Music of Antigua and Barbuda
Encyclopedia
Antigua and Barbuda
is a Caribbean nation in the Lesser Antilles
island chain. The country is a second home for many of the pan-Caribbean genres of popular music
, and has produced stars in calypso
, soca
, steeldrum, zouk
and reggae
. Of these, steeldrum and calypso are the most integral parts of modern Antiguan popular music; both styles are imported from the music of Trinidad and Tobago
.
The population of Antigua and Barbuda
is mostly descended from West Africans brought to the Caribbean as slaves. Thus, the music of Antigua and Barbuda is largely African in character, and has only felt a limited influence from European styles.
Little to no musical research has been undertaken on Antigua and Barbuda. As a result, much knowledge on the topic derives from novels, essays and other secondary sources.
in 1493. The islands' early music, however, remains little studied. In the 1780s, documentation exists for African workers participating in outdoor dances accompanied by the banjar (later bangoe, perhaps related to the banjo
) and toombah (later tum tum), a drum decorated with shell and tin jingles. By the 1840s, sophisticated subscription ball
s were common, held biweekly with European-derived quadrille
s accompanied by fiddle
, tambourine
and triangle.
Colonial era churches and missionary activity displaced and otherwise influenced the music of the African slaves, who adopted elements of European-derived religious music. The brass band
s of the Salvation Army
are an important example. In the mid- to late 19th century, a number of Portuguese indentured workers came to Antigua, bringing with them their styles of music
. When most of the Portuguese left in the 1880s, Lebanese music
was brought to the island by immigrants from that country.
; they continued to do so, secretly, at home. There, an Afro-Caribbean style of percussion
, dance and song called benna
developed. Later, Antiguan and Barbudan folk music became more dominated by Trinidadian calypso
and steelpan
.
Most forms of modern Antiguan and Barbudan music are not indigenous to the islands, and were imported from France, the United Kingdom, United States, Jamaica and Trinidad. Colonial dance styles like the highland fling
and the quadrille
remain popular in Africanized form. The loss of Antiguan traditions can be ascribed to the lack of a French colonial past (French islands of the Lesser Antilles retain much African-derived music and dance), the influence of the powerful Codrington
family, a relatively unified African ethnic identity, the lack of African immigration after the peak of slavery importation, the British military presence at Shirley Heights and a modern history of unstable economy and government.
Christmas Festival traditions include both music and dance, especially related to masquerade
s and iron bands. The highland fling
is a common Christmas Festival dance, also played in the modern Carnival, performed by people wearing Scottish kilt
s, masks made of wire and bearing whips of cowhide. Dancers wearing banana leaves and animal horns took part in the John Bull
, while carolers paraded with long poles covered in lantern
s, called carol trees, singing with accompaniment by the concertina
. Stilt dancers in robes, called the Moko jumbie
, Jumpa-Ben or Long Ghosts, were also common, and were accompanied by kettle and bass drums, fife, triangle (cling-a-ching) and the boompipe, made from a plumbing joint one meter long.
(or bennah) is an uptempo Antiguan folk song that was introduced following the prohibition of slavery. Songs usually focused on scandalous and bawdy rumors and gossip, and were in a call-and-response form with a leader and an audience. Benna's popularity and similarity to calypso helped make the island receptive to that genre's introduction. The modern performer Short Shirt has attempted to revive the benna in modern years, with his 1977 album Harambee an influential work that began updating benna with social and political awareness.
By the beginning of the 20th century, it had become a method of folk communication, disseminating news and reports from across the island. In the 1940s and 50s, an improvisational benna singer named John "Quarkoo" Thomas sang up-to-date stories on legal scandals, and the sexual affairs of the upper-class. He was eventually imprisoned because of the lyrics to "Cocoatea", which was about the daughter of a respected citizen, and her secret pregnancy while in a convent
.
.De Ledesma and Popplewell, pg. 520 The Antigua Community Players have been active for more than 52 years, performing a variety of musical productions in many styles, including the Antiguan folk song, benna.Antigua Community Players Other famous indigenous musicians from Antigua/Barbuda are Rawden Edwards, (keyboards) and jazz recording artists Roland Prince
(guitarist), Courtney Winter (saxophonist) and Wendell Richardson, a former guitarist of Osibisa
, and up and coming world jazz vocalist Charmain Bailey. Country recording artists Billy Rose
and Wayne Daniel
were also born on the island of Antigua. Additionally, Basil Hill, owner of King Midas Records in New York built a large international nightclub called the Atmosphere in 1978, creating a direct outlet for Antigua and Barbudan singers and bands. Elements of non-Antiguan and Barbudan music have continued to be imported to the islands in the latter 20th century, including the electronic gospel music
of the American Baptist church, and the Afro-Jamaican drumming of Rastafarian music.
The Antiguan Carnival
is a celebration of music and dance held annually from the end of July to the first Tuesday in August. The most important day is that of the j'ouvert (or juvé), in which brass and steel bands perform for much of the island's population. Barbuda's Carnival in June, and is known as Caribana.Cameron, pg. 480 The Antiguan and Barbudan Carnivals replaced the Old Time Christmas Festival in 1957, with hopes of inspiring tourism in Antigua and Barbuda. Some elements of the Christmas Festival remain in the modern Carnival celebrations, which are otherwise largely based on the Trinidadian Carnival.ame="Garland"/> The author Frank Manning has argued that this change, from indigenous traditions to tourist-oriented elements, has reduced Antiguans to "positions as service personnel and 'mimic men', robbing the culture of its natural integrity and cultural history"Quote from McDaniel, pp 798-800, describing
comes in many different forms, and put together is called a steel orchestra. Steel bands traditionally are made up of old pieces of metal example old irons, tire rims, steel pipes etc. Antigua's steel orchestras and iron bands can be found in churches and in many villages, and have been popular since their introduction. Every Carnival there is a competition to dub the best band of the island. Antigua's largest and oldest steel orchestra that still competes is the Hell's Gate steel orchestra. It is often said that The Brute Force Steel Band was the first steelpan band to record an album anywhere. Steel Orchestras have evolved to using highly technical instruments costing up to US$1500.00 for one instrument. These pans are meticulously honed out of the steel drum, sunken and burned over a hot fire, chromed and tuned. This process was perfected in Trinidad and Tobago and exported to Antigua & Barbuda through various collaborations between several of the bands in both island-nations.
s and folkloric
references to obscure their meaning to outsiders. Later, beginning in the 1960s, a popularized kind of calypso was developed for use in tourist
hotels. The first hotel calypsonians were Black Shirt, Skeetch and Dadian, who were accompanied by a string
ensemble of two guitar
s and a bass guitar
(created out of an oil drum). The Antigua Carnival
, and the Antiguan Calypso King competition, began in 1957; the King that year was Styler
. This era also saw a growth in patriotic calypsos, focused on an emerging sense of victorious nationalism in the wake of growing autonomy. By the middle of the 1960s, two rival calypsonians dominated the Antiguan scene, Zemaki and Lord Canary. Their conflict was perpetuated as the King Short Shirt and Swallow rivalry during the 1970s and 1980s. In the middle of the 1980s, the Burning Flames emerged, winning the road march with "Styley Tight" in 1985. They achieved pan-Caribbean acclaim.Antigua and Barbuda's Cultural Heritage
It is clear that the genre of music we now call Calypso, had strong roots in Trinidad and Tobago, but it would be really inaccurate to suggest that this music started in any one island. Every island in the Caribbean have a form of music that resembles "Kaiso" or more commonly referred to as Calypso. Particularly in the English speaking islands and Belize, our African cultural roots have greatly influenced the beats and form of the music. It is quite amazing to find such similarities across the archipelago. It would perhaps, be more accurate to attribute the Soca genre to Trinidad and Tobago. The defining staccato bass was the creation of the late Lord Shorty from Barrackpore, Trinidad and Tobago,[1] and rose to fame as Lord Shorty with his 1963 hit "Clock and Dagger". He started out writing songs and performing in the calypso genre. In the 1970s, he began experimenting with calypso by blending it with the local chutney—the music of Trinidad's East Indian population—using instruments such as the sitar and tabla. The style was dubbed "soca".
It is therefore inaccurate to attribute the origin of Calypso to any island. In Belize, they call their variation, "Punta". In Antigua they call theirs,"Benna". what is clear, is that all these musical forms borrow beats from West African Highlife music and have fused North American Pop and R&B with the Latin beats of central and South America and Cuba to form distinct musical genres which have significant variations in islands that were influenced by the French where Zouk
and Cadence
are popular variations.
. ref. ^ Thompson, Dave (2002) Reggae & Caribbean Music, Backbeat Books, ISBN 0-87930-655-6, p. 225
Antigua and Barbuda
Antigua and Barbuda is a twin-island nation lying between the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. It consists of two major inhabited islands, Antigua and Barbuda, and a number of smaller islands...
is a Caribbean nation in the Lesser Antilles
Lesser Antilles
The Lesser Antilles are a long, partly volcanic island arc in the Western Hemisphere. Most of its islands form the eastern boundary of the Caribbean Sea with the Atlantic Ocean, with the remainder located in the southern Caribbean just north of South America...
island chain. The country is a second home for many of the pan-Caribbean genres of popular music
Popular music
Popular music belongs to any of a number of musical genres "having wide appeal" and is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. It stands in contrast to both art music and traditional music, which are typically disseminated academically or orally to smaller, local...
, and has produced stars in calypso
Calypso music
Calypso is a style of Afro-Caribbean music that originated in Trinidad and Tobago from African and European roots. The roots of the genre lay in the arrival of enslaved Africans, who, not being allowed to speak with each other, communicated through song...
, soca
Soca music
Soca is a style of music from Trinidad and Tobago. Soca is a musical development of traditional Trinidadian calypso, through loans from the 1960s onwards from predominantly black popular music....
, steeldrum, zouk
Zouk
Zouk is a style of rhythmic music originating from the Caribbean islands of Guadeloupe & Martinique. Zouk means "party" or "festival" in the local Antillean Creole of French, although the word originally referred to, and is still used to refer to, a popular dance, based on the Polish dance, the...
and reggae
Reggae
Reggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady.Reggae is based...
. Of these, steeldrum and calypso are the most integral parts of modern Antiguan popular music; both styles are imported from the music of Trinidad and Tobago
Music of Trinidad and Tobago
Calypso music and steelpan is what Trinidad and Tobago is best known for, including internationally in the 1950s through artists like Lord Kitchener and Mighty Sparrow; the art form was most popularised at that time by Harry Belafonte...
.
The population of Antigua and Barbuda
Demographics of Antigua and Barbuda
This article is about the demographic features of the population of Antigua and Barbuda, including population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population....
is mostly descended from West Africans brought to the Caribbean as slaves. Thus, the music of Antigua and Barbuda is largely African in character, and has only felt a limited influence from European styles.
Little to no musical research has been undertaken on Antigua and Barbuda. As a result, much knowledge on the topic derives from novels, essays and other secondary sources.
History
Documented music in Antigua and Barbuda began only with the discovery of Antigua, then populated by Arawak and Caribs, by Christopher ColumbusChristopher Columbus
Christopher Columbus was an explorer, colonizer, and navigator, born in the Republic of Genoa, in northwestern Italy. Under the auspices of the Catholic Monarchs of Spain, he completed four voyages across the Atlantic Ocean that led to general European awareness of the American continents in the...
in 1493. The islands' early music, however, remains little studied. In the 1780s, documentation exists for African workers participating in outdoor dances accompanied by the banjar (later bangoe, perhaps related to the banjo
Banjo
In the 1830s Sweeney became the first white man to play the banjo on stage. His version of the instrument replaced the gourd with a drum-like sound box and included four full-length strings alongside a short fifth-string. There is no proof, however, that Sweeney invented either innovation. This new...
) and toombah (later tum tum), a drum decorated with shell and tin jingles. By the 1840s, sophisticated subscription ball
Ball
A ball is a round, usually spherical but sometimes ovoid, object with various uses. It is used in ball games, where the play of the game follows the state of the ball as it is hit, kicked or thrown by players. Balls can also be used for simpler activities, such as catch, marbles and juggling...
s were common, held biweekly with European-derived quadrille
Quadrille
Quadrille is a historic dance performed by four couples in a square formation, a precursor to traditional square dancing. It is also a style of music...
s accompanied by fiddle
Fiddle
The term fiddle may refer to any bowed string musical instrument, most often the violin. It is also a colloquial term for the instrument used by players in all genres, including classical music...
, tambourine
Tambourine
The tambourine or marine is a musical instrument of the percussion family consisting of a frame, often of wood or plastic, with pairs of small metal jingles, called "zils". Classically the term tambourine denotes an instrument with a drumhead, though some variants may not have a head at all....
and triangle.
Colonial era churches and missionary activity displaced and otherwise influenced the music of the African slaves, who adopted elements of European-derived religious music. The brass band
Brass band
A brass band is a musical ensemble generally consisting entirely of brass instruments, most often with a percussion section. Ensembles that include brass and woodwind instruments can in certain traditions also be termed brass bands , but are usually more correctly termed military bands, concert...
s of the Salvation Army
Salvation Army
The Salvation Army is a Protestant Christian church known for its thrift stores and charity work. It is an international movement that currently works in over a hundred countries....
are an important example. In the mid- to late 19th century, a number of Portuguese indentured workers came to Antigua, bringing with them their styles of music
Music of Portugal
Portugal is internationally known in the music scene for its traditions of fado, but the country has seen a recent expansion in musical styles, with modern acts from rock to hip hop becoming popular...
. When most of the Portuguese left in the 1880s, Lebanese music
Music of Lebanon
The Music of Lebanon has a long history. Beirut, the capital city of Lebanon, has long been known, especially in a period immediately following World War II, for its art and intellectualism...
was brought to the island by immigrants from that country.
Folk music
During the period of French colonial rule, African slaves were prohibited from celebrating in CarnivalCarnival
Carnaval is a festive season which occurs immediately before Lent; the main events are usually during February. Carnaval typically involves a public celebration or parade combining some elements of a circus, mask and public street party...
; they continued to do so, secretly, at home. There, an Afro-Caribbean style of percussion
Percussion instrument
A percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration...
, dance and song called benna
Benna (genre)
Bennah is different from Benna and they all have different meanings. Bennah, i.e the one with "h" at its ending is a traditional Fanti Ghanaian name which means "COVERING" And it has being noticed that only few of the population in the world are called by this name and everyone of such name is seen...
developed. Later, Antiguan and Barbudan folk music became more dominated by Trinidadian calypso
Calypso music
Calypso is a style of Afro-Caribbean music that originated in Trinidad and Tobago from African and European roots. The roots of the genre lay in the arrival of enslaved Africans, who, not being allowed to speak with each other, communicated through song...
and steelpan
Steelpan
Steelpans is a musical instrument originating from The Republic of Trinidad and Tobago...
.
Most forms of modern Antiguan and Barbudan music are not indigenous to the islands, and were imported from France, the United Kingdom, United States, Jamaica and Trinidad. Colonial dance styles like the highland fling
Highland Fling
This dance is now performed at dance competitions and events around the world. It is no longer danced on a shield, but it is still the goal of the dancer to stay in the same spot throughout the dance. The Highland Fling is danced at almost all competition levels, from Primary to Premier. It is also...
and the quadrille
Quadrille
Quadrille is a historic dance performed by four couples in a square formation, a precursor to traditional square dancing. It is also a style of music...
remain popular in Africanized form. The loss of Antiguan traditions can be ascribed to the lack of a French colonial past (French islands of the Lesser Antilles retain much African-derived music and dance), the influence of the powerful Codrington
Christopher Codrington
Christopher Codrington , British soldier, bibliophile and colonial governor, was born on the island of Barbados, West Indies, in 1668...
family, a relatively unified African ethnic identity, the lack of African immigration after the peak of slavery importation, the British military presence at Shirley Heights and a modern history of unstable economy and government.
Old Time Christmas Festival
The Old Time Christmas Festival was a culturally significant celebration, replaced in 1957 by a Trinidadian-inspired Carnival. The Antiguan Christmas Festival included several elements that have been adopted into the modern Carnival.Christmas Festival traditions include both music and dance, especially related to masquerade
Masquerade ball
A masquerade ball is an event which the participants attend in costume wearing a mask. - History :...
s and iron bands. The highland fling
Highland Fling
This dance is now performed at dance competitions and events around the world. It is no longer danced on a shield, but it is still the goal of the dancer to stay in the same spot throughout the dance. The Highland Fling is danced at almost all competition levels, from Primary to Premier. It is also...
is a common Christmas Festival dance, also played in the modern Carnival, performed by people wearing Scottish kilt
Kilt
The kilt is a knee-length garment with pleats at the rear, originating in the traditional dress of men and boys in the Scottish Highlands of the 16th century. Since the 19th century it has become associated with the wider culture of Scotland in general, or with Celtic heritage even more broadly...
s, masks made of wire and bearing whips of cowhide. Dancers wearing banana leaves and animal horns took part in the John Bull
John Bull
John Bull is a national personification of Britain in general and England in particular, especially in political cartoons and similar graphic works. He is usually depicted as a stout, middle-aged man, often wearing a Union Flag waistcoat.-Origin:...
, while carolers paraded with long poles covered in lantern
Lantern
A lantern is a portable lighting device or mounted light fixture used to illuminate broad areas. Lanterns may also be used for signaling, as 'torches', or as general light sources outdoors . Low light level varieties are used for decoration. The term "lantern" is also used more generically to...
s, called carol trees, singing with accompaniment by the concertina
Concertina
A concertina is a free-reed musical instrument, like the various accordions and the harmonica. It has a bellows and buttons typically on both ends of it. When pressed, the buttons travel in the same direction as the bellows, unlike accordion buttons which travel perpendicularly to it...
. Stilt dancers in robes, called the Moko jumbie
Moko jumbie
A moko jumbie is a stilts walker or dancer. The origin of the term may come from "Moko" and "jumbi", a West Indian term for a ghost or spirit that may have been derived from the Kongo language word zumbi...
, Jumpa-Ben or Long Ghosts, were also common, and were accompanied by kettle and bass drums, fife, triangle (cling-a-ching) and the boompipe, made from a plumbing joint one meter long.
Benna
BennaBenna (genre)
Bennah is different from Benna and they all have different meanings. Bennah, i.e the one with "h" at its ending is a traditional Fanti Ghanaian name which means "COVERING" And it has being noticed that only few of the population in the world are called by this name and everyone of such name is seen...
(or bennah) is an uptempo Antiguan folk song that was introduced following the prohibition of slavery. Songs usually focused on scandalous and bawdy rumors and gossip, and were in a call-and-response form with a leader and an audience. Benna's popularity and similarity to calypso helped make the island receptive to that genre's introduction. The modern performer Short Shirt has attempted to revive the benna in modern years, with his 1977 album Harambee an influential work that began updating benna with social and political awareness.
By the beginning of the 20th century, it had become a method of folk communication, disseminating news and reports from across the island. In the 1940s and 50s, an improvisational benna singer named John "Quarkoo" Thomas sang up-to-date stories on legal scandals, and the sexual affairs of the upper-class. He was eventually imprisoned because of the lyrics to "Cocoatea", which was about the daughter of a respected citizen, and her secret pregnancy while in a convent
Convent
A convent is either a community of priests, religious brothers, religious sisters, or nuns, or the building used by the community, particularly in the Roman Catholic Church and in the Anglican Communion...
.
Popular music
In other popular genres of music Antigua is best known for oldest and most successful soca band the Burning Flames, who have claimed the road march title for many years, most recently 2005. Another well-known Antiguan musician was Patrick "Johnny" Gomes, who worked for, among many others, the calypso giant Mighty Swallow. The most famous indigenous musician in Antigua and Barbuda may be Oscar Mason, whose son, O'Neill is also a noted trombonistTrombone
The trombone is a musical instrument in the brass family. Like all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player’s vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate...
.De Ledesma and Popplewell, pg. 520 The Antigua Community Players have been active for more than 52 years, performing a variety of musical productions in many styles, including the Antiguan folk song, benna.Antigua Community Players Other famous indigenous musicians from Antigua/Barbuda are Rawden Edwards, (keyboards) and jazz recording artists Roland Prince
Roland Prince
Roland Prince is a jazz guitarist born in Saint Johns, Antigua.-As leader:*1977: Color Vision -As sideman:With Roy Haynes*Senyah...
(guitarist), Courtney Winter (saxophonist) and Wendell Richardson, a former guitarist of Osibisa
Osibisa
Osibisa is a British Afro-pop band, founded in London in 1969 by four expatriate African and three Caribbean musicians. Osibisa were one of the first African bands to become widely popular, leading to claims of founding World Music.-History:...
, and up and coming world jazz vocalist Charmain Bailey. Country recording artists Billy Rose
Billy Rose
William "Billy" Rose was an American impresario, theatrical showman and lyricist. He is credited with many famous songs, notably "Me and My Shadow" , "It Happened in Monterey" and "It's Only a Paper Moon"...
and Wayne Daniel
Wayne Daniel
Wayne Wendell Daniel played 10 Tests and 18 One Day Internationals for the West Indies.A hostile and muscular fast bowler, Daniel seemed assured of a long and potent test career when he, in partnership with the lithe Michael Holding and the brooding Andy Roberts, battered England into submission...
were also born on the island of Antigua. Additionally, Basil Hill, owner of King Midas Records in New York built a large international nightclub called the Atmosphere in 1978, creating a direct outlet for Antigua and Barbudan singers and bands. Elements of non-Antiguan and Barbudan music have continued to be imported to the islands in the latter 20th century, including the electronic gospel music
Gospel music
Gospel music is music that is written to express either personal, spiritual or a communal belief regarding Christian life, as well as to give a Christian alternative to mainstream secular music....
of the American Baptist church, and the Afro-Jamaican drumming of Rastafarian music.
Carnival
See full article: Antigua CarnivalAntigua Carnival
The Antiguan Carnival is a celebration of music and dance held annually from the end of July to the first Tuesday in August. The most important day is that of the j'ouvert , in which brass and steel bands perform for much of the island's population. Barbuda's Carnival, held in June, is known as...
The Antiguan Carnival
Carnival
Carnaval is a festive season which occurs immediately before Lent; the main events are usually during February. Carnaval typically involves a public celebration or parade combining some elements of a circus, mask and public street party...
is a celebration of music and dance held annually from the end of July to the first Tuesday in August. The most important day is that of the j'ouvert (or juvé), in which brass and steel bands perform for much of the island's population. Barbuda's Carnival in June, and is known as Caribana.Cameron, pg. 480 The Antiguan and Barbudan Carnivals replaced the Old Time Christmas Festival in 1957, with hopes of inspiring tourism in Antigua and Barbuda. Some elements of the Christmas Festival remain in the modern Carnival celebrations, which are otherwise largely based on the Trinidadian Carnival.ame="Garland"/> The author Frank Manning has argued that this change, from indigenous traditions to tourist-oriented elements, has reduced Antiguans to "positions as service personnel and 'mimic men', robbing the culture of its natural integrity and cultural history"Quote from McDaniel, pp 798-800, describing
Music Festival
The Antigua and Barbuda international music festival, Romantic Rhythms, is a new addition to the 'summer line-up' that climax in August at the notorious Carnival celebrations. Geared to becoming a competing counterpart to the Carnival, the ABIMF could eventually become the leading musical event in the entire Caribbean region. In its first year of establishment, the music festival is already seeing some of the world's top artists performing in the show. For more information, visit:Steelpan
The steelpanSteelpan
Steelpans is a musical instrument originating from The Republic of Trinidad and Tobago...
comes in many different forms, and put together is called a steel orchestra. Steel bands traditionally are made up of old pieces of metal example old irons, tire rims, steel pipes etc. Antigua's steel orchestras and iron bands can be found in churches and in many villages, and have been popular since their introduction. Every Carnival there is a competition to dub the best band of the island. Antigua's largest and oldest steel orchestra that still competes is the Hell's Gate steel orchestra. It is often said that The Brute Force Steel Band was the first steelpan band to record an album anywhere. Steel Orchestras have evolved to using highly technical instruments costing up to US$1500.00 for one instrument. These pans are meticulously honed out of the steel drum, sunken and burned over a hot fire, chromed and tuned. This process was perfected in Trinidad and Tobago and exported to Antigua & Barbuda through various collaborations between several of the bands in both island-nations.
Calypso
Calypso was sung throughout the English speaking Caribbean, and was used by the poor as a platform for social and political commentary, using complex metaphorMetaphor
A metaphor is a literary figure of speech that uses an image, story or tangible thing to represent a less tangible thing or some intangible quality or idea; e.g., "Her eyes were glistening jewels." Metaphor may also be used for any rhetorical figures of speech that achieve their effects via...
s and folkloric
Folklore
Folklore consists of legends, music, oral history, proverbs, jokes, popular beliefs, fairy tales and customs that are the traditions of a culture, subculture, or group. It is also the set of practices through which those expressive genres are shared. The study of folklore is sometimes called...
references to obscure their meaning to outsiders. Later, beginning in the 1960s, a popularized kind of calypso was developed for use in tourist
Tourism
Tourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people "traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes".Tourism has become a...
hotels. The first hotel calypsonians were Black Shirt, Skeetch and Dadian, who were accompanied by a string
String instrument
A string instrument is a musical instrument that produces sound by means of vibrating strings. In the Hornbostel-Sachs scheme of musical instrument classification, used in organology, they are called chordophones...
ensemble of two guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
s and a bass guitar
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
(created out of an oil drum). The Antigua Carnival
Antigua Carnival
The Antiguan Carnival is a celebration of music and dance held annually from the end of July to the first Tuesday in August. The most important day is that of the j'ouvert , in which brass and steel bands perform for much of the island's population. Barbuda's Carnival, held in June, is known as...
, and the Antiguan Calypso King competition, began in 1957; the King that year was Styler
Styler
Styler may refer to:*Alan Styler*Divine Styler*Glyn Styler*Kara Styler*Sidney Styler*Trudie Styler...
. This era also saw a growth in patriotic calypsos, focused on an emerging sense of victorious nationalism in the wake of growing autonomy. By the middle of the 1960s, two rival calypsonians dominated the Antiguan scene, Zemaki and Lord Canary. Their conflict was perpetuated as the King Short Shirt and Swallow rivalry during the 1970s and 1980s. In the middle of the 1980s, the Burning Flames emerged, winning the road march with "Styley Tight" in 1985. They achieved pan-Caribbean acclaim.Antigua and Barbuda's Cultural Heritage
See also
- Antigua and BarbudaAntigua and BarbudaAntigua and Barbuda is a twin-island nation lying between the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. It consists of two major inhabited islands, Antigua and Barbuda, and a number of smaller islands...
- Antigua CarnivalAntigua CarnivalThe Antiguan Carnival is a celebration of music and dance held annually from the end of July to the first Tuesday in August. The most important day is that of the j'ouvert , in which brass and steel bands perform for much of the island's population. Barbuda's Carnival, held in June, is known as...
- Romantic Rhythms Music FestivalRomantic Rhythms Music FestivalRomantic Rhythms Music Festival is a music festival that is set to take place in Antigua and Barbuda every year during the slow tourism season of May/June. The inaugural festival took place from the 13 to 16 June 2008. Headliners then included Keyshia Cole, Shaggy, Lionel Richie, Kenny Rogers,...
- Burning Flames
- Arrow (Soca Artist)
It is clear that the genre of music we now call Calypso, had strong roots in Trinidad and Tobago, but it would be really inaccurate to suggest that this music started in any one island. Every island in the Caribbean have a form of music that resembles "Kaiso" or more commonly referred to as Calypso. Particularly in the English speaking islands and Belize, our African cultural roots have greatly influenced the beats and form of the music. It is quite amazing to find such similarities across the archipelago. It would perhaps, be more accurate to attribute the Soca genre to Trinidad and Tobago. The defining staccato bass was the creation of the late Lord Shorty from Barrackpore, Trinidad and Tobago,[1] and rose to fame as Lord Shorty with his 1963 hit "Clock and Dagger". He started out writing songs and performing in the calypso genre. In the 1970s, he began experimenting with calypso by blending it with the local chutney—the music of Trinidad's East Indian population—using instruments such as the sitar and tabla. The style was dubbed "soca".
It is therefore inaccurate to attribute the origin of Calypso to any island. In Belize, they call their variation, "Punta". In Antigua they call theirs,"Benna". what is clear, is that all these musical forms borrow beats from West African Highlife music and have fused North American Pop and R&B with the Latin beats of central and South America and Cuba to form distinct musical genres which have significant variations in islands that were influenced by the French where Zouk
Zouk
Zouk is a style of rhythmic music originating from the Caribbean islands of Guadeloupe & Martinique. Zouk means "party" or "festival" in the local Antillean Creole of French, although the word originally referred to, and is still used to refer to, a popular dance, based on the Polish dance, the...
and Cadence
Cadence-lypso
Cadence-lypso, popularized as simply Cadence is a cultural music of Dominica based in Guadeloupe in the early 1970s. Cadence-lypso is a fusion of Dominican and Caribbean/Latin rhythms and has totally revolutionized the music scence in its genre, and it has now become the main dance Music of...
are popular variations.
. ref. ^ Thompson, Dave (2002) Reggae & Caribbean Music, Backbeat Books, ISBN 0-87930-655-6, p. 225