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Instruments Archives: Dhantal

Chutney

COUNTRY: Trinidad, Guyana, Suriname

Indian indentured servants who came to Trinidad from 1845 to 1917 brought their music with them and eventually fused it with island music to form a genre called chutney. Traditional chutney music added Indian instruments like the dholak and the harmonium to Caribbean songs, as well as a religious sensibility and, often, vocals in Hindi. Contemporary chutney pioneers like Surinamese vocalist and harmonium player Ramdew Chaitoe became well-known in the ’60s and ’70s all over northeastern South America and the Caribbean . Today chutney has blended with soca to form “chutney soca,” which has become popular international dance music. “What is chutney music?”: a primer | Kuch-Kuch Baby!

 

 

Cuban Rumba

 

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COUNTRY: Cuba

About the Cuban Rumba:

http://www.bailasociety.tv/public/439.cfm

Rumba:
Rumba — not to be confused with “rhumba,” which was a term that Americans used to describe Cuban music in the ’30s — began in the mid-1800s as a form of gathering and dance music performed by African-descended laborers.  According to Latin Music USA, “Rumba was originally performed on everyday objects to avoid the ban on African instruments.  A wine barrel was played like a drum, a wooden crate was tapped on with spoons, and the shipyard’s hardwood dowels were struck together (and became an instrument: claves).”  About the rumba | Learn the 3-2 rumba claves | Learn the 2-3 rumba claves | Rumba Yambu on YouTube

Soca (Trinidad and Tobago)

Soca is a faster version of calypso that has substantial influence throughout the Caribbean. Trinidadian musician Ras Shorty generally receives credit for originating it in 1963 when he added Indian instruments such as the dholak and the the tabla to calypso. In the 1970s calypsonians such as Shorty had also added soul, disco and funk, transforming the genre into internationally popular dance party music. Today soca remains popular throughout the Caribbean, especially the more overtly East Indian chutney. A brief history.

COUNTRY: Trinidad and Tobago
KEY INSTRUMENTS: Bass, Dhantal, Dholak, Drum kit, Guitar, Tabla, Trumpet, Trombone
SONG ON AATW: LATIN AMERICA CD: Wan Boto

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