The topic of this article may not meet Wikipedia's notability guideline for neologisms. (June 2023) |
Ringbang | |
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Stylistic origins | |
Cultural origins | Mid-1990s |
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Ringbang is a Caribbean fusion of music genres propounded by Eddy Grant in 1994.[1]
In an interview circa 2000, Grant defined ringbang like this:
Ringbang is the thing that makes the soul quiet. That in a musical concept is rhythm. A child is given ringbang when a mother rocks it in her arms. Ringbang allowed the slaves to communicate. Ringbang is a bridge that allows us to stop being insular; it is a concept predicated on our being able to communicate with one another.[1]
In applying ringbang to music, Grant attempted to define a meta-style to encompass all Caribbean rhythms; it was to be a musical lingua franca. He wished this multicultural style to place no restrictions on instrumentation, and he said that he wanted no single country or culture to lay claim to it.[2] Among ringbang's stylistic influences are calypso, reggae, soca, tuk, and zouk.
Grant says that the word "ringbang" comes from vocalists scat singing "Ringa-ringa-ringbang!". He chose the word one day in 1993, while standing in recording engineer Frank Agarrat's backyard in Trinidad.[1]