Sleng Teng is the name given to one of the first fully computerized
riddim
Riddim is the Jamaican Patois pronunciation of the English word "rhythm". In the context of reggae and dancehall, it refers to the instrumental accompaniment to a song and is synonymous with the rhythm section. Jamaican music genres that use the ...
s, influential in
Jamaican music
The music of Jamaica includes Jamaican folk music and many popular genres, such as mento, ska, rocksteady, reggae, dub music, dancehall, reggae fusion and related styles.
Reggae is especially popular through the international fame of Bob Marle ...
and beyond. The riddim, which was the result of work by
Noel Davey,
Ian "Wayne" Smith, and
Lloyd "King Jammy" James, was first released with Wayne's vocals under the title "Under Mi Sleng Teng" in early 1985.
Composition
In mid-1984
Jamaican musician
George "Buddy" Haye went on tour to the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
with the
Wailing Souls
The Wailing Souls (originally The Renegades) are a Jamaican reggae vocal group whose origins date back to the 1960s. The group has undergone several line-up changes over the years with Winston "Pipe" Matthews and Lloyd "Bread" McDonald the only c ...
. Before he left Jamaica, Buddy had promised a young musician named Noel Davey that he would buy a synthesizer while in the United States and bring it back to him. Wailing frontman
Rudolph "Garth" Dennis had recommended Davey as an up-and-coming talent to foster. Although Davey was expecting a programmable synthesizer (he had been promised a
Yamaha DX7
The Yamaha DX7 is a synthesizer manufactured by the Yamaha Corporation from 1983 to 1989. It was the first successful digital synthesizer and is one of the best-selling synthesizers in history, selling more than 200,000 units.
In the early 1980 ...
) Garth delivered a consumer-grade
Casiotone MT-40 keyboard.
This keyboard only held recordings of sound, triggered by user input, rather than waveform generators whose outputs can be extensively modified, as on more expensive keyboards like the DX7 (the 1984 retail price of the DX7 was $1,995, almost fourteen times the cost of the MT-40).
Undeterred, Davey and fellow musician Wayne Smith played with the keyboard for several weeks. One day Davey accidentally triggered the "rock" bassline preset, which he heard for a few seconds before the keyboard setting was changed and the rhythm ceased playing. He and Wayne spent most of the next week trying combination after combination of the Casio's settings until Davey re-discovered the "rock" bass preset. The preset is accessed by pressing the "synchro" button and then the "D" bass button (second from left) while the MT-40 rhythm selector slider is in the "rock" position. It cannot be triggered after the rhythm function has been started.
Davey and Wayne Smith arranged the first version of the Sleng Teng riddim, which was considerably faster than the final release. Smith then rehearsed a
toast
Toast most commonly refers to:
* Toast (food), bread browned with dry heat
* Toast (honor), a ritual in which a drink is taken
Toast may also refer to:
Places
* Toast, North Carolina, a census-designated place in the United States
Books
* '' ...
over the riddim, with lyrics inspired by
Barrington Levy
Barrington Ainsworth Levy (born 30 April 1964) is a Jamaican reggae and dancehall artist.
Career
Levy was born in Clarendon, Jamaica. He formed a band called the Mighty Multitude, with his cousin, Everton Dacres; the pair released "My Blac ...
's "Under Mi Sensi" and
Yellowman
Winston Foster , better known by the stage name Yellowman, is a Jamaican reggae and dancehall deejay, also known as King Yellowman. He first became popular in Jamaica in the 1980s, rising to prominence with a series of singles that established ...
's "Under Me Fat Ting".
[Manuel, P. & Marshal, W. "The Riddim Method: Aesthetics, Practice, and Ownership in Jamaican Dancehall." ''Popular Music'' (2006) 25:3. Cambridge University Press, pp. 447–470 http://wayneandwax.com/academic/manuel-marshall_riddim-method.pdf] Davey and Smith brought the riddim and toast to noted producer and dub mixer King Jammy in December of 1984. Jammy slowed the riddim down, matched it to Smith's singing key and placed piano and clap tracks over it.
[Katz, David (2014)]
Wayne Smith's Under Mi Sleng Teng – the song that revolutionised reggae
, ''The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'', 20 February 2014. Retrieved 23 February 2014[Cooke, Mel (2015)]
30 Years Of Sleng Teng - King Jammy Recalls Impact Of Digital Breakthrough
, ''Jamaica Gleaner
''The Gleaner'' is an English-language, morning daily newspaper founded by two brothers, Jacob and Joshua de Cordova on 13 September 1834 in Kingston, Jamaica. Originally called the ''Daily Gleaner'', the name was changed on 7 December 1992 to ' ...
'', 12 April 2015. Retrieved 12 April 2015
While Jammy recalled knowing immediately that he had helped create something special once he listened to the final mix, he also said he was still completely unprepared for the response to Sleng Teng's first public performance. The song was unleashed as part of a now-legendary
sound clash
A sound clash is a musical competition where crew members from opposing sound systems pit their skills against each other. Sound clashes take place in a variety of venues, both indoors and outdoors, and primarily feature reggae and dancehall music. ...
between Jammy's own
sound system and the
Black Scorpio
Black Scorpio is a Jamaican sound system and record label run by Maurice "Jack Scorpio" Johnson.
History
Johnson had started to operate a single turntable and speaker sound system in 1968 and started the Special I sound system in 1972, changing ...
at Waltham Park Road on February 23, 1985. Jammy won the clash by acclamation, with the audience demanding "Under Me Sleng Teng" be played over and over.
Jammy formally released this version a week later as a single on his own label. Jammy also recorded a number of other artists (in addition to Wayne Smith) on this Sleng Teng backing track. These included
Tenor Saw
Clive Bright (2 December 1966 – August 1988), better known as Tenor Saw, was a Jamaican dancehall singjay in the 1980s, considered one of the most influential singers of the early digital reggae era. His best-known song was the 1985 hit "Ring ...
(with "Pumpkin Belly") and
Johnny Osbourne
Johnny Osbourne (born Errol Osbourne, 1948) is one of the most popular Jamaican reggae and dancehall singers of all time, who rose to success in the late 1970s and mid-1980s. His album '' Truths and Rights'' was a roots reggae success, and featu ...
(with "Buddy Bye"). The Sleng Teng
riddim
Riddim is the Jamaican Patois pronunciation of the English word "rhythm". In the context of reggae and dancehall, it refers to the instrumental accompaniment to a song and is synonymous with the rhythm section. Jamaican music genres that use the ...
went on to spawn nearly 500 cover versions. Its success is widely credited with single-handedly transitioning reggae from analog to computerized production. This transition to digital music production using synthesizers, drum machines and samplers follows the computerization of
hip-hop music, which, like reggae, had been recorded with a band and traditional music instruments. Given the lasting consequences of the ''Sleng Teng'' riddim, the MT-40's "rock" preset has been the subject of considerable speculation.
The MT-40 "rock" preset
The famous preset was composed in 1980 by a then newly-hired music engineer at
Casio
is a Japanese multinational electronics manufacturing corporation headquartered in Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan. Its products include calculators, mobile phones, digital cameras, electronic musical instruments, and analogue and digital watches. It ...
,
Okuda Hiroko.
She was assigned to create several of the MT-40 consumer keyboard's presets, among them a "rock" rhythm. Okuda had been hired fresh out of music school, where she had produced one of Japan's first graduate theses on reggae. In 2022 she described herself as having been immersed in reggae for several years before her 1980 hire by Casio (the previous year, during Bob Marley's only visit to Japan, Okuda had attended more than three performances from the tour).
Tellingly, the "rock" preset is not usable at a normal rock and roll tempo (around 172
bpm). Only when the tempo knob is turned down to the 80-110 bpm range, home to reggae and
dub, does it become possible to play an accompaniment to the "rock" preset. Okuda only learned of her part in "Under Me Sleng Teng"'s global success in August of 1986, when she read an article titled “The Sleng Teng Flood” in Japan's ''Music Magazine''. The article described the wave of dozens and dozens of reggae songs being produced in Jamaica, all based on a Casiotone keyboard preset.
After the worldwide success of ''Sleng Teng'' many speculated as to the ultimate source of the "rock" preset. At first
Eddie Cochran
Ray Edward Cochran (; October 3, 1938 – April 17, 1960) was an American rock and roll musician. Cochran's songs, such as "Twenty Flight Rock", "Summertime Blues", " C'mon Everybody" and " Somethin' Else", captured teenage frustration and desire ...
's 1958 song "
Somethin' Else" or the
Sex Pistols
The Sex Pistols were an English punk rock band formed in London in 1975. Although their initial career lasted just two and a half years, they were one of the most groundbreaking acts in the history of popular music. They were responsible for ...
' 1976 track "
Anarchy in the UK
"Anarchy in the U.K." is a song by English punk rock band the Sex Pistols. It was released as the band's debut single on 26 November 1976 and was later featured on their album ''Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols''. "Anarchy in th ...
" were thought to be prime candidates, with "Somethin' Else" being widely accepted for decades by connoisseurs. In 2015 Okuda was quoted as saying the source was a track on an unnamed 1970's British rock album. This was later speculated to be the intro to
David Bowie
David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...
's "
Hang On to Yourself", the 8th track on his 1972 album ''
The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars
''The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars'' (often shortened to ''Ziggy Stardust'') is the fifth studio album by English musician David Bowie, released on 16June 1972 in the United Kingdom through RCA Records. It was co-pr ...
.'' However, referring to the question in 2022, Okuda said, “I did use to listen to a lot of British rock, so I’m sure there must have been songs that influenced me. But really, the bassline was something I came up with myself. It wasn’t based on any other tune.”
According to Okuda, there was some talk at the Casio corporation of attempting to defend their intellectual property from its free use in "Under Me Sleng Teng" with lawsuits.
However, other voices at Casio (among them the head of the Musical Instrument division, co-founder of the company, and second-eldest Kashio brother,
Toshio Kashio
Toshio is a common masculine Japanese given name.
Possible writings
Toshio can be written using different kanji characters and can mean:
*敏夫, "agile, man"
*敏男, "agile, man"
*敏雄, "agile, male"
*俊夫, "sagacious, man"
*俊雄, "sagaci ...
) prevailed. Toshio Kashio in particular felt strongly that the company's mission ought to be “bringing the pleasure of playing a musical instrument to everyone.”
Despite the minute size and financial importance of the Musical Instrument division compared to the company's calculator division, then its main breadwinner, Toshio Kashio's defence of free use set a decisive corporate precedent. To the present day Casio's response to clearance requests for the "rock" preset has been an acknowledgement that the song “uses a sound file taken from a Casio MT-40”, and no fee.
The preset is accessed by pressing the "synchro" button and then the "D" bass button (second from left) while the MT-40 rhythm slider is in the "rock" position.
Influence
Scholars Peter Manuel and
Wayne Marshall argue that Sleng Teng "was seminal in various ways ...
tfurther consolidated the trend toward the new production of riddims based on short
ostinato
In music, an ostinato (; derived from Italian word for ''stubborn'', compare English ''obstinate'') is a motif or phrase that persistently repeats in the same musical voice, frequently in the same pitch. Well-known ostinato-based pieces include ...
s, rather than reliance on vintage B-side tracks, with their occasionally problematic chord progressions." Secondly, it sounded thoroughly novel and different from the "overused
Studio One classics". Third, its success promoted the wide use of digital production methods, where "a keyboard synthesizer, sequencer, and drum machine, or access to these, could generate a new riddim, without having to spend money on studio time or studio musicians."
Sleng Teng is among the most versioned (rerecorded) of Jamaican riddims, with nearly 500 versions. The riddim was updated by Jammy in 2005 (slightly speeded up, with added horn
riff
A riff is a repeated chord progression or refrain in music (also known as an ostinato figure in classical music); it is a pattern, or melody, often played by the rhythm section instruments or solo instrument, that forms the basis or accompani ...
) and this variation is known as "Sleng Teng Resurrection". Several new cuts on the original Sleng Teng were also released by Jammys in 2005 in celebration of the riddim's 20th anniversary. Some of Jammy's productions based on the rhythm were also released on the albums ''Sleng Teng Extravaganza'' and ''Sleng Teng Extravaganza 95''.
King Tubby
Osbourne Ruddock (28 January 1941 – 6 February 1989), better known as King Tubby, was a Jamaican sound engineer who greatly influenced the development of dub in the 1960s and 1970s.
Tubby's innovative studio work, which saw him elevate the ...
, who had originally taught Jammy how to produce music, was inspired by the track to create his own "Tempo" riddim.
Jammy recorded a number of other artists aside from Wayne Smith on the original backing track artists including Tenor Saw (with "Pumpkin Belly"), and Johnny Osbourne (with "Buddy Bye").
Notable reggae/dancehall kings
Super Cat
William Anthony Maragh (born 25 June 1963),Huey, Steve " Super Cat Biography, Allmusic, retrieved 18 July 2010 also known as Super Cat, is a Jamaican deejay who achieved widespread popularity during the late 1980s and early 1990s dancehall mo ...
,
Ninjaman
Desmond John Ballentine (born January 24, 1966), better known as Ninjaman, and sometimes as Don Gorgon is a Jamaican dancehall deejay and actor, known for his controversial and pro-gun lyrics and his stuttering and melodramatic style. In 2017, he ...
, and
Yellowman
Winston Foster , better known by the stage name Yellowman, is a Jamaican reggae and dancehall deejay, also known as King Yellowman. He first became popular in Jamaica in the 1980s, rising to prominence with a series of singles that established ...
, as well as many more, have sampled their own versions of the Sleng Teng riddim.
International influence
British
breakbeat hardcore
Breakbeat hardcore (also referred to as hardcore rave or oldskool hardcore) is a music genre of the very early 1990s that spawned from the UK rave scene. It combines four-on-the-floor rhythms with breakbeats usually sampled from hip hop. In ...
group
SL2 sampled the bass line for their UK hit rave track "Way in My Brain" in 1991.
American electronic duo
Discovery
Discovery may refer to:
* Discovery (observation), observing or finding something unknown
* Discovery (fiction), a character's learning something unknown
* Discovery (law), a process in courts of law relating to evidence
Discovery, The Discovery ...
uses a similar musical style in "Slang Tang" from their album ''
LP'' in a nod to Sleng Teng.
British musician
M.I.A. references Sleng Teng in the track "Pull Up the People" on her album ''
Arular
''Arular'' is the debut studio album by British recording artist M.I.A. It was released on 22 March 2005 in the United States, and one month later in the United Kingdom, with a slightly different track listing. In 2004, the album's release was ...
''
Wayne Smith's "Under Mi Sleng Teng" has also been used in the promotional trailer on British TV
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...
show ''
This Is England '86
''This Is England '86'' is a 2010 British drama miniseries written by Shane Meadows and Jack Thorne, a spin-off from the 2006 film ''This Is England''. Set three years later, it focuses on the mod revival scene rather than the skinhead subcu ...
''.
- This is England Ultimate Soundtrack - Playlists.net
/ref>
The bass line of "Caress Me Down
"Caress Me Down" is a song by Sublime (band), Sublime from their album ''Sublime (album), Sublime''. It was never released as a single, but still receives substantial airplay on KROQ and other stations. The bass line of "Caress Me Down" features t ...
" by notable American reggae rock group Sublime features the famous Sleng Teng riddim from Wayne Smith's 1985 song "Under Mi Sleng Teng".
Swedish electronic artist Robyn
Robin Miriam Carlsson (born 12 June 1979), known as Robyn (), is a Swedish pop singer, songwriter, record producer, and DJ. She arrived on the music scene with her 1995 debut album, ''Robyn Is Here'', which produced two Billboard Hot 100, ''Bil ...
references "Sleng Teng" in the track "Dancehall Queen" on her album '' Body Talk''.
American rock band 311 311 may refer to:
* 311 (number), a natural number
* AD 311, a year of the Julian calendar, in the fourth century AD
* 311 BC, a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar
* 311 (band), an American band
** ''311'' (album), band 311's self-titled album
...
also quote the lyrics in their song "Who's Got the Herb".
American dub reggae band TATANKA did two different takes of this riddim, one being an instrumental dub version called "Show Me Love" dub and the other a full-on instrumentation version complete with their own originally written lyrics and vocals.
American hip-hop group Cypress Hill
Cypress Hill is an American hip hop group from South Gate, California. They have sold over 20 million albums worldwide and have multi-platinum and platinum albums. They are considered to be among the main progenitors of West Coast and 1990 ...
recorded a cover version of this song with them providing new verses of rap
Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...
.
UB40
UB40 are an English reggae and pop band, formed in December 1978 in Birmingham, England. The band has had more than 50 singles in the UK Singles Chart, and has also achieved considerable international success. They have been nominated for the ...
covered it on their 2018 album, '' A Real Labour of Love''.
References
{{Reflist, 30em
External links
Sleng Teng Riddim
a
riddimguide.com
Wayne Smith's Under Mi Sleng Teng – the song that revolutionised reggae
1985 singles
Riddims
Electronic songs
Reggae songs
1985 songs