Few grasped it at the time, but reggae is arguably the only style of music that effortlessly transcended the digital divide once synthesisers and programmable drums became part of the musical lexicon. (Continues below...)
The stark sounds coming out of Channel One laid the foundations: when crowds heard Sleng Teng, they loved it, and digital reggae was born. I love this piece of art by Michael Thompson - the rolled up trouser leg; the diamond socks... I recall hanging out with Michael and Natty Irie one night in Berlin talking about 'only a fool from country' would buy a suit off a rack in Kingston. Nah, mon! It had to be tailored. Tailors sat on the street right outside the big stores...
The digital revolution was already happening with CDs making their way into the market, alleged damage-proof. Over the following years, pressing plants closed down as CDs replaced vinyls: CDs themselves would become outré once MP3s arrived, and then Napster in the 1990s helped usher in a new file-sharing era. Celebrating the survivors: here's the great Wayne Smith with the original digi tune, Under Mi Sleng Teng.
