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

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

#71

Post by quacked »

goodpoint wrote: post #59
zuminator wrote: post #25

This is a beautiful example of why people shouldn't be too quick to tag cultural borrowings as "appropriation." They often result in a back-and-forth cross-pollination that bears novel hybrid fruit we can all enjoy.

That's not correct. See the first paragraphs of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cultural_appropriation --- Cultural appropriation is the inappropriate or unacknowledged adoption ... cultural appropriation differs from acculturation, assimilation, or equal cultural exchange ... the concept is often misunderstood or misapplied by the general public, and that charges of "cultural appropriation" are at times misapplied to…

Who defines "inappropriate or unacknowledged"?

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

#72

Post by kingsloi »

TacticalCoder wrote: post #55
kingsloi wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm sure there's a million other reggae artists that I've yet to discover, but nothing personally hits more than roots reggae, I wish there were more of 1970s-1990s Lacksley Castell, Hugh Mundell, Johnny Osbourne, Barrington Levy, Sammie Dread, Johnnie Clark, etc, etc,

Going to listen to some you mentioned I don't know... Just from the top of my head in case some here don't know them (if I start looking in my archive I'll find lots of stuff)... Not all "roots" but it's old stuff. Zap Pow, "This is Reggae music": (I used to start my reggae compilation with this one) https://youtu.be/-6G6PiRGCaU Bunny Wailer: https://youtu.be/tr0dyo7XGcw Errol Dunkley: https://youtu.be/D5Tg1l4pk94 Ra…

Not heard of Zap Pow! Checking them out now. I just replied to a post below, but I'll do it here too, I created a Spotify playlist of roots reggae I played to my lil girl while she was in the hospital.

It's full of my/our favourite roots, and includes most of those artists! https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1qp5AfSmmKLwefGyaJfLxP

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

#73

Post by JohnBooty »

zuminator wrote: post #25

This is a beautiful example of why people shouldn't be too quick to tag cultural borrowings as "appropriation." They often result in a back-and-forth cross-pollination that bears novel hybrid fruit we can all enjoy.

Agree completely, though, I also don't feel like this sort of (awesome) thing is what anybody is talking about when they discuss cultural appropriation!

Cross-pollination like this is, I dare say, universally loved and recognized as vital.

Generally when people speak of "cultural appropriation" it's a situation where you have a majority and/or oppressing group capitalizing on the culture of a minority and/or oppressed group.

Think of the difference between two prison inmates building on each others' ideas is collaboration, and a prison guard stealing their music.

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

#74

Post by redwall_hp »

Simplicitas wrote: post #54
zuminator wrote: post #25

This is a beautiful example of why people shouldn't be too quick to tag cultural borrowings as "appropriation." They often result in a back-and-forth cross-pollination that bears novel hybrid fruit we can all enjoy.

Yup. I'll never forget Darryl Hall saying that music is a continuum, which is why most of the times he allows his Hall & Oates sounds to be sampled by Rap artists ..

If you look into folk music traditions, one recurring theme you'll find is it's generally not clear who wrote a tune or lyrics, and multiple songs often use the same tune. That's the natural state of music, and the current system of so-called intellectual property is an aberration.

We don't know who wrote "Rolling Down to Old Maui" or "Drunken Sailor," other than that they were popular in the 19th century. They both share tunes with other songs that predate them, just like how there are multiple songs that use the same tune as "The Wearing of the Green." Countless people have performed and rearranged them, and the world only benefits from it.

Everything in art is inherently memetic, building upon the work of others and evolving.

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

#75

Post by fedebehrens »

There's a smaller YouTube channel I've been following - 'Traxploitation', that did a great video offering some good insights into the history behind the riddim, and it's inspiration from a certain pop star, worth checking out! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R_Hko8LRdyo

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

#76

Post by slim »

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

ok, let me try to make it more interesting.

you seem to think riddim is something from the past. you may remember the music from "run the world" by Beyonce. that riddim is called "pon de floor" riddim. it was created by diplo. (warning nsfw video).

riddim is essentially coding patterns for music. since each riddim has a name it creates a DSL that lets DJs and MCs go meta with the music and focus on making the most catchy sound.

another interesting aspect is it's free from intellectual property. it makes for a good example of the impact of free culture on creativity.

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

#77

Post by lelandfe »

chrisjc wrote: post #57
gunfighthacksaw wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I remember not getting dubstep (also derived from dub before it’s export to the US and commercialization) because I was listening to it on my PC speakers. When I finally played it through my hifi it was like a whole sonic landscape suddenly appeared and only then did I finally get it.

Quick note to those that were potentially triggered when they read "dubstep"... Early dubstep was based on two-step and garage music, while at the same time heavily based on dub and reggae. Digital Mystikz - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G9H3i0T1iN4 Spaceape - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JfyRjyKj05I Goth Trad - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d12dJbE_xxw Listen to some of the early dubstep and you'll start to u…

Nice to see some heads on HN! Great list, and RIP The Spaceape.

You can find proper sound system culture in the states, though not much is happening since COVID. Tsunami Bass has an enormous PA and Reconstrvct hopefully will be back one day. Analog in Brooklyn did have a whopping home built system but it was sold off and the club is under new management these days.

Here's a glimpse into what this sort of stuff is like at a show: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L8037wYWZkU. That's the Dub Livity system.

The DJ cuts (low pass) out the bass line, teasing the crowd, until the 2:05 mark, as the MC toasts. The bass shakes everything – you can feel it in your bones. It's visceral. You can see why it was, and is, and continues to be a spiritual thing for many people.

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

#78

Post by JohnBooty »

quacked wrote: post #71
goodpoint wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's not correct. See the first paragraphs of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cultural_appropriation --- Cultural appropriation is the inappropriate or unacknowledged adoption ... cultural appropriation differs from acculturation, assimilation, or equal cultural exchange ... the concept is often misunderstood or misapplied by the general public, and that charges of "cultural appropriation" are at times misapplied to…

Who defines "inappropriate or unacknowledged"?

We all do, including you.

It feels like you want to make a point and I feel like I know what it is, but I could be wrong.

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

#79

Post by npteljes »

sequoia wrote: post #44

For people wondering "what's the sleng teng riddim?" here's some examples: Original "under mi sleng teng" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wjw7m-BKmQ8 One of my favorites, "The Don" by peter metro: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mnZuTOH2zoc 90 minute sleng teng mix (here's a bunch): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EwLKc61dVWQ related: Under mi sensi (doesn't actually use sleng teng riddim but it's a riff on the sleng…

MAFFI's "Bad memory" riddim seems to be a variation on the sleng teng, for example here with Peter King's vocals: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_sZo-EPEOIo

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

#80

Post by kingsloi »

voldacar wrote: post #62

This is super cool. I instantly recognize the riff and vocals from countless 90s jungle & hardcore tracks even though I'm not a reggae fan. Still have no idea what a sleng teng is though.

Yeah! I'll always remember the "Murrrrrderrrrrrrrrr" in random jungle, hardcore, breakcore (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zbPjiJ-4jMA), etc, years before I knew it was one of Barrington's
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