Episode #10 - Dread Diaspora

I’ll never forget waking up one morning on the island of Huahine to the sounds of children singing a very familiar song. It was 1998 and I was backpacking throughout French Polynesia - my first time away from the U.S. These children outside my hostel window were singing “One Love” by Bob Marley and the Wailers. There I was, so far away from home, and hearing one of my favorite tunes. In that moment I was struck by the global impact of Bob Marley and reggae, the genre he popularized.

I couldn’t speak French or Tahitian, these kids couldn’t speak English, but we all spoke reggae. It amazed me that I would be hearing Jamaican music in such a remote corner of the globe. In my travels since - throughout Latin America, Europe and Australia, reggae music has always been present. Wherever there is a party. Wherever there is a righteous cause to be championed. Reggae appears.

Today on Sonic Latitudes I’m exploring the music that started on one tiny Caribbean island and took the world by storm…. Dread Diaspora.

I’ve put together a playlist of reggae artists from around the globe. You’ll hear from relatively new artists like Flavia Coelho of Brazil and legends like Alpha Blondy of the Ivory Coast. I’ll play Quebecois, Balkan and even Arabic reggae. Of course, I’ve thrown in some of my domestic favorites like Taj Mahal and Thievery Corporation.

I want to begin this show with my pick of the week. This is the Australian Aboriginal reggae-rock band, No Fixed Address. Formed in 1979 and lead by Bart Willoughby (who would later join Yothu Yindi), No Fixed Address played punky reggae that dealt with issues faced by indigenous communities throughout Australia. Like so many Jamaicans before them, No Fixed Address channelled their righteous message through reggae music. Off of the 1982 album, From My Eyes, this is “We Have Survived.”