Ringbang is variously a Caribbean fusion of

music genre A music genre is a conventional category that identifies some pieces of music as belonging to a shared tradition or set of conventions. It is to be distinguished from '' musical form'' and musical style, although in practice these terms are som ...

s, a philosophy, and an

aesthetic Aesthetics, or esthetics, is a branch of philosophy that deals with the nature of beauty and taste, as well as the philosophy of art (its own area of philosophy that comes out of aesthetics). It examines aesthetic values, often expressed t ...

propounded by

Eddy Grant Edmond Montague Grant (born 5 March 1948) is a Guyanese-British singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, known for his genre-blending sound; his music has blended elements of pop, British rock, soul, funk, reggae, electronic music, Af ...

in 1994. In an interview circa 2000, Grant defined ringbang like this: In applying ringbang to music, Grant attempted to define a meta-style to encompass all Caribbean rhythms; it was to be a musical lingua franca. He wished this multicultural style to place no restrictions on

instrumentation Instrumentation a collective term for measuring instruments that are used for indicating, measuring and recording physical quantities. The term has its origins in the art and science of scientific instrument-making. Instrumentation can refer to ...

, and he said that he wanted no single country or culture to lay claim to it. Among ringbang's stylistic influences are calypso,

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, "Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use the ...

, soca, tuk, and

zouk Zouk is a musical movement pioneered by the French Antillean band Kassav' in the early 1980s. It was originally characterized by a fast tempo (120–145 bpm), a percussion-driven rhythm and a loud horn section. The fast zouk béton of Martin ...

. Grant says that the word "ringbang" comes from vocalists

scat singing In vocal jazz, scat singing is vocal improvisation with wordless vocables, nonsense syllables or without words at all. In scat singing, the singer improvises melodies and rhythms using the voice as an instrument rather than a speaking medium. ...

"Ringa-ringa-ringbang!". He chose the word one day in 1993, while standing in recording engineer Frank Agarrat's backyard in

Trinidad Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands of Trinidad and Tobago. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is often referred to as the southernmos ...

Ringbang music

In an attempt to popularise ringbang music and its underlying philosophy, Grant asked various recording artists to apply the word (which he

trademark A trademark (also written trade mark or trade-mark) is a type of intellectual property consisting of a recognizable sign, design, or expression that identifies products or services from a particular source and distinguishes them from oth ...

ed) to some of their songs. Barbadian recording artists Grynner, Square One, Viking Tundah, and others recorded ringbang tracks for Grant's

record label A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the prod ...

Ice Records Ice Records is a record label based in Barbados owned by musician Eddy Grant. In addition to Grant's music, the label also seeks "to record, promote and market classic calypso, soca and ringbang (Grant's fusion of various Caribbean music forms) ...

and Blue Wave Records. Among the ringbang albums on these labels were ''Fire in de Wave'' (1994), ''Ringbang Rebel Dance'' (1995), ''Ringbang Souljah'' (1996), and ''Ringbang Revolution'' (1997). On

New Year's Eve In the Gregorian calendar, New Year's Eve, also known as Old Year's Day or Saint Sylvester's Day in many countries, is the evening or the entire day of the December 31, last day of the year, on 31 December. The last day of the year is commonly ...

1999, Grant hosted a concert in

Tobago Tobago () is an island and ward within the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. It is located northeast of the larger island of Trinidad and about off the northeastern coast of Venezuela. It also lies to the southeast of Grenada. The offici ...

called Ringbang Celebration 2000, at which he performed with the Frontline Orchestra. The event drew approximately 11,000 people, and featured performances by artists from Antigua, Barbados, and Trinidad and Tobago. Calypso musician

Lord Kitchener Lord Kitchener may refer to: * Earl Kitchener, for the title * Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener Horatio Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener, (; 24 June 1850 – 5 June 1916) was a senior British Army officer and colonial administrator. ...

's brief appearance at the event was his final time onstage, as he died the following February. In March 2003, Ice Records published ''Ringbang 4 Kids'', a selection of songs intended for children of

primary school A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ed ...

age. The songs were performed by Barbadian singer Indra Rudder, who had previously sung backing vocals for several Ice Records tracks.

Ringbang music

See also

References

Further reading