[HN Gopher] The Casio employee behind the "Sleng Teng" riddim th...
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The Casio employee behind the "Sleng Teng" riddim that
revolutionized reggae
 
Author : robinhouston
Score  : 313 points
Date   : 2022-02-01 17:03 UTC (5 hours ago)
 
web link (www.nippon.com)
w3m dump (www.nippon.com)
 
| grawprog wrote:
| I really love the world of reggae and dancehall. The way riddims
| are covered and updated and repurposed and remade over and over
| in different styles by different artists.
| 
| It feels natural and organic. Human creativity building on and
| growing what came before.
 
  | npteljes wrote:
  | The entirety of the remix culture is just something else.
  | People turning something existing into something else,
  | sometimes completely changing it up. For one I loved Burial's
  | Archangel, for its haunting vocals, only to learn later that
  | it's sampled from a (to me) unremarkable r&b song.
 
| sequoia wrote:
| 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 teng chorus):
| https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K_dwpUrWkE4
| 
| A different riddim (bookshelf), but great example of seeing the
| DJ at work on a riddim mix:
| https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DyGhjR7CE3k
| 
| If you want to explore other popular riddims, the punanny riddim
| is a good next stop! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2UkJRGIpzYM
 
  | adamrezich wrote:
  | and for anyone who's looking for just the actual track from the
  | Casio keyboard by itself:
  | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AhsjL8FHXbY&t=13s
 
  | 2muchcoffeeman wrote:
  | One of the YouTube comments makes an interesting observation
  | that this is an entirely _digital_ rhythm.
 
    | dashwehacct wrote:
    | I like to tell people that reggae artists (more specifically
    | dub artists) created electronic music. I don't know if it's
    | entirely true, but there is some evidence to suggest this.
 
      | rvense wrote:
      | Well, electronic music in the broad sense is at least
      | thirty-five years older than Sleng Teng. I doubt, say,
      | Schaeffer and Xennakis were very clued in to what was
      | happening in Jamaica.
      | 
      | But it's absolute true that you reggae and dub had a
      | profound impact on dance music music in all its forms from
      | the 90's onwards, both culturally and in the production
      | methods and sound. I'm not sure I've ever heard any of the
      | original Detroit artists reference Jamaican music as an
      | influence, but the entire European side (which then moved
      | back North America) is steeped in Jamaican influence, both
      | directly and via the UK.
 
  | npteljes wrote:
  | Now we're just left wondering what's a "sleng teng". Teng is
  | maybe "thing", so we're left with what's "sleng". Searching for
  | it I'm corrected to "slang", and if I force "sleng" then all I
  | can find is the song itself.
 
    | wzy wrote:
    | It's just a euphemism for marijuana. "Unda mi sleng teng" is
    | being under the influence of marijuana.
 
      | Cockbrand wrote:
      | See also Barrington Levy's "Under mi Sensi", with the same
      | riddim played on actual drums and bass:
      | https://youtu.be/yFEvdWHK7GA
 
  | bredren wrote:
  | And a track related to honoring Hiroko's contribution to
  | reggae: https://youtu.be/VLZDucQFnuQ
 
  | npteljes wrote:
  | 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
 
| winternett wrote:
| As a musician that also does IT work, the part where
| copyright/law suit was mentioned troubled me a bit...
| 
| Artists aren't profiting massively from sampling. Even from
| making music in general. Actually, most artists don't get paid at
| all when uncleared samples are involved, and especially because
| of the predatory system of music publication. The ideal like they
| are the ones who should be sued worries me about a wrong take on
| the art overall. Perhaps Casio should have given her a bonus,
| because back then because of Sleng Teng, they sold a lot more
| units.
| 
| If we buy a piece of music equipment with presets on it, the
| license for usage should be 100% included in the purchase, or not
| included on the device at all.
| 
| Copyright is one of the biggest things that threatens music
| innovation moving forward. The Sleng Teng riddim was indeed
| influential to reggae for many years, but it was not a game
| changer because Reggae had existed long before it and even well
| before Casio. To say that Casio or Okuda Hiroko made the riddim
| and influenced reggae was a bit of a stretch... The vocals, use,
| performance, distribution and choice to use a Casio keyboard on
| the song were all by Noel Davey. To say a preset on a keyboard he
| used was responsible for a cultural era totally ignores what
| inspired Hiroko to make the preset.
| 
| To try to credit a preset as a cultural influence on reggae
| discredits all of the other aspects of riddim culture and tools
| that existed at that point too, Linn Drums, the DR550, The
| Effectron II, etc... So many things influenced reggae. As someone
| who was there during the era, Sleng Teng was a great track, but
| to say the preset revolutionized reggae is like saying modems
| influenced Internet culture.
| 
| Reggae is specifically a Caribbean music art form that has grown
| from the 1940s and spread across the world against great
| resistance, and the heritage and innovation behind it is
| specifically due to the artists that made each song...
| 
| Otherwise, we should probably credit Ableton and a bunch of synth
| plug-ins for pretty much every preset used on almost every dance
| track made now...
| 
| This article kind of highlights a major part of the discussion
| surrounding cultural appropriation, it's the ideal that something
| needs to be linked to "more favorable or esteemed" cultures to be
| more noteworthy or humanized.
| 
| Reggae is uniquely Caribbean in origins, artists faced great
| struggles to make the music and most did not get paid anything
| notable at all. Others are free to integrate the ideals however
| they want, but the origins, credits, authenticity, and history
| should not be re-written just to make a new story.
| 
| Authentic history of the Sleng Teng Riddim and Riddim Culture-
| 
| https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6geaZFHZC2g
| 
| https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=It08Mt3q38k
 
  | selimthegrim wrote:
  | What resistance was against it?
 
    | winternett wrote:
    | Racism and segregation for starters, there were also huge
    | immigration hurdles for many artists from the Caribbean
    | islands, many artists had health care related problems on the
    | islands, tropical storms, economic depressions, governmental
    | corruption, music equipment and resources were very expensive
    | (because they had to be imported), and financing and funding
    | for everything is a challenge citing that no other major
    | music or film industry was located anywhere near to the
    | islands (NY, California, England, etc.).
    | 
    | This is why many labels in the past would simply get their
    | existing artists to "hijack" reggae themes into their music,
    | because the islands were isolated geographically from public
    | awareness in the early days.
 
| nvr219 wrote:
| Choooooon! brap brap brap
 
| usrusr wrote:
| Related: I believe that the main reason why I could never really
| connect with the post-flash version of Ishkur's Guide is the
| omission of Casiocore. Just push 'samba' on that thing and away
| you go.
| 
| (or perhaps I just haven't found it yet?)
 
| tpmx wrote:
| 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.)
 
  | kingcharles wrote:
  | And just in case it is lost on some people, Nippon is one of
  | the possible pronunciations for Japan (Ri Ben ) in Japanese.
  | The other is Nihon. No, the Japanese have no consensus on the
  | name of their own country.
 
| zuminator wrote:
| 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.
 
  | npteljes wrote:
  | QuestionCopyright.org has the same observation. They made a
  | nice music video to further spread the idea, how "all creative
  | work builds on what came before":
  | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jcvd5JZkUXY
 
  | winternett wrote:
  | The problem in enjoying the "cross-pollination" is that it
  | never rewards the founders, and often rewards others that
  | deliberately copy the overlooked artists.
  | 
  | Many modern works completely lift sounds and rebrand them as
  | founded by someone else new. That is where the problem lies in
  | modern appropriation. It's sad that social media now encourages
  | people to completely copycat ideas and totally steal credit for
  | innovation...
  | 
  | We should support original culture and artists just as much as
  | those who sample them.
 
    | elefanten wrote:
    | Founders being rewarded is completely orthogonal to culture,
    | in this picture.
    | 
    | Any knowledge or innovation could be "stolen" and used by
    | someone else, whether its origin is cultural or not.
    | 
    | Using the _possibility_ of value extracting theft as a reason
    | why (certain) people should never find inspiration in
    | (certain other) cultures... is just bigoted and nonsensical.
    | It's racist territorialism.
    | 
    | Especially when all culture is built on something that came
    | before anyway.
 
      | winternett wrote:
      | I disagree. There is a history of issues in the industry,
      | and with audience exposure that makes things much more
      | complex than with certain other genres.
      | 
      | If reggae has been around this long yet Sting, UB40, Boy
      | George, Snow, 311, Sublime, and Matisyahu are probably the
      | people most Americans would think of as the best musicians
      | making reggae music, it might show a bit of inherent
      | cultural bias for both the industry and listeners...
 
  | goodpoint wrote:
  | 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 situations such as trying food from a
  | different culture or learning about different cultures
  | 
  | ---
 
    | quacked wrote:
    | Who defines "inappropriate or unacknowledged"?
 
      | JohnBooty wrote:
      | 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.
 
        | quacked wrote:
        | Yes, I suspect we know each other's points already, but I
        | always am curious about how this particular element of
        | the topic is defined by adherents of the group-to-which-
        | I-don't-belong.
        | 
        | If we both define what's appropriate, and our definitions
        | don't match, how should that disagreement be settled?
 
    | kevinmgranger wrote:
    | Yes, they're referring to the same misapplication you're
    | referring to.
 
  | [deleted]
 
  | xhevahir wrote:
  | IIRC that's actually how a lot of academics in cultural
  | studies, history, etc, used the term "appropriation" until the
  | nineties or so, when the more disparaging usage seems to have
  | won out.
 
  | JohnBooty wrote:
  | 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.
 
    | elefanten wrote:
    | Maybe that nuance was originally intended, but look around
    | and you will find plenty of claims that wearing dreadlocks,
    | rapping or making sushi at home are examples of cultural
    | appropriation, if done by the wrong person.
    | 
    | Actually, that's a good gut check to test whether
    | emancipatory movements have lost their plot: how often do
    | their prescriptions hinge on identity.
 
      | asdff wrote:
      | It's gotten to the point where people are even criticized
      | for tanning too much beyond what is supposedly acceptable
      | for their identity.
 
    | renlo wrote:
    | it's not stealing
 
    | whatshisface wrote:
    | The load-bearing word in that sentence is "stealing," rather
    | than "prison guard."
 
    | ericb wrote:
    | > and a prison guard stealing their music
    | 
    | That's a pretty tortured metaphor.
    | 
    | Would it be morally ok for the prisoners to steal the guard's
    | music?
    | 
    | What if cultural borrowing is the societal precursor to
    | acceptance and integration?
 
    | [deleted]
 
  | sithadmin wrote:
  | I don't buy that using a default demo sample from an electronic
  | keyboard could ever count as cultural appropriation. Even in
  | the most extreme case, the 'rock' sample in question that Casio
  | offered up would ostensibly trace its roots to afro-caribbean
  | origins anyway.
 
  | vmception wrote:
  | cultural participation
  | 
  | most of the segregationists just need inspiration and aren't as
  | exclusionary as they've been led to
 
    | mise_en_place wrote:
    | It's a bit unfair to categorize Japan as segregationist.
    | While it's true they have gaijin housing and restaurants,
    | that's meant to make the visitor comfortable, especially if
    | they can't speak Japanese conversationally.
 
  | Simplicitas wrote:
  | 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 ..
 
    | redwall_hp wrote:
    | 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.
 
      | rvense wrote:
      | I think it was Pete Seeger who said that the greatest
      | compliment he ever received was someone saying "Oh you
      | wrote that song? I thought it was just.. there".
 
| voldacar wrote:
| 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.
 
  | dave_sid wrote:
  | I'm sure the prodigy sampled it
 
    | dave_sid wrote:
    | Actually I'm wrong it was SL2! Same era.
    | 
    | https://youtu.be/xI8S1Nn6NRk
 
      | voldacar wrote:
      | Yeah that's the track I was thinking of. great stuff
      | 
      | a little better sound quality here:
      | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mtoCjkZYxJ8
 
        | dave_sid wrote:
        | Don't forget this gem
        | 
        | https://youtu.be/gXCN1DhHTZA
 
  | kingsloi wrote:
  | 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
 
| jongala wrote:
| Engadget did a story around this a while back, apparently. It has
| less from Okuda, but some different details and other links and
| examples:
| 
| https://www.engadget.com/2015-12-04-casio-and-the-sleng-teng...
| 
| This is a very interesting story, and it's great to see Okuda
| acknowledged for her work and hear more details about that. Casio
| is a great example of a company that I just took completely for
| granted growing up and seemed completely opaque and impersonal to
| me. It's so cool to see the individuals that are behind all of
| those things. My brothers and I had an MT-40 when we were kids, I
| loved playing with it, and had no idea it had an impact like
| this.
 
| [deleted]
 
| omar_alt wrote:
| 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?
 
  | jrm4 wrote:
  | 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.
 
    | joezydeco wrote:
    | Or, in the case of New York hiphop, a blackout:
    | 
    | http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_eye/2014/10/16/roman_mars_99_.
    | ..
 
  | felix318 wrote:
  | 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.
 
    | xxpor wrote:
    | 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.
 
  | TheOtherHobbes wrote:
  | You could create all kinds of new sounds and technologies and
  | they would have no impact if audiences didn't connect with
  | them.
  | 
  | Some people have a certain fluency with sound and music. It's
  | not about training, although training will bring it out if
  | someone has it. But it seems pretty innate. And it cuts through
  | in a way that the work of people without the fluency doesn't.
  | 
  | Roland used to be masters of this. Their rhythm and bass boxes
  | seemed like stupid failed toys, but they had a magic that
  | wasn't obvious until they were handed to people who didn't try
  | to use them in the "proper" way.
  | 
  | That's fluency from two sources - something the original
  | designers somehow had (until Roland stopped being that kind of
  | company) mixed with the feel the pioneering users had.
  | 
  | This story is another example of that.
  | 
  | Compare with - say - Yamaha's attempts to sell physical
  | modelling synthesis. There was much money spent, a good
  | selection of instruments produced, but it failed to cut
  | through. Possibly because it ended up being a system of presets
  | and directed constraints that limited imagination instead of
  | opening it up. (Or possibly not. It's a mysterious process.)
 
    | tweetle_beetle wrote:
    | For those who don't know, the TB-303 is probably the most
    | entertaining story of this kind.
    | 
    | > ... the box was largely written off as a failure after just
    | 18 months of production. It was released alongside the TR-606
    | drum machine as an accompaniment for guitarists, but with
    | unrealistic sounds and a difficult interface the box got
    | little traction upon release. [1]
    | 
    | It became the source of a signature sound in dance music,
    | which remains extensively used today and can be heard in
    | tracks with mainstream chart success. It's terrible interface
    | is somehow part of its charm and it has been cloned in many
    | formats.
    | 
    | This is probably the best way to experience it in a browser
    | [2]
    | 
    | [1] https://djtechtools.com/2015/12/02/history-
    | tb-303-rolands-ac...
    | 
    | [2] https://808303.studio/
 
    | nyanpasu64 wrote:
    | From what I've heard, sample libraries of acoustic
    | instruments are a system of presets and directed constraints
    | (inability to replicate complex dynamics, articulation, and
    | pitch bends). I haven't tried physical modeling, and don't
    | know if it manages to escape this issue, or ends up too
    | complex to learn/perform or stuck in an uncanny valley. (This
    | is from the perspective of orchestral-inspired sound design
    | rather than more synthetic compositions.)
 
  | throwhauser wrote:
  | I don't think it's necessarily the sounds, but what the article
  | describes, "bringing the pleasure of playing a musical
  | instrument to everyone". New ways of creating music end up in
  | the hands of people that otherwise may not have gotten started,
  | and new styles emerge.
 
| teachrdan wrote:
| 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 to my American
| ears. But the novelty and catchiness obviously connected to
| millions of people at the time.
| 
| https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Riddim
| 
| https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wjw7m-BKmQ8
 
  | JohnBooty wrote:
  | The actual riddim sounds completely uninteresting to my
  | American ears
  | 
  | Counterpoint: the actual riddim sounds awesome to my American
  | ears. Although of course, it's a building block for a song, not
  | a song itself.
 
  | mtalantikite wrote:
  | > But the novelty and catchiness obviously connected to
  | millions of people at the time.
  | 
  | And also spawned a huge amount of music:
  | https://www.whosampled.com/Wayne-Smith/Under-Me-Sleng-Teng/s...
 
  | srcreigh wrote:
  | Several songs in this style
  | 
  | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vIfzt7mtFyI
 
  | lelandfe wrote:
  | > 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!
 
    | gunfighthacksaw wrote:
    | 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.
 
      | chrisjc wrote:
      | 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
      | understand that parent probably didn't mean Skrillex,
      | etc...
      | 
      | BBC Radio 1's original Dubstep Warz session is a great
      | introduction to the original dubstep -
      | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-RyOlkDgy2g
      | 
      | Kode9's recently released Dubstep Warz behind the scenes -
      | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_wmgpQO6iQ
 
        | [deleted]
 
        | lelandfe wrote:
        | 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.
 
        | nyanpasu64 wrote:
        | Technically low-cutting is called highpass rather than
        | lowpass. I don't exactly like the low/high pass
        | terminology myself either though; you end up putting a
        | high pass at a low frequency to remove bass, and low pass
        | at a high frequency to remove treble.
 
        | okl wrote:
        | High/low pass = high/low frequency components pass
        | through. Simple?
 
        | JohnBooty wrote:
        | Yeah high pass / low pass have always seemed totally
        | logical to me. At least once I knew what they meant.
        | 
        | I suppose they're not 100% intuitive or self-explanatory,
        | but I can't think of a better alternative.
 
        | lelandfe wrote:
        | Can you tell it has been a while since I played a set? :)
        | thanks
 
        | Cockbrand wrote:
        | Hehe, I remember telling an American friend about 10
        | years ago that I was really into dubstep at that time.
        | She was appalled and couldn't understand why a somewhat
        | decent person like myself could listen to that kind of
        | music. Much later, it dawned on me that she was thinking
        | of US bro-step like Skrillex, while I in fact was
        | listening to "UK Bass Music" like Benga and Skream and
        | Digital Mystikz and Loefah.
 
        | [deleted]
 
        | rvense wrote:
        | All my homies hate Skrillex!
        | 
        | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-hLlVVKRwk0
 
        | Cockbrand wrote:
        | I only watched the first few minutes so far, and the
        | storyline quite reminds me of myself being quite
        | fascinated by hearing my first jungle tunes about 15
        | years earlier. Nice!
 
      | rvense wrote:
      | If the speakers weren't taller than you, you haven't
      | experienced dubstep.
      | 
      | (Real dubstep, I mean, that has dub in it - not that mid-
      | range electric razor Skrillex shit!)
 
    | cat199 wrote:
    | seen .. much bettern to hear the song in context in a
    | soundsystem live tape (several on yt) - and possibly with
    | cough cough sacrament - e.g. coxsone, killmanjaro, etc.
    | 
    | <3 the 'digital raggae' electronic pre-dancehall sound
 
      | berkes wrote:
      | A somewhat Europeanized version of this Dub can often be
      | found behind the query "steppa, steppers or dubtronica" of
      | many platforms such as Spotify. Which, also, is best heard
      | on either good headphones or with your head stuck down a
      | giant soundsystem wall (don't do that, though, seriously)
 
        | Daishiman wrote:
        | You can do it, but get _good_ earplugs and nor for more
        | than a few minutes!
        | 
        | (sSund system owner here)
 
  | slim wrote:
  | > 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.
 
    | afro88 wrote:
    | > another interesting aspect is it's free from intellectual
    | property. it makes for a good example of the impact of free
    | culture on creativity.
    | 
    | You better believe Diplo got paid by Beyonce to use Pon De
    | Floor in a track.
 
      | slim wrote:
      | of course he did :) free culture does not prevent one from
      | profiting from non-free culture. on a similar note, there's
      | another thread on how Monty got paid twice for mysql.
 
        | afro88 wrote:
        | And the other side of the coin: you better believe a lot
        | of people were cease and desisted out of using Pon De
        | Floor in tracks too.
        | 
        | My point was that riddims unfortunately aren't as free.
        | But the culture around them uses them as if they are (at
        | home, at small parties, in mixes for friends etc), until
        | they're not (on the public internet, played at clubs, in
        | mixes played on radio etc)
 
  | jrochkind1 wrote:
  | > The actual riddim sounds completely uninteresting to my
  | American ears.
  | 
  | I find the simple casio rhythm delightfully engaging and
  | catchy! But that may be because I've heard it in so many reggae
  | and dancehall songs I associate it with now. But the first time
  | I heard _those_ songs, they immediately caught my ear and made
  | me want to dance.
  | 
  | Here's just an MT-40 playing the present. To me that's super
  | catchy! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mq7B4MFbmgU
 
  | yardie wrote:
  | You're listening to it wrong. /s
  | 
  | Dancehall riddims are tuned for the dancehall and,
  | occasionally, the car show. It's a vibe and atmosphere that
  | doesn't translate well to headphones. I can listen to 2 DJs in
  | a clash go back and forth for hours with just 1 riddim. But
  | after 1 play of Cash Money riddim, for example, I'm pressing
  | FFWD for something else. Because the moment is gone.
 
| pfarrell wrote:
| And now she's working on a prototype "Holophonor".
 
| th3a6as22l0rd wrote:
 
| reassembled wrote:
| Maybe this is more common in Japan but I find it great that she
| still works for Casio after all this time.
 
| bravura wrote:
| 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
 
  | dzhiurgis wrote:
  | I used to keep a little list of riddims, here's more from sleng
  | teng:
  | 
  | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=61kVhWClUZo
  | 
  | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KOMZlVLh1Ts
  | 
  | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r9mrs1Ge8fo
  | 
  | then there's stalag riddim:
  | 
  | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C4fjGwVpbm0
  | 
  | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dbQX0QmngYg
  | 
  | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u3d4Efp5TMc
  | 
  | and my favourite heavenless riddim:
  | 
  | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VBRzaoUe3y8
  | 
  | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQXPTRIsEII
  | 
  | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pJGa2-qBsSI
  | 
  | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2MmIP16H5jE
  | 
  | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z0BxPQIypnQ
  | 
  | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=himuq_-TM-A
  | 
  | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rpgl8oK869E
  | 
  | then there's answer riddim:
  | 
  | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n4bN_lmTGRk
  | 
  | Overall these riddims are played at so called soundsystem
  | parties - basically huge amount of subwoofers that your body
  | shakes. Earplugs is a must else you'll get tinitus like I did.
  | Stranger part is no photos are allowed and a lot of music isn't
  | released online - it's overall kinda secretive subculture.
  | 
  | It blew my mind when I came to such party first time.
 
  | matmann2001 wrote:
  | Also reminds me of the intro to Creature Comfort by Arcade
  | Fire.
 
    | aaronbrethorst wrote:
    | https://www.reddit.com/r/arcadefire/comments/6oylf7/creature.
    | ..
 
  | [deleted]
 
  | rmetzler wrote:
  | I've been involved with the German Dancehall scene from around
  | the late 90s early 2000s and danced so many nights to this
  | riddim. I knew the story and how this riddim ended up in
  | Jamaica at King Jammy's (e.g.
  | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mop89McbxAE ), but could not
  | remember to have seen an image of the actual keyboard before.
  | 
  | Here is a video where Wayne Smith tells how he found the preset
  | on the keyboard https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yM2qMdop890
 
  | narag wrote:
  | Another ressemblance:
  | 
  | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4dR1tKo1n5I
 
| okl wrote:
| Can't forget to name Manudigital in that context, who did a lot
| of live sessions visiting singers and deejays with his MT-40:
| https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ULmYesM3F5s
 
| Simon_O_Rourke wrote:
| 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.
 
  | nicoco wrote:
  | Wouln't you call groundation at least decent?
 
  | TacticalCoder wrote:
  | > 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
 
    | jawilson2 wrote:
    | Holy crap. Thanks for this.
 
  | gerbilly wrote:
  | Yeah sure, if you say so. How about this. Let's restrict it to
  | the Pacific islands only and see what's been happening in
  | reggae since the 80s.
  | 
  | There's a thriving scene in Hawaii with great music coming out
  | to this day.
  | 
  | This one features two amazing vocalists, Irie Love and Fiji
  | (George Veikoso)
  | 
  | It is wut it is https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SZVF7QWjs44
  | 
  | Then there's New Zealand:
  | 
  | Katchafire: Way Beyond
  | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IjKLocagFPw
  | 
  | I could have picked dozens of other great songs.
 
  | dashwehacct wrote:
 
  | npteljes wrote:
  | I love the French digital dub scene for one, Pupajim, Panda
  | dub, Dubamix, Mayd Hubb all put out fantastic pieces, like this
  | one for instance https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bgjvtib-Xi0
 
  | throw_m239339 wrote:
  | This is nonsense.
  | 
  | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3epH_KNnwYE
 
  | berkes wrote:
  | I'm a avid rocksteady listener. Visited many old ska,
  | rocksteady and roots festivals and concerts. I love the old
  | stuff.
  | 
  | But it is ignorant and dismissive to place anything after an
  | arbitrary date under the label "not decent". Plenty of
  | wonderful stuff.
  | 
  | I'm certain you'll agree that for example Lee Scratch Perry
  | produced wonderful music until the day of his death (August
  | 2021). What he did with The Upsetters is magic. But even the
  | albums he made in the months before his death are far more than
  | "decent".
 
  | kingsloi wrote:
  | 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,
 
    | TacticalCoder wrote:
    | 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
    | 
    | Ranking Dread:
    | 
    | https://youtu.be/hkM14QObC9o (this one is really cool for the
    | song talks about many OG reggae artists)
    | 
    | Jo Jo Bennett:
    | 
    | https://youtu.be/6Gawp4UPO2I
    | 
    | Marcia Griffiths:
    | 
    | https://youtu.be/ZA9FUDw3TNk (the theme is not "roots" but,
    | darn, she's a good Jamaican reggae singer)
    | 
    | Max Romeo:
    | 
    | https://youtu.be/XcMNfX5yh28
    | 
    | John Holt:
    | 
    | https://youtu.be/smWVKR_LYjs
    | 
    | Horace Andy:
    | 
    | https://youtu.be/RCHTAu4In70
    | 
    | Linval Thompson:
    | 
    | https://youtu.be/2f7G9HFEbao
 
      | kingsloi wrote:
      | 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
 
      | okl wrote:
      | Delroy Wilson, Cornell Campbell, Don Carlos, Carlton & The
      | Shoes, Garnett Silk, Bob Andy, Freddie McGregor, Frankie
      | Paul... Personally I prefer the sound of the late 60s --
      | Rocksteady: The Paragons, Lynn Taitt, Prince Buster, Alton
      | Ellis, Phyllis Dillon, Bob & the Beltones, The
      | Progressions...
 
        | kingsloi wrote:
        | I appreciate the recommendations!
        | 
        | Roots reggae was the only music I played my baby was in
        | the hospital. So much so, I actually created a Spotify
        | playlist of all of the songs we jammed together to.
        | 
        | Let me know what you think
        | https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1qp5AfSmmKLwefGyaJfLxP
 
        | okl wrote:
        | You've got a nice playlist there. #63 - If I Could Rule
        | This World is one of my all time favorites.
        | 
        | Most of the Soul Jazz Records samplers are on Spotify,
        | well worth a listen. Unfortunately Spotify is missing
        | many of the older/rarer tunes. There are some collectors
        | who record their 45s and upload to Youtube:
        | 
        | - https://www.youtube.com/c/VROCKET/videos
        | 
        | - https://www.youtube.com/user/jahbuzzz/videos
        | 
        | - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfvSuY0GF6i7yPCX2qnrw5
        | Q/vid...
        | 
        | - https://www.youtube.com/c/aeon23/videos
        | 
        | If you are into more funky Reggae stuff check out Jackie
        | Mittoo.
 
        | kingsloi wrote:
        | Yes, what a beautiful song! Alton Ellis and his sister
        | Hortense really are timeless.
        | 
        | Awesome, I'll check them out! Appreciate it!
 
  | dylanz wrote:
  | Midnite: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OJADi9axZ4E&t=9s. RIP
  | Vaughn.
 
  | blacksmith_tb wrote:
  | Presumably plenty of Jamaicans (and others) would disagree, but
  | I do personally like the sound of the 70s recordings best,
  | especially the dubs, The Revolutionaries, Roots Radics, etc.
  | Newer reggae has a lot of newer pop in it, auto-tune, plastic-y
  | production.
 
    | winternett wrote:
    | It was never meant to stay the same, the old riddim culture
    | went on for a long period without change... New dancehall is
    | a bit too soft for me as well, I like ragga most, but I do
    | miss the classic "red light" love song era... I'm working to
    | remix some of the classics myself, and to create new vibes
    | (without using auto tune).
    | 
    | There are many artists working low key on different sounds,
    | but right now the industry is pushing the bubble-gum-gangster
    | sound that is most popular right now... You've got to search
    | real deep on YouTube for the best stuff.
 
  | twism wrote:
  | Beres Hammond, Jah Cure, Gyptian, Bitty mcLean ... ? I could go
  | on. Relatively newer artists but on dub (old school) style
  | riddims
 
    | okl wrote:
    | The Frightnrs!
 
| dave_sid wrote:
| Absolutely love this.
 
| fedebehrens wrote:
| 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
 
| dave_sid wrote:
| SL2 sampled it in this classic dance track from the 90's
| 
| https://youtu.be/xI8S1Nn6NRk
| 
| I had no idea until now where the sample came from.
 
| prvc wrote:
| I'm surprised that anyone would even think of suing users who use
| your instrument over the copyrights of its built in sounds! There
| must be some kind of implicit right of a performer to use the
| sounds produced by an instrument, although "sample" or pattern
| based instruments do tend to blur the line a little. Certainly,
| one must draw the line somewhere, cf.:
| https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timbaland_plagiarism_controver...
| However the case in TFA seems pretty cut and dry to me, or am I
| mistaken?
 
| tibbydudeza wrote:
| What an awesome article - from Japan to the shores of Jamaica.
 
  | okl wrote:
  | And back to Japan: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-7YtFEUzac
  | 
  | There's lots of Reggae and Raggamuffin music made in Japan and
  | some of it is really well-made and authentic. (e.g.,
  | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L8aZI0aqR4c)
 
| dieselerator wrote:
| It is an interesting read. I find inspiration in this story of
| composer Hiroko Okuda. When you work at doing your part to get
| the product to market you can't predict all the ways customers
| might use the product.
 
  | qbasic_forever wrote:
  | Also very cool that she and Casio effectively have licensed the
  | beat under a permissive MIT-like license... just credit using
  | the keyboard and have fun!
 
| taurusnoises wrote:
| As someone who dj'd almost exclusively early (and late) dancehall
| and dub back in the early 00s, I can attest that this riddim has
| absolute magical properties. It is just one of those things where
| the tone, the key, the hisses, the bass frequency, the everything
| just clicks. The room will never not pop off when Sleng Teng
| drops. That, and it's sister riddim, Stalag. Like best buds,
| those two.
 
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