Roots Archives Forum

According to you... why is the Jamaican sound so different...?? There is a warm magic touch in the 70s Jamaican sound that seems to be inimitable...
The vocals are not so concerned, I think, it's more the riddims...
What's behind this magic difference?

It´s the riddims an de sound. And the way how the music is produced. There are so many thins that influence the sound inna de studio...Even the material of a guitar cable (copper/silver/gold or a mix, the brand of the strings, the amp, the effect board, the mixing board, etc etc.

Is it an analog or a digital production, which mikes do i use, and so on and so forth.

I know that some set ups have been copied but
the jamaican used to sounddfferent and better. Well...) this can`t be explained cause it`s magic...)

Selah!

each studio in jamaica had a different flavour in sound, so you never get the same bland mixes. but the 70's sound was unique in it's own right.but the channel one sound was clean mixes as well as king tubbys was more rough edged [bass heavy] style.

Lots of ganga?

In one word

SUFFERATION.

Gave the JA sound and almighty edge.

Dave

I agree Rootsman.

I am a writer and have been a painter before for many years. I have always felt that the best written work comes from those that struggle, or even starve.

This is why there's so much rubbish about becuase it's written (or painted) by people from easy lives who just happen to have gone to a posh school with the publishers daughter.

Same with music, so much modern (and older) music is slush written and performed by psuedo rockers who were born into an easy life. They get bought a guitar by Mummy, sent to stage school by daddy, and their Uncle in the Music Biz helps them with that recording contract.

I have no time for this type of sound at all.

JA music was very much a meritocracy. It didn't matter how poor you were, it mattered how good you were, that's how you made it in JA.

Ditto Blues.

It's no co-incidence that Blues and Reggae (and sould and, but for me to a lesser extent, Jazz) have got such a dsimilar soulful feeling. It's music that pulls on your heart strings like no other music can.

In short: Hardship spawns creativity.

There is no escape from the sound.
It's all around the island. Sunshine/Hills/Sea/Food/Smoke/Drinks.
And the Beautiful & Nice people of Jamaica.

Lion

Nothing like the sound of jam1
love mi likkle island.

JAH LOVE

All of the above!

The only thing I'd add is that in the same way that those who suffer are driven to write/play great music, lack of production resources--hardware in particular--forces the development of more creative recording methods. If everyone had all the latest toys, would we even have Toasting, for example?

When I first heard of the notion of cutting 45s with a mono instrument track on one channel and a mono vocal track on the other, I was just floored by the simple brilliance of it. By using a stereo's balance knob to lower the original vocal, something new and original was made.

All from making do with what you have. The folks with all the "advantages" would never think of it in the first place. They didn't have to.

Peace,

James

"All from making do with what you have. The folks with all the "advantages" would never think of it in the first place. They didn't have to." Wrote James.

So true, so true.

All these replies make me think:

Time I visited Jamaica!