The beat of the Caribbean

BENNA

Benna is one of the earliest types of local music from the twin islands. An up-tempo fold song, the music was introduced after the emancipation of enslaved people back in the 1830s and was a way of spreading scandalous rumours or gossip. Like so many styles of music with its origins in the African motherland, the song is performed in a call-and-response format with a leader and their audience. By the beginning of the 20 th century, it was used as an efficient way of communicating news across the island – a veritable oral gossip magazine. In the 1940s and 50s, Benna performer John “Quarkoo” Thomas sang songs about legal scandals and the juicy sex lives of the upper classes. Unfortunately, this was frowned upon by the people he was singing about, and he was sent to prison thanks to the lyrics of his song Cocoatea, which discussed the scandalous secret pregnancy of the daughter of a respected member of society.

CALYPSO

Calypso was born hundreds of years ago when the first African slaves were torn from their homeland and brought to work in the plantations of Trinidad. The sound of Calypso, or Kaiso as it was known then, was forged when the enslaved people, forbidden to talk amongst themselves, used song as a way of communicating with each other and a cathartic way to mock their cruel masters in the process. To the casual listener, it may appear to be happy, light-hearted music; it is, in fact, one of the most political musical traditions that exist. Today, although thankfully, those days of transatlantic slavery are well gone, Calypso remains a way of giving a voice to the people about their injustices and grievances through satire, puns and innuendo, albeit through highly rhythmic and catchy melodies. The first commercial recording was as early as 1912, but in the 1920s and 1930s, Calypso truly entered its golden era, culminating in the 1950s. One of the performers from the 1930s, Lord Kitchener, “the grandmaster of Calypso”, incredibly continued recording until his death in 2000. Other performers like Atilla the Hun, Lord Invader, Harry Belafonte and even civil right activist and writer Maya Angelou brought Calypso music to an international audience. Now at Carnival time around the Caribbean, although it is Calypso’s little sister, Soca, whose music has begun to dominate, Calypso remains popular both in the “tents” where Calypsonians perform during the festivities as well as in the hearts of its devoted fans. In Antigua & Barbuda, like all over the Caribbean, this music has had an indelible impact on people’s lives. The Antiguan Calypso crown must go to either King Swallow or King Short Shirt, some of the islands’ most important cultural icons.

SOCA

Not everyone may be familiar with the beat-driven sound of Soca music outside of the Caribbean, unlike reggae or Calypso. It is certainly one of the most popular styles of music in the region today and is undeniably the reigning soundtrack of Carnival, with the music pumping from every sound system during the festivities. One thing is for sure - when you hear this music, it is nigh on impossible to stop dancing. For the uninitiated, Soca is high-energy music and a heady mix of Calypso, loud vocals, electronic jazz beats, thumping bass lines, horns and infectious rhythms. Soca originated in Trinidad & Tobago as a by-product of Calypso when back in the 1970s, the latter was being pushed aside by the younger generation. Trinidadian Garfield Blackman, aka Lord Shorty, widely considered the “Father of Soca”, made the ground-breaking decision to fuse Calypso with East Indian music, which was also prevalent in his home country, and Soca was born for the new generation. As another Trinidadian Soca artist, Kees Dieffenthaller, succinctly puts it, Soca is “the adolescent child of Calypso”. The genre is constantly evolving, and each country and performer is putting their own spin on that infectious sound. Machel Montano from Trinidad is undoubtedly the current King of Soca. However, Antigua & Barbuda have had its fair share of Soca greats, including the Burning Flames, formed in the 1980s and hugely influential in modernising Soca in the Eastern Caribbean. And today, “Soca Diva” Claudette Peters, Ricardo Drue and Tian Winter are the stars bringing this happy and popular music to their people. Just let yourself dance.

For the uninitiated, Soca is highenergy music and a heady mix of Calypso, loud vocals, electronic jazz beats, thumping bass lines, horns and infectious rhythms.

REGGAE

Reggae could be considered the quintessential Caribbean music with its smooth sounds evoking the swaying palms and white sands for which the region is famous. But it wasn’t always considered to be a smooth sound. Indeed, before reggae icon – and arguably one of the most recognised faces on the planet even today – Bob Marley introduced reggae to the world, reggae was considered a true mishmash of other styles. Inextricably linked to the Rastafarian religion and social movement that began in 1930s Jamaica – and to which religion Marley himself belonged – reggae followed the development of ska, rocksteady and mento. Since then, it has become a musical voice for the Jamaican people to tell the world about their struggles, history and culture. Although the music has rapidly spread around the Caribbean and indeed the world, it is still fundamentally a Jamaican art form. Today, reggae is so revered that it has even been added to UNESCO’s “Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity” list. Its influence is undeniable on so many genres in music that came after, whether it’s hiphop or mainstream pop, rock or even punk. In the twin islands, reggae is extremely popular; its people having lived much the same experiences as their Caribbean compatriots. Its popularity has given rise to homegrown talent like Antigua & Barbuda’s Reggae Ambassador, Causion, who uses his passion and joy for music to speak about social issues and spread the central message of reggae: that of peace and love.

Today, reggae is so revered that it has even been added to UNESCO’s “Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity” list. Its influence is undeniable on so many genres in music that came after, whether it’s hip-hop or mainstream pop, rock or even punk.

Some facts about Caribbean music

The presence of European elements in Afro-Caribbean music is reflective of the music that enslaved people were forced to play for their masters.

Soca was initially spelt “Sokah” to reflect its East Indian influences, but after a newspaper made a spelling error and called it “Soca”, the new name stuck.

Zouk music started in the 1970s in the Frenchspeaking Caribbean, especially in Guadeloupe and Martinique.

The Rumba is one of the most important and universal Cuban styles of music.

The national dance of Antigua and Barbuda is the Quadrille.

Calypso gets its name from a type of tent made of palm trees called a calypso in Trinidad & Tobago, which hosted masqueraded bands.

Jamaican-American singer Harry Belafonte was called the “King of Calypso” thanks to his bringing Calypso to the world.

His album Calypso was the first million-selling album by a single artist.

The Antiguan Carnival is a celebration of emancipation from slavery and is a festival of music and dance.

Music then re-emerged when the enslaved

Africans came to the Caribbean starting in the 16 th century; however, the official local industry only began in the 1920s.

Music in the Caribbean was first developed by the indigenous cultures. When they died out in the 16 th century, the people took their music and culture to the grave with them.

The Antigua fife (similar to a piccolo) and the Barbuda banjo are two hand-crafted instruments from the twin islands, which were used in local folk music.