Reggae in Australia
Encyclopedia
Reggae
is a music genre
that originated in Jamaica
in the late 1960s. Australia
has several bands
and sound systems that play reggae music in a style faithful to its expression in Jamaica. Australia has a relatively small Jamaican community
, but reggae penetrated local consciousness via the popularity of reggae among the non-Jamaican population of England
in the 1960s and 1970s. Many indigenous musicians have embraced reggae, both for its musical qualities and its ethos of resistance. Examples include No Fixed Address
and Coloured Stone
.
. Bob Marley & The Wailers
toured Australia in 1979, playing Brisbane
, Adelaide
, Perth
, Melbourne
and Sydney
. One of the first Australian reggae bands was Untabu. They had releases on Larrikin Records and were resident in a number of clubs in the Darlinghurst and Manly area of Sydney. They also toured the East coast regularly. They performed original music and reggae covers. The Aboriginal band No Fixed Address from Adelaide also had reggae songs in their repertoire.
In 1984, Australian label Corroboree Records had its first release with Dangerous Times. This 7" single was recorded at Channel One Studios
with the Roots Radics
, voiced and mixed at King Tubby's with Bugs as engineer, and voiced by Dudley Green and General Justice. It Contains the song "Dangerous Dub" on the B side, which was mixed by King Tubby
. It was released in Jamaica, the UK and Australia.
In 1987, two years after his arrival from Zambia
Larry Maluma released his first album Confusion
on his own Safari Music label. The video clip Black and White from the same album was aired on Countdown Revolution and Rock Arena on ABC
.
The first notable dub
release in Australia was Ten Dubs That Shook The World by Sheriff Lindo And The Hammer, issued on the artist's own label, Endless Recordings, in 1988. The LP was reissued on the Creative Vibes label with five extra tracks in 1998, and again by EM Records of Japan in 2006, on CD (catalogue number EM1049CD) and LP (EM1049LP), limited to 500 copies. Only the CD contains the five extra tracks.
In September 2006, Astronomy Class
released Exit Strategy on the record label Elefant Traks
. The record fused reggae and hip hop music
. In February 2007, Melbourne
-based producer Mista Savona
released Melbourne Meets Kingston on Elefant Traks. It is a 21-track collaboration with Jamaican singers and deejay
s such as Anthony B
, Determine
and Big Youth
. In September 2008, the Sydney-based band King Tide released their debut album To our Dearly Deported on the UK label Urban Sedated. The single "No Dog War" was used worldwide by the Sony
corporation for their Wag the Dog campaign. The commercial shot in Brazil featured members from the cast of the feature film City of God. In December 2009, Australian artist Matty Woods
released The Ras Gong Guerrilla EP, a 10-track recording that tackles Australian and international political issues such as Indigenous
sovereignty
, climate change
and human rights
.
Reggaeton
, a music genre that blends reggae, hip hop, and traditional Latin American music
, is also popular in Australia. The genre first came to prominence when Puerto Rican
reggaeton artist Daddy Yankee
released his most notable single, "Gasolina
," to Australian radio in 2006. Already a hit worldwide, it reached a peak of #12 on the ARIA Singles Chart and was certified Platinum, making it one of the few Spanish
-language songs to reach that position on the Australian charts.
South Beach annual Reggae Party Fremantle
Western Australia started in 1998. Raggamuffin Music Festival
is an annual reggae music festival that tours Australia and New Zealand.
Byron Bay Reggaefest started at The Brewery
(previously known as The Buddha Bar) on 4 December 2010 & is looking towards a 2 day festival at Missingham Park, Ballina NSW on 17 & 18 September 2011.
, and broadcaster
Mikey Dread
produced and presented a reggae radio special for 2JJJ
in the mid to late 1980s.
In Melbourne, the PBS 106.7FM program "Chant Down Babylon" has been presented by Jesse I since the late 1990s.
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...
is a music genre
Music genre
A music genre is a categorical and typological construct that identifies musical sounds as belonging to a particular category and type of music that can be distinguished from other types of music...
that originated in Jamaica
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
in the late 1960s. Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
has several bands
Band (music)
In music, a musical ensemble or band is a group of musicians that works together to perform music. The following articles concern types of musical bands:* All-female band* Big band* Boy band* Christian band* Church band* Concert band* Cover band...
and sound systems that play reggae music in a style faithful to its expression in Jamaica. Australia has a relatively small Jamaican community
Jamaican Australian
Jamaican Australian is an Australian person who is from or has ancestral ties to Jamaica.According to the 2006 Australian census, 786 Australians were born in Jamaica while 1,774 claimed Jamaican ancestry, either alone or with another ancestry....
, but reggae penetrated local consciousness via the popularity of reggae among the non-Jamaican population of England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
in the 1960s and 1970s. Many indigenous musicians have embraced reggae, both for its musical qualities and its ethos of resistance. Examples include No Fixed Address
No Fixed Address
No Fixed Address is an Australian Aboriginal reggae group formed in 1978. Led by Bart Willoughby, the band supported Peter Tosh on his 1982 Australian tour...
and Coloured Stone
Coloured Stone
Coloured Stone is a band from the Koonibba Mission, west of Ceduna, South Australia. Their sound has been described as having a unique feel and Aboriginal qualities...
.
History
The first Reggae sound system in Australia was Soulmaker, established in 1972 by J.J. Roberts, a Jamaican from Saint Catherine ParishSaint Catherine Parish, Jamaica
St Catherine is a parish located in the south east of Jamaica. It is located in the county of Middlesex, and is one of the island's largest and most economically valued parish because of its many resources. It includes the first capital of Jamaica, Spanish Town, originally known as San Jago de la...
. Bob Marley & The Wailers
Bob Marley & The Wailers
Bob Marley & The Wailers were a Jamaican reggae, ska and rocksteady band formed by Bob Marley, Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer in 1963. Additional members were Junior Braithwaite, Beverley Kelso, Cherry Smith and Aston and Carlton Barrett...
toured Australia in 1979, playing Brisbane
Brisbane
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
, Adelaide
Adelaide
Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...
, Perth
Perth, Western Australia
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....
, Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
and Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
. One of the first Australian reggae bands was Untabu. They had releases on Larrikin Records and were resident in a number of clubs in the Darlinghurst and Manly area of Sydney. They also toured the East coast regularly. They performed original music and reggae covers. The Aboriginal band No Fixed Address from Adelaide also had reggae songs in their repertoire.
In 1984, Australian label Corroboree Records had its first release with Dangerous Times. This 7" single was recorded at Channel One Studios
Channel One Studios
Channel One is a recording studio in Maxfield Avenue, West Kingston, Jamaica. The studio was built by the Hoo Kim brothers in 1972, and has had a profound influence on the development of reggae music....
with the Roots Radics
Roots Radics
The Roots Radics Band was formed in 1978 by bass player Errol "Flabba" Holt and guitarist Eric "Bingy Bunny" Lamont. They were joined by many great musicians. As a combined force the Roots Radics became a well-respected studio and stage band, which dominated the sound in the first half of the 1980s...
, voiced and mixed at King Tubby's with Bugs as engineer, and voiced by Dudley Green and General Justice. It Contains the song "Dangerous Dub" on the B side, which was mixed by King Tubby
King Tubby
King Tubby was a Jamaican electronics and sound engineer, known primarily for his influence on the development of dub in the 1960s and 1970s...
. It was released in Jamaica, the UK and Australia.
In 1987, two years after his arrival from Zambia
Zambia
Zambia , officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. The neighbouring countries are the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the north, Tanzania to the north-east, Malawi to the east, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia to the south, and Angola to the west....
Larry Maluma released his first album Confusion
ConFusion
ConFusion is an annual science fiction convention organized by the Stilyagi Air Corps and its parent organization, the Ann Arbor Science Fiction Association. Commonly, it is held the third weekend of January. It is the oldest science fiction convention in Michigan, a regional, general SF con...
on his own Safari Music label. The video clip Black and White from the same album was aired on Countdown Revolution and Rock Arena on ABC
Australian Broadcasting Corporation
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly referred to as "the ABC" , is Australia's national public broadcaster...
.
The first notable dub
Dub music
Dub is a genre of music which grew out of reggae music in the 1960s, and is commonly considered a subgenre, though it has developed to extend beyond the scope of reggae...
release in Australia was Ten Dubs That Shook The World by Sheriff Lindo And The Hammer, issued on the artist's own label, Endless Recordings, in 1988. The LP was reissued on the Creative Vibes label with five extra tracks in 1998, and again by EM Records of Japan in 2006, on CD (catalogue number EM1049CD) and LP (EM1049LP), limited to 500 copies. Only the CD contains the five extra tracks.
In September 2006, Astronomy Class
Astronomy Class
Astronomy Class are an Australian hip-hop / reggae group from Sydney. The group comprises Ozi Batla , Sir Robbo and Chasm ....
released Exit Strategy on the record label Elefant Traks
Elefant Traks
Elefant Traks is an Australian hip hop record label based in Sydney, Australia. Elefant Traks are distributed nationally through Inertia Distribution.-History:...
. The record fused reggae and hip hop music
Hip hop music
Hip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...
. In February 2007, Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
-based producer Mista Savona
Mista Savona
Mista Savona is a Reggae, Dancehall and Hip-hop producer and keyboardist based in Melbourne, Australia. He is best known for his third self-produced album Melbourne Meets Kingston released on Elefant Traks in 2007...
released Melbourne Meets Kingston on Elefant Traks. It is a 21-track collaboration with Jamaican singers and deejay
Deejay
A deejay is a reggae or dancehall musician who sings and toasts to an instrumental riddim .Deejays are not to be confused with disc jockeys from other music genres like hip-hop, where they select and play music. Dancehall/reggae DJs who select riddims to play are called selectors...
s such as Anthony B
Anthony B
Anthony B is the stage name of Keith Blair , a Jamaican musician and member of the Rastafari movement....
, Determine
Determine
Determine , was a multiple stakes winning American Thoroughbred race horse. By Alibhai . Determine's dam was Koubis, born with a cleft palate. Her breeder, Dr...
and Big Youth
Big Youth
Manley Augustus Buchanan , better known as Big Youth , is a Jamaican deejay, mostly known for his work during the 1970s....
. In September 2008, the Sydney-based band King Tide released their debut album To our Dearly Deported on the UK label Urban Sedated. The single "No Dog War" was used worldwide by the Sony
Sony
, commonly referred to as Sony, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan and the world's fifth largest media conglomerate measured by revenues....
corporation for their Wag the Dog campaign. The commercial shot in Brazil featured members from the cast of the feature film City of God. In December 2009, Australian artist Matty Woods
Matty Woods
Matty Woods is an Australian Roots reggae artist producer based in Wollongong, Australia. In December 2009, Matty released The Ras Gong Guerrilla EP.- Biography :...
released The Ras Gong Guerrilla EP, a 10-track recording that tackles Australian and international political issues such as Indigenous
Indigenous Australians
Indigenous Australians are the original inhabitants of the Australian continent and nearby islands. The Aboriginal Indigenous Australians migrated from the Indian continent around 75,000 to 100,000 years ago....
sovereignty
Sovereignty
Sovereignty is the quality of having supreme, independent authority over a geographic area, such as a territory. It can be found in a power to rule and make law that rests on a political fact for which no purely legal explanation can be provided...
, climate change
Climate change
Climate change is a significant and lasting change in the statistical distribution of weather patterns over periods ranging from decades to millions of years. It may be a change in average weather conditions or the distribution of events around that average...
and human rights
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
.
Reggaeton
Reggaeton
Reggaeton is a form of Puerto Rican and Latin American urban and Caribbean music. After its mainstream exposure in 2004, it spread to North American, European and Asian audiences. Reggaeton originated in Puerto Rico but is also has roots from Reggae en Español from Panama and Puerto Rico and...
, a music genre that blends reggae, hip hop, and traditional Latin American music
Latin American music
Latin American music, found within Central and South America, is a series of musical styles and genres that mixes influences from Spanish, African and indigenous sources, that has recently become very famous in the US.-Argentina:...
, is also popular in Australia. The genre first came to prominence when Puerto Rican
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
reggaeton artist Daddy Yankee
Daddy Yankee
Ramón Luis Ayala Rodríguez , known artistically as Daddy Yankee, is a Latin Grammy Award winning Puerto Rican Reggaeton recording artist. Ayala was born in Río Piedras, the largest district of San Juan, where he became interested in music at a young age. In his youth he was interested in baseball,...
released his most notable single, "Gasolina
Gasolina
"Gasolina" , is a reggaetón song written by Daddy Yankee and Eddie Dee for Daddy Yankee's 2004 album Barrio Fino. It features Glory, who sings the line "dame más gasolina"...
," to Australian radio in 2006. Already a hit worldwide, it reached a peak of #12 on the ARIA Singles Chart and was certified Platinum, making it one of the few Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
-language songs to reach that position on the Australian charts.
Festivals
Reggaetown is an annual reggae and roots music festival near Cairns in Far North Queensland.South Beach annual Reggae Party Fremantle
Fremantle, Western Australia
Fremantle is a city in Western Australia, located at the mouth of the Swan River. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle was the first area settled by the Swan River colonists in 1829...
Western Australia started in 1998. Raggamuffin Music Festival
Raggamuffin Music Festival
Raggamuffin Music Festival is an annual music festival that tours Australia and New Zealand which concluded its first tour in 2008. As of 2010, it has featured fourteen Major international reggae Acts and thirteen Australasian Acts accommodating reggae, funk, dub, hip-hop and soul.- Line...
is an annual reggae music festival that tours Australia and New Zealand.
Byron Bay Reggaefest started at The Brewery
The Brewery
The Brewery may refer to:*The Brewery Art Colony, in Los Angeles, California, the largest live-and-work artists' colony in the world*The Brewery , a music venue in Raleigh, North Carolina*The Brewery , Romford, England...
(previously known as The Buddha Bar) on 4 December 2010 & is looking towards a 2 day festival at Missingham Park, Ballina NSW on 17 & 18 September 2011.
Radio
Notable Australian reggae radio programs of the past include Splashdown and The Pounding System. Australia's longest running reggae radio show is Jamdown Vershun which has been broadcasting on 92.1 FM in Perth with selector General Justice since July 1979. The Jamaican singer, producerRecord producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
, and broadcaster
Presenter
A presenter, or host , is a person or organization responsible for running an event. A museum or university, for example, may be the presenter or host of an exhibit. Likewise, a master of ceremonies is a person that hosts or presents a show...
Mikey Dread
Mikey Dread
Michael George Campbell , better known as Mikey Dread, was a Jamaican singer, producer, and broadcaster. He was one of the most influential performers and innovators in reggae music...
produced and presented a reggae radio special for 2JJJ
Triple J
triple j is a nationally networked Australian radio station intended to appeal to listeners between the ages of 18 and 30. The government-funded station is a division of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation...
in the mid to late 1980s.
In Melbourne, the PBS 106.7FM program "Chant Down Babylon" has been presented by Jesse I since the late 1990s.
Notable artists
- Blue King BrownBlue King BrownBlue King Brown are a Melbourne-based, Australian urban roots band. They have released a self-titled EP and a full length album, Stand Up . They released their follow-up Worldwize Part 1 - North & South on 20 August 2010...
- Declan KellyDeclan KellyDeclan Kelly is the current Irish Ambassador to Malaysia and Thailand. Prior to that appointment he was the Irish Ambassador to Canada, succeeding Martin Burke.Married to Anne Bernadette Kelly, he gave the 2007 convocation address at St...
- King TideKing tideKing tide is the popular name for an especially high tide. The phrase is used mostly in Australia, New Zealand and other Pacific nations.In the lunar month, the highest tides occur roughly every 14 days, at the new and full moons, when the gravitational pull of the moon and the sun are in line...
- Matty WoodsMatty WoodsMatty Woods is an Australian Roots reggae artist producer based in Wollongong, Australia. In December 2009, Matty released The Ras Gong Guerrilla EP.- Biography :...
- Mista SavonaMista SavonaMista Savona is a Reggae, Dancehall and Hip-hop producer and keyboardist based in Melbourne, Australia. He is best known for his third self-produced album Melbourne Meets Kingston released on Elefant Traks in 2007...
- Nicky BombaNicky BombaNicholas Caruana aka Nicky Bomba is an Australian musician and singer. He is the frontman of his band Bomba as well as the drummer and percussionist of John Butler Trio and has also performed with several other artists. He is also a solo artist.-Biography:Bomba's family migrated to Australia late...
- Raz Bin Sam
- Vindan and the Zion Band
- Fyah Walk
- Larry Maluma
- Babylon Burning