Ska

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Ska is defined as being a type of Jamaican music that appeared around 1960. It combined several elements from R&B, jazz, calypso and mento.

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The waves

Specialists define three steps in ska evolution. They were described as waves

  1. The First Wave – The period after World War II made it possible for Jamaicans to listen to American radio stations. They especially enjoyed R&B and the demand for the genre increased. This was the reason behind entrepreneurs bringing in portable sound systems. They were used wherever needed and the operators were able to get hot R&B records from America. The demand became higher and competition became viewable among the early DJs. As time passed records became unavailable because of the popularity decrease R&B was showing in the United States. Jamaicans started to record their own songs with some modifications creating early ska music. American music changed and so did the new genre by incorporating elements from jazz and rock.
  2. The Second Wave – The following period is also known as Two Tone. It brought in elements from punk rock, making ska develop even more towards the sound of today. This happened around 1970 and the style was adopted by some British Bands as well. Ska started to be known around the world and became a powerful influence for many successful bands at that time.
  3. The Third Wave – Around 1990 ska arrived in the country that gave it most of the presented influences, America. Musicians adopted ska and combined it with other elements taken from punk, hardcore and extras from jazz and rock. Two subgenres appeared: skacore and ska punk. Many people will use the term ska to define these two instead of the original elements that make the genre.

The last years saw ska trying to comeback. Several bands have taken up the genre and have made it possible for more people to get in contact with it. Although popularity rose it is believed that it will never reach the level it had in the 50s and 60s. That time is considered to be the most popular period for ska music.

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