Jamaica’s musical history and culture is rich yes. Like all (most?) places in the world though, support for the arts becomes harder and harder to find. In that environment, Kingston’s Redbones Blues Cafe is a cultural treasure to be savoured. Kingston’s Cultural Institution Redbones Blues Cafe is a cultural institution in Kingston. Its 15 year anniversary book… Continue reading Redbones Blues Cafe – Supporting Jamaican Music & Arts
“Reggae Has a Fight”
“Reggae has a fight”. “We’re losing our culture.” These are the sorts of things people in Kingston have been saying to me all week – most of them venue and music store owners. Gone are the days when Jamaicans bought music from music stores. Now Jamaicans get music on-line for free or buy it from bootleggers on the streets. Economic… Continue reading “Reggae Has a Fight”
What You’ll Find @ Tuff Gong International Kingston
Tuff Gong International – Kingston, Jamaica. Founded in 1965 by Mr Bob Marley himself. Tuff Gong’s Kingston headquarters is a place Jamaican and international music artists can and do use as a complete one-stop shop for the recording and distribution of their music – CD’s and Vinyl. The Tuff Gong compound has a recording studio, mastering room,… Continue reading What You’ll Find @ Tuff Gong International Kingston
Reggaeton in Jamaica? ReggaeWHO?
A Reggaeton conversation in Kingston that made Beaver happy: Beaver: Any Reggaeton here in Jamaica? Trevor Taxi Driver: ReggaeWHO? Beaver: ReggaeTON. Trevor Taxi Driver: Who, or What, is THAT? Beaver: It doesn’t matter. You never need, or want to know. No Reggaeton in Jamaica – Hallelujah!
Beenie Man – The King of Dancehall?
The taxi driver home from the Beenie Man gig at Tracks & Records in Kingston last night, thinks Beenie Man is THE King of Dancehall. Another Kingston taxi driver told me that the “Jamaican music industry” crowned Beenie Man as the King, and I have read that he crowned himself as such. So then, is Beenie Man… Continue reading Beenie Man – The King of Dancehall?
Fusion Music in Jamaica? “Nooooo way Mon”
A fusion music question at the Music Mart in Kingston, Jamaica… Beaver: Do you have any Jamaican music that’s a mix of reggae and other music genres? Like jazz, or funk or hip hop? Store Woman: Nooooooooooo. You can’t mix reggae with other things. Reggae is reggae. Beaver: They do it in other countries, a lot.… Continue reading Fusion Music in Jamaica? “Nooooo way Mon”
Colombian Fusion Music – A Different Perspective
Is Colombian fusion music being created for the purpose of making Colombian music edible for foreigners? A couple of people in Bogota have recently expressed those sentiments to me. One of them is Julian Mosquera Muñoz, Operations Manager at Fundacion Gilberto Alzate Avendano in Bogota. He says that for him, fusion music is: Like a cheap handicraft… Continue reading Colombian Fusion Music – A Different Perspective
Reggaeton Plague Spreads to Australia!
The reggaeton plague has spread to Australia. I couldn’t be more dismayed at stumbling across this ad. I heard reggaeton for the first time in Colombia 6 years ago – coming out of cars, houses and nightclubs everywhere in Cartagena. At very first listen it was a bit of a novelty. A fusion of sorts, put probably too… Continue reading Reggaeton Plague Spreads to Australia!
Bogota Music Venues – 3 Of The Best
Bogota has some very cool music venues and bars. There are A LOT of Bogota music venues and bars – of all sorts, for all tastes. It’s a huge city. Not sure what Los Bogotanos would say about that, but it’s all relative isn’t it? I live in a famous tourist destination yet I have very… Continue reading Bogota Music Venues – 3 Of The Best
Mitú – An Entrancing Electronic Music Experience
Last night in Bogota I had an absolutely unforgettable and entrancing musical experience. A most surprising and unexpected one: Mitú. I had no idea what the gig was. I only went to see some friends before I leave Bogota. What I found even before the main act was awesome – one of the coolest venues I’ve… Continue reading Mitú – An Entrancing Electronic Music Experience