Non-Western Popular Music

Lecture 6

Dr Johan Awang Bin Othman VZM211 Lecture 6 17.11.20

Genres
Examples

arabic jazz
reggae
worldbeat
world fusion
Balkanic jazz
Afro-pop
Bollywood
K-POP (Korean pop)
J-POP (Japanese pop)
C-POP (Chinese pop)
Arabic Jazz

Jazz is a relatively new genre of music, originating in the late 19th to early 20th
century as interpretations of American and European classical music
, as well as
entwined with African African folk, spiritual and work songs cultural influences from West African culture.

Tara Tiba
Toufic Farroukh

This French-Lebanese composer traditional Arabic instruments with the sax and
mixes

throws in some low-key dance tones guaranteed to have your feet tapping and fingers
snapping in no time.
Farroukh’s combination of regional instruments like the oud with a double bass sound
depicts how jazz can easily adapt to the beautiful blend of tradition and innovation.
https://youtu.be/Ft4viBskyAU
Tarek Yamani

His jazz work in the Middle East has been praised as the perfect depiction of jazz’s
inclusive nature, but he doesn’t just stop at Arabic beats and sounds. He aims to bring
together rhythms from various cultures like Africa and Latin America, and reinvent
the traditional sounds in jazz-centered recordings.
https://youtu.be/0Py3g1gzMII
Tara Tiba

An architecture graduate who decided to dedicate her life to music, Tiba an

developed

interest in Persian music at the age of sixteen that led her to embark on seven years of
vocal training.
Her amazing vocal control and soulful voice has mesmerized many an audience,
focusing on Persian jazz which features a combination of traditional Persian music
with soothing improvised jazz melodies.
https://youtu.be/kbrAIiEGZkM
Reggae
Definition

The term reggae was derived from rege-rege, a Jamaican phrase meaning “rags or
ragged clothing,” it is used to denote a raggedy style of music. The reggae genre
came into to being in the 1960’s as an evolution of the Rocksteady and Ska musical
styles. Reggae music is a soulful entertainment in Jamaica. It expresses in words the
pain, struggle, hope and emotion that is felt by the average person.
Reggae music is recognized by its lament-like chanting and emphasizes the
syncopated beat. It is distinguishable from other genres in the heavy use of the
Jamaican vernacular and the African nyah-bingi drumming style.
Reggae, style of that originated in
popular music in the late 1960s and quickly emerged as
Jamaica

the country’s dominant . By the 1970s it had become an international style that was
music

particularly popular in , the United States, and Africa. It was widely perceived as a
Britain

voice of the oppressed.

According to an early definition in The Dictionary of Jamaican English (1980),
reggae is based on , an earlier form of Jamaican popular music, and employs a heavy
ska

four-beatrhythmdriven by drums, bass , electric guitar, and the “scraper,” a corrugated

guitar

stick that is rubbed by a plain stick.

Ska

Ska: Originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s, Ska came

before musical styles such as Rocksteady and Reggae. Ska
is a combined musical element of Caribbean
Mento and Calypso with a bit of American Jazz and also
Rhythm and Blues. It separates itself from other musical
genres due to its walking bass line accented with rhythms
on the upbeat. In the early 1960s, Ska was the dominant
music genre of Jamaica and was popular with the
other communities as well, including the British
Community.

Ska music was made for dancing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CDAiQ-P7GoA
Ska terminology

claimed that the term was coined by musicians to refer to the "skat! skat! skat!"
Ernest Ranglin

scratching guitar strum. (White, Timothy (1983) "Catch a Fire: The Life of Bob Marley",
Corgi Books)
Derives from Johnson's word skavoovie, with which he was known to greet his
friends. (Boot, Adrian & Salewicz, Chris (1995) "Bob Marley: Songs of Freedom",
Bloomsbury)
insisted that the musicians called the rhythm Staya Staya, and that it was
Jackie Mittoo Byron Lee

who introduced the term “ska". (Clarke, Sebastien "Jah Music: the Evolution of the
Popular Jamaican Song”)
The instruments that form the foundation of a typical reggae song would be drums,
electric bass, electric guitar, and keyboard. However, over the years, other
instruments such as horns, brass, and afro-cuban percussion have been introduced to
reggae to spice things up. It's worth noting that reggae music is bass-heavy.
Reggae Artists

Bob Marley
Delroy Wilson
Ken Boothe
Bob Marley
(1945–1981)

Jamaican singer, musician and songwriter Bob

Marley served as a world ambassador for reggae
music and sold more than 20 million records
throughout his career.
In 1963, Bob Marley and his friends formed the
Wailing Wailers. The Wailers' big break came in
1972 when they landed a contract with Island Bob Marley, 1978.
Records. Marley went on to sell more than 20
million records throughout his career, making him
the first international superstar to emerge from the
so-called Third World.
https://youtu.be/5T3UmvutR8k
Delroy Wilson

was one of Jamaica's most soulful vocalists,

Delroy Wilson

and over a 40-year career the singer unleashed a

flood of hits and a multitude of masterpieces. Born
on October 5, 1948, in the Kingston neighborhood
of Trenchtown, 's phenomenal talent would be his
Wilson

ticket out of the ghetto, and his discovery by

producer in 1962 would change the path of
Coxsone Dodd

Jamaican music.
https://youtu.be/Rp_8c6viOWk
Ken Boothe

was one of the most popular and soulful

Ken Boothe

singers of the rocksteady era. Jamaican

vocalist.
https://youtu.be/g2e7eScJbRc
References

https://www.arabamerica.com/6-brilliant-arab-jazz-musicians-you-need-to-know/

https://www.collacutt-travel.com/history-of-reggae-music

https://www.britannica.com/art/reggae

https://splice.com/blog/5-core-elements-reggae/

https://www.udiscovermusic.com/stories/best-reggae-singers/

https://www.allmusic.com/artist/ken-boothe-mn0000075295/biography

https://jamaicansmusic.com/learn/origins/ska