Rebel Music: Slavery’s multiple heritage

The exploitation of the "wood and water land" - Xaymaca, in Arawak - began with the arrival of Christopher Columbus in 1494. It was occupied by Spaniards from 1509 to 1655 and invaded by Englishmen after that period, becoming the hub of the colonial Caribbean economy and slave trade. The multiple peoples kidnapped in different regions of Africa until the beginning of the nineteenth century were taken to forced labour mainly in sugarcane plantations. Throughout that time, the resistance of these peoples never ceased and new forms of religious cults emerged from a mixture of Christian and African influences, creating sounds and dances that sowed the foundations of Jamaican music.

From that cultural effervescence emerges the “mento” style, which is currently known as the oldest form of Jamaican Creole music, born in the nineteenth century as a form of rural folk music.

“Mento” is a fusion of the heritage of enslavement, drawn from the songs and dances of West Africa as well as the colonial customs of the period, like the “quadrille”, an European society dance. Its heyday was in the 1950s, paving the way to the style known as “ska”, which blew up the music scene.

The soundtrack of independence

With the end of World War II, a worldwide process of decolonization began and Jamaica gained independence in 1962, which contaminated the population with euphoria. In this climate, ska - a blend of local traditions with rhythm and blues and jazz with a distinctive beat - escalated and became Jamaica's first musical phenomenon to reach international audiences. The Skatalites lead this movement and achieved great success.

In a certain way, the boarding school called Alpha Boys School was responsible for that phenomenon because all members of The Skatalites were educated by the Catholic nuns who provided rigorous musical training. In addition, other alumni as well as members of Israel Vibration, Cedric Brooks, Vin Gordon, Leroy "Horsemouth" Wallace, Leroy Smart, Yellowman and Leslie Thompson (the first black conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra) are also linked to that school.

Studio One, The Black Ark and King Tubby’s studio: A production circle like no other

In the late 1950s, small street discotheques emerged, increasing the popularity of the “sound systems” and the need to play unique tracks. In this context, studios and music itself began to play a major political, social and economic role in Jamaican society. During the decades that followed, musical techniques practiced at Kingston studios were adopted, simulated and reinvented around the world.

Studio One, founded by Clement Seymour "Coxsone" Dodd (1932-2004) is claimed to be the first black owned music studio in the island and responsible for launching the career of singers like Bob Marley and The Wailers, Burning Spear, Ras Michael, Alton Ellis, Ken Boothe, Horace Andy and The Skatalites. Memorabilia from Dodd’s studios can be seen at the exhibition, including some musical instruments like Jackie Mittoo's organ and sound system speakers together with personal photographs.

At the same time, sound engineer and producer Lee “Scratch” Perry (born in 1936) equipped with a four-track recorder and some drum machines, invented production techniques that spread beyond reggae circuits and are still used today.

On the other hand, the console of music producer King Tubby (1941-1989) is one of the exhibition highlights. He is a pioneer of musical reinterpretation and showed the world the importance of sound engineering. Also known as the “dub master”, he invented the remix, a popular music technique used nowadays.

The movie The Harder They Come (1971) took reggae to Europe through its soundtrack. Jimmy Cliff plays Vincent "Ivanhoe" Martin, an aspirant singer inspired by a real-life crook known as “Rhygin” who was famous in the 1940s. Rare memorabilia related to this film is also on display.

The true musical instrument of Jamaica

Radio became popular in the 1950s, so young entrepreneurs began organizing outdoor dance events where any record could be played at. The sound system is born: street partying with loudspeakers introduced mobile disco and dancehall dancing in island’s routine.

This new trend was turned into an industry with the investments of Tom The Great Sebastian and V Rocket, giving birth to the first sound systems: The Trojan (Duke Reid), Coxson's Downbeat (Clement Dodd) and Voice of the People (Prince Buster). This movement was characterized by technical, stylistic and musical innovations such as remixing and is considered to be the foundation the DJs culture as we know it today.

These celebrations were advertised through hand-painted posters that announce the dancehalls and sound systems but they were considered illegal by local authorities who used to seize and destroy them. This rich material represents visual and linguistic heritage and has been collected by Jamaican producer Maxine in the last 15 years.

The meshed destinies of “Jah, Rastafari” and Marcus Garvey

“Black Man Time” is a tribute to I-Roy's music which illustrates the fate of two important and intertwined historical figures often cherished in Jamaican music, particularly in reggae: Ethiopian emperor Haile Selassie and activist Marcus Garvey.

Between 1680 and 1786, the United Kingdom deported nearly two million Africans to its colonies. The resistance of the enslaved thus establishes the basis for a working-class consciousness, which is shaped by figures of black pride, such as Marcus Garvey (1887-1940). Known for black nationalism, born in Jamaica but active in the United States, Marcus Garvey becomes one of the advocates of pan-Africanism. The other figure is Haile Selassie (1892-1975), Emperor of Ethiopia, who embodies resistance against oppression and colonialism. After his coronation in 1930, Selassie is proclaimed the incarnation of God by the Rastafari - Jamaican spiritual and philosophical movement.

In the late 1960s, fuelled by determination to overthrow the system of enslavement and colonialism, the Rastafarians transformed reggae into a cry of militant, seditious and mystical pride to re-establish their ties with Africa and its ancestors.

Because of violent repression in colonial Jamaica, the first Rastafarians took refuge in the hills around Kingston, where they develop a type of music called “Nyabinghi” under the influence of percussionist Count Ossie (1926-1976).

Rastafarian percussionists created their studio in 1960 and promoted encounters named “grounddations”, led by a trio of drums - bass, fusion and repeater - whose rhythms seem to follow heartbeats.

Bob Marley, The Wailers and the political violence in Jamaica

Legendary Jamaican musician Bob Marley was born in the rural town of Nine Mile and spent most of his youth in the West Kingston ghetto of Trenchtown. He met Peter Tosh (1944-1987) and Bunny Livingston (born 1947) to form The Wailers. In 1964, “Simmer Down” becomes a hit in Jamaica and The Wailers continue to sing about Trenchtown throughout their career, always surrounded by street violence.

In 1972, the band signed a contract with Chris Blackwell’s record label called Island but the group split up because the label only used to promote the singer Bob Marley, who introduced Kingston to the world before his death in 1981.

The marks of violence end up transforming the guitar shaped into the form of a machine gun in one of the symbols of reggae music at the time as well as an icon of rebellion and militancy. Originally created and used by California-based guitarist Bruno Coon from the Prairie Fire rock group, it becomes notorious in the hands of Peter Tosh, who bought it for USD 550 after a show in Los Angeles in 1983. This instrument is one of the flagship pieces of the exhibition.

Jamaican music after Bob Marley

With the death of Bob Marley in 1981, Jamaican music lost one of its greatest international representatives. At the same time, a new strand of reggae begins to take hold in the ghettos of the island: the dancehall. Far from the Rastafari spirituality of the past, this new sound narrates life in the culture of the sound system, focused on beauty and body. Impaired by foreign debt since the first loan from the IMF in 1977, Jamaica was becoming even more impoverished and, with a provocative tone and lyrics about guns and sex, the new genre became one of the symbols of relaxation for people oppressed by everyday pressures. With dancehall, new codes are created, a musical and corporal movement, born on dance floors to the rhythm of sound systems.

The English record label Greensleeves, founded in 1977, reflects the climate of the early 1980s, when dub comes to an end and the dancehall phase begins. When it released albums from several Jamaican producers, Greensleeves forged part of the visual identification of this new kind of sound with the support of comic book-influenced illustrator Tony McDermott.