Australian reggae

Reggae is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. Australia has several of 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.

History

Bob Marley & The Wailers toured Australia in 1979, playing Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth, Melbourne and Sydney. 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.

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 deejays 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.

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 major smash hit worldwide, it reached a peak of 12th position 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.

Sound systems and selectors

The original sound system in Sydney and Australia is Soulmaker, established in 1972 by J.J. Roberts, a Jamaican from Saint Catherine Parish. Other long-standing sound systems in Sydney include Nasty Tek and Firehouse. There are three sound systems in Australia that have their own custom-built amplifiers and speaker boxes: Jah Trinity in Adelaide, Heartical Hi-Fi in Melbourne and Champion Sound in Brisbane.

Reggae festivals

ReggaeTown is an annual reggae and roots music festival near Cairns in Far North Queensland. 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.

Reggae 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, producer, 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.

External links

• OzReggae.com - Australia's #1 Source For All Reggae Runnings

• - Reggae Dancehall Music Promotion and Marketing syndicate in Australasia