Okay, here’s my recent discovery-- Vendredi sur Mer, i.e. Charline Mignot from Romandy, Schweiz: [NSFW] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OhqUMFj51X0

And another one, crushing the down-low chill:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iA2QHIrBgSs

EDIT: honestly, I reacted poorly to the initial downvotes, and I apologise for that. I guess a good chunk of people were turned off by Mignot’s first video. Welp, it happens, altho assuming this is primarily a Euro-based audience, I find that a bit weird.

Which perhaps suggests that I’m wrong, and that this is more of an American Christian audience than I’d suspected… or something like that?

  • NacktmullMEnglish
    2·
    8 months ago

    You certainly have a good taste in music, Mr. Enzyme. Those two songs are considered the best Roots Reggae songs ever recorded by many connoisseurs of the genre.

    Satta Massa Gana is Amharic (an Ethiopian-Semitic language) for “Give thanks and praise”. The song, which was partly inspired by Carlton & The Shoes - Happy Land, is a deeply spiritual Rastafarian anthem, that is even used in religious services by certain Rastafarian tribes. It is the title song of the album Satta Massa Gana by The Abyssinians, which I wholeheartedly recommend. The riddim/instrumental of the song spawned a huge number of versions and as common in Reggae, was covered by different vocalists many times. You can check out a bunch of those here.

    Satta Massa Gana lyrics

    Row Fisherman Row, from the album Heart of the Congos, was recorded and mixed by my favorite producer of all times Lee “Scratch” Perry, bringing together some of the finest musicians and singers of the era, in his Black Ark Studio, at the peak of his artistic career. The way he arranged Cedric Myton’s falsetto and Roy “Ashanti” Johnson’s tenor is what makes this album so unique. Backing vocals by Gregory Isaacs and members of the Meditations and the Heptones -all artists that would usually not sing backing vocals but were celebrated stars of the genre themselves- perfected the outstanding vocal dynamics. The song is about hard working Rasta fishermen, rowing out to sea to catch fish, to feed their children and the people at home.

    Row Fisherman Row lyrics

    • JohnnyEnzymeOPMEnglish
      2·
      8 months ago

      Damn, thank you so much, professeur Nacktmull!
      TBH, I’ve never really delved in to roots reggae, so this is a nice little opportunity for me to learn about something I already loved.

      Satta Massa Gana is Amharic (an Ethiopian-Semitic language)

      Just free-associating here, but I recall the early Christian bible being written in… Aramaic? Could “Amharic” be an offshoot of sorts?

      Anyway, I’ll get listening to the Satta Massa Gana und Heart of the Congos albums, tout de suite! <3

      • NacktmullMEnglish
        2·
        8 months ago

        Just free-associating here, but I recall the early Christian bible being written in… Aramaic? Could “Amharic” be an offshoot of sorts?

        Interesting question! I never thought about it, so I gave it a quick check and it turns out you are right. Both languages not only belong to the Afroasiatic language family but also to it´s branch of the Semitic languages. The branch is divided into sub groups, with Aramaic belonging to the Central Semitic and Amharic belonging to the South Semitic sub groups, which are both part of the Western major sub group, as far as I understand it.

        Anyway, I’ll get listening to the Satta Massa Gana und Heart of the Congos albums, tout de suite! <3

        Enjoy, those albums are the Crème de la Crème!