The Ska Education Thread

Muzak · 06-14-2009, 06:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dandelions

the slackers aren't 'skacore' or 'skapunk'. they play a mix of ska, reggae, rocksteady and dub. otherwise, good history.

my bad. Ill fix that

jamstar · 06-15-2009, 11:15 AM

Gotta listen to the Skatalites...especially their original stuff...in order to really appreciate this genre. It's influence on the modern day ska and, of course, reggae is very evident. These guys are not only legendary musicians, but very humble and down to earth. I did a show with them many years ago and it is still the best concert I ever did!

Daktari · 11-03-2009, 09:45 AM

Just agreeing with Jamstar here. The Skatalites are one of the main forerunners for all the ska style music that came later. Just mentioned this band in another thread but they are kind of carrying on in the same vein as the Skatalites.

They are JAZZ JAMAICA based in London I think. Very good at that old style brassy/horn section old school ska.

Gordon.

SATCHMO · 11-03-2009, 09:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Daktari

Just agreeing with Jamstar here. The Skatalites are one of the main forerunners for all the ska style music that came later. Just mentioned this band in another thread but they are kind of carrying on in the same vein as the Skatalites.

They are JAZZ JAMAICA based in London I think. Very good at that old style brassy/horn section old school ska.

Gordon.

Nice. I'll have to give em' a go.

jaheredudes · 01-05-2010, 07:16 PM

Less Than Jake is actually Ska, and why is no one talking about The Impossibles or Operation Ivy?

SBWNik · 03-25-2010, 01:45 AM

There's a hell of a lot missing from the intro regarding post 2-Tone ska. From memory...

Skank Records/Unicorn Records were around in the mid to late 80s and at the forefront of the UK post 2-Tone sound. Bands such as The Deltones, The Riffs, Hot Knives, The Trojans, Arthur Kays Originals, The Volecanoes and many more surfaced through there. The European ska scene started around now, primarily in Germany, but later becoming strong in France, Spain, Portugal and noteably in Italy. The European sound is probably the 'true' root of the 3rd wave sound as it became known.
Then the American scene got underway, led by British ex-patriot 'Bucket' who formed a little band called The Toasters in New York who rapidly became the leading light of the fledgling US scene, founding the Moon Ska record label. Other labels came through about this time, main contenders being Asian Man and Jump Up Records (In my opinion anyway...).
Also around this time the Japanese scene started to pick up, the main players at this time being The Ska Flames who avoided the 3rd wave sound and nodded more towards the Jamaican origins.
Also around this time was the brief cross breed of ska with the house movement, giving us AcidSka (or Skacid as it was occasionally known) which put samples and loops over the off beat.
Then it starts to get more complicated as the sound went worldwide, with more and more variations added as the 90s and early 00s went on.... ska punk, skacore, metal ska and more. Literally hundreds of bands emerged during this perios, many releasing only one or two tracks, others (such as Less Than Jake, Rancid, Against All Authority, The Slackers and many more) releasing a series of albums, and many of whom are still with us today.
Today there is hardly a country in the world that doesn't have its share of ska bands, from South America, the old Communist Bloc (Especially in Poland for some reason), Japan, North Africa... I've heard of bands of note in the Indian area, but in honesty I've not tracked anything down yet. But I will....

The current trend seems to be a return to the roots of the sound. Bands like The Slackers and The Aggrolites in the US, Simmertones in the UK, and a whole swathe of bands out of the Iberian peninsular are kicking out what can best be termed 'revived skinhead reggae' more than ska, but all are worth a listen, no matter what your interest in the music.

Hope this helps....

Nik

jaheredudes · 05-21-2010, 04:02 PM

and i did not see any streetlight manifesto, i think that they're 4th wave ska, or its just Tomas Kalnoky's musical ingenious

khfreek · 05-21-2010, 04:36 PM

there is no such thing as a fourth wave of ska

jackhammer · 05-21-2010, 06:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by khfreek

there is no such thing as a fourth wave of ska

The majority of 3rd wave ska is bad enough, let alone a 4th wave.

SBWNik · 05-22-2010, 09:54 PM

A lot certainly. But the majority? Nah..... you name me a bad un, and I'll match you with a good un!

11-03-2009, 09:45 AM	#33 (permalink)
Daktari Music Addict Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Originally from Lancashire, England, lived near Largs, Scotland and now live in Rocky Face, Georgia Posts: 154	Jazz Jamaica Just agreeing with Jamstar here. The Skatalites are one of the main forerunners for all the ska style music that came later. Just mentioned this band in another thread but they are kind of carrying on in the same vein as the Skatalites. They are JAZZ JAMAICA based in London I think. Very good at that old style brassy/horn section old school ska. Gordon.

05-21-2010, 04:36 PM	#38 (permalink)
khfreek What a guy Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Brentwood, TN Posts: 2,123	there is no such thing as a fourth wave of ska __________________ last.fm

06-15-2009, 11:15 AM	#32 (permalink)
jamstar Groupie Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: USA Posts: 2	Gotta listen to the Skatalites...especially their original stuff...in order to really appreciate this genre. It's influence on the modern day ska and, of course, reggae is very evident. These guys are not only legendary musicians, but very humble and down to earth. I did a show with them many years ago and it is still the best concert I ever did!

01-05-2010, 07:16 PM	#35 (permalink)
jaheredudes Groupie Join Date: Jan 2010 Posts: 22	Less Than Jake is actually Ska, and why is no one talking about The Impossibles or Operation Ivy?

03-25-2010, 01:45 AM	#36 (permalink)
SBWNik Music Addict Join Date: Mar 2010 Posts: 67	There's a hell of a lot missing from the intro regarding post 2-Tone ska. From memory... Skank Records/Unicorn Records were around in the mid to late 80s and at the forefront of the UK post 2-Tone sound. Bands such as The Deltones, The Riffs, Hot Knives, The Trojans, Arthur Kays Originals, The Volecanoes and many more surfaced through there. The European ska scene started around now, primarily in Germany, but later becoming strong in France, Spain, Portugal and noteably in Italy. The European sound is probably the 'true' root of the 3rd wave sound as it became known. Then the American scene got underway, led by British ex-patriot 'Bucket' who formed a little band called The Toasters in New York who rapidly became the leading light of the fledgling US scene, founding the Moon Ska record label. Other labels came through about this time, main contenders being Asian Man and Jump Up Records (In my opinion anyway...). Also around this time the Japanese scene started to pick up, the main players at this time being The Ska Flames who avoided the 3rd wave sound and nodded more towards the Jamaican origins. Also around this time was the brief cross breed of ska with the house movement, giving us AcidSka (or Skacid as it was occasionally known) which put samples and loops over the off beat. Then it starts to get more complicated as the sound went worldwide, with more and more variations added as the 90s and early 00s went on.... ska punk, skacore, metal ska and more. Literally hundreds of bands emerged during this perios, many releasing only one or two tracks, others (such as Less Than Jake, Rancid, Against All Authority, The Slackers and many more) releasing a series of albums, and many of whom are still with us today. Today there is hardly a country in the world that doesn't have its share of ska bands, from South America, the old Communist Bloc (Especially in Poland for some reason), Japan, North Africa... I've heard of bands of note in the Indian area, but in honesty I've not tracked anything down yet. But I will.... The current trend seems to be a return to the roots of the sound. Bands like The Slackers and The Aggrolites in the US, Simmertones in the UK, and a whole swathe of bands out of the Iberian peninsular are kicking out what can best be termed 'revived skinhead reggae' more than ska, but all are worth a listen, no matter what your interest in the music. Hope this helps.... Nik

05-21-2010, 04:02 PM	#37 (permalink)
jaheredudes Groupie Join Date: Jan 2010 Posts: 22	and i did not see any streetlight manifesto, i think that they're 4th wave ska, or its just Tomas Kalnoky's musical ingenious

05-22-2010, 09:54 PM	#40 (permalink)
SBWNik Music Addict Join Date: Mar 2010 Posts: 67	A lot certainly. But the majority? Nah..... you name me a bad un, and I'll match you with a good un!