The Riddim-Driven Phenomenon

By: Charles H.E. Campbell

Let us go back to beginning when in most cases studio/session musicians were expected to not just arrange but also compose the music. To quote bassist Jackie Jackson, who from 1965 was a studio musician at Duke Reid’s Treasure Isle label where Tommy McCook was musical director, “Singers would come with the lyrics of the song and sometimes the melody. Except in the case of those like Alton Ellis who had sufficient working experience, the singers never came with properly structured or constructed songs.” This task was the responsibility of the musicians. “Sometimes the bridge may come too early or too late in the song, or we have to put the solo first.”

When the singer/group enters the studio they “automatically go over to the pianist who finds and sets the key of the song, comes up with the introduction and often the melody. The guitarists and bassist join in with the pianist, then the horns, if any. Usually, the drummer is the last to join because all he has to do is provide the rhythm, while the others have to configure keys, instrumental chords, harmonies and progressions.” By the time this process is complete and the song recorded, the producer is delivered a product, which he can opt to accept, reject or even alter to his preferences, because ultimately, the producer had the final say in what was released to the palate of the public- the songs he knew were good and would become hits. This meant that producers like Duke Reid, Clement Dodd, Leslie Kong, Sonia Pottinger, clamored to surround themselves with excellent musicians, composers and arrangers, who could deliver the hit songs. Importantly, these were the days when songs were complimented by an arrangement which was unique to that song.

Nowadays, in our ‘riddim-driven’ market, where the riddim is being promoted over the song and where a riddim must have a host of artistes on it to sell, home studios rule the roost. The process has been virtually turned on its head, with one result being that oftentimes a distinct sound overwhelms the input of music on any particular (Dancehall) record. This entire trend began in 1985, early examples of which were King Jammy’s Sleng Teng Riddim, Blood Fire Posse’s Rub-A-Dub Soldier and Tiger’s When.

The revolution in technology saw the introduction and large scale use of drum machines, synthesizers and sequencers, as opposed to live instrumentation, and also led to the rise in the establishment of various ‘home studios’- ‘studios’ which can be housed even in a bedroom, but with the aid of a single piece of equipment like Pro-Tools, Midi Production Centre (MPC) or Nuendo and with the use of computor programs like Fruity Loops, to build rhythm patterns, record voices and produce other musical instrumentation. These facilities therefore, allow even one person to complete an entire song on their own.

This lone individual, the producer, will sit around the device or computor and begin the process of making a riddim. He will select a drum pattern, a bass line, guitar and piano riffs to compose his riddim. Oft times without the experience of a musical background.

The production and outcome of the riddim therefore, is left primarily up to the ‘producer’s’ whim or ‘vibes’. In some cases he may be aided by the computor program which can automatically detect errors in musical passages, for example, a note inconsistent with the key of a song, giving him the chance to correct it.

At the point at which the producer assumes or believes he has achieved a suitable product, he shortlists a batch of 10 or 20 artistes who will ‘voice’ the riddim- some artistes even approach producers to be on a particular ‘hot’ riddim. The riddim is given to the select top artistes who in turn retreat to their own home studios. The artiste writes a song on the riddim, voices (records his voice), then returns it to the producer.

The producer therefore has no say or input in the production of the vocal track of which the purpose is to compliment his rhythm. In cases where the producer may find that there are passages in the vocal performance that are not pleasing to the ear or complimentary to the riddim track, he has one of two options, scrap the project or ‘work wid it’.

This is not to say that there is no good music being produced locally, though it sometimes seems that this is what Jamaican radio would have us believe. One has to go to Europe- Germany, Italy, France and Switzerland- even as far away as Japan and Israel to hear these. What is more, their musicians have now mastered the genre and are producing some incredible indigenous works. I remember being in Ghana, in the 1980’s, fascinated by music I was seeing and hearing live in a night club- sometimes 36 piece orchestras playing Reggae, fusing African percussive instruments alongside the guitar, bass, keyboard, drum set and horns.

There is hope yet. Our music is turning again because some of our master musicians have taken up the role of producer. However, they still face the problem of how to compete with money launderers who elicit payola in the local mass media. Rather than going to a producer who has to hire a group of 5-10 session musicians at $5000 per track each- a figure which has remained unchanged for 20 years- plus other overheads like backing vocalists, engineers, booking studio time, tape and cds for a probable total of J$250,000, this executive producer contracts ‘reducers’ who can complete the project for J$60,000.

The ‘executive producer’ then goes to a sound system or two and pays to have the tune played. The radio stations follows soon as some disc jocks willingly accept cash upfront for the frequent play of particular records. These payments are often significantly higher than that which is spent on the actual production of the record.

In recent times, the corruption has worsened with the radio disc jocks themselves now producing their own riddims, played and promoted by their fellow disc jocks. This is obviously a conflict of interest which is by its very nature immoral if not illegal. Certainly, this is a burning issue that needs the attention of the Public Broadcasting Commission- over to you Mr. Cordel Green.

On yet another level, some producers will even approach roadside jugglers, who illegally reproduce compilations for the bandoolu market, including buses and taxis, pirating their own works while cheating formal music marketers in the process, in order to build local market hype, in the hopes that a major label or distributor like Greensleeves, VP Records or Atlantic will pick up their product for redistribution. Currently, the average dancehall single that will eventually chart, will sell only about as many as 1000 records locally, at J$80-100 a pop. You do the math. In the meantime, most dancehall artistes attain their main income from live appearances in the dancehall and on stage shows.

The irony in all of this is, whether you like a particular hit tune or not, if you listen with an objective ear to all the Dancehall singles that make it big internationally, they are well produced songs.

© C.H.E. Campbell 2005.