pumpkin-belly-lyrics

[deleted]
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