Machines Don't Care is out - I dunno how I feel about it exactly. It's so fidget - excellent production values, questionable dance potential outside hardcore communities. I bought some of it cause you gotta support progressive dance music, but the reason I'm interested at all is the rebirth/renewal of ragga house.
Ragga house is at best a loose description of house music with reggae vocals over it. It can go anywhere from really gay big room shit to stuff that is indistinguishable from midtempo soca. Daddy Freddy really did start off the name and no one has really picked up the standard since.
Machines Don't Care take these tracks in a uk ragga jungle rave direction - house tempo for sure, but it doesn't have that special Caribbean bounce to it. They got some good vocalists and samples, but you can't wine to this stuff. Girls LOVE to wine whether they know they are doin it or not.
Here are a few acts that are doin something more sexy with the sound. While their is nothing profound about the vocals on any of these tracks, and the production may be of varying levels of quality, they make you feel sexy and help you move the waistline.
Greg B, Yves Larock, DJ Chuckie, DJ Assad, Cutee B, and before them MAW, Robbie Rivera, Simon Harris and others know that reggae and calypso-tinged 4/4 music is whats up.
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4 comments:
I really like the idea of ragga house, but...
Must say I'm not too impressed by the samples offered-up here - the exaggerated "soulfulness" of traditional house doesn't really gel very well with the harder sounds of ragga, which seem to blend in much better into DnB and Dubstep. I think I actually like the Machines Don't Care stuff better, but I do think you're right that it might not really work on the dancefloor.
I really like to see the UK-Jamaica exchange going on, though. I bet you could spend ages finding connections between this and stuff like skacid and trancehall.
Oh wait, I just realised that last link was to your own blog. :o
I'm on my grind son.
It's not just a UK connection - most of the more "soulfull" stuff is being made in Canada, Holland, and even Trinidad.
Also, in this context ragga is just a code word for Anglophone West Indian vocals - my fav crossovers are more on a soca tip.
My problem with DNB and Dubstep is the absence of any physical sexuality from the sound - aggressive and hype to be sure, but I like music you get laid to, not just throw bows
hello.
thank you so much for the information u've posted..i am a dj and have been given a mission to find more reggae "house.." i know bob s., yves larock, g. salto, some of these guys do it..but there MUST be more out there..it took me 2 days to even find this blog...please can someone help me source some other places to buy/learn about this music that doesn't really exist in my mind yet??!!
your help would be much appreciated...
cheers.
c
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