Major Lazer – the birth of electro dancehall
So I'm reading this Guardian article about pop artists' nominations for worlds best artist, period. And Mike D from the Beastie Boys mentions Major Lazer before eventually nominating a different band. Now I was intrigued enough to find out about this Major Lazer dude and set about following the links trail, as one does.
The story behind Major Lazer is an interesting one about him being a "Jamaican commando who lost his arm in the secret Zombie War of 1984." All very imaginative, but in effect he is the creation of Diplo and Switch, two producers who met whilst working on M.I.A's Paper Planes album and discovered that they both had a love for Jamaican Dancehall. They then went out to Jamaica and tried to convince Dancehall artists to feature on their tracks. Unsuccesfully at first, though in the end they managed to get Vybz Kartel, Mr. Lexx, Baby Cham, Wayne Marshall and even Elephant Man.
The beats they were pushing were a mix of Dancehall, House, Electro and I can say being a fan of all three, I love the results. They've kept the bassy drums of Dancehall and infused some electro riffs and samples that manage to be distinctive and yet not detract from the Dancehall elements.
Of course Dancehall has been here before with Jungle which in the end turned out to be shortlived though I liked that when it was around. What can I say, anyone who knows me knows I love bass. Bass guitar, drum & bass, that Jack White bassy riff. Anything! However I feel that this could be a new genre we're witnessing.
Like any new genre it still needs other artists, especially up and coming ones, to be inspired enough by it to go down the same route.
Major Lazer, I salute you.
Major Lazer (Feat. Prince Zimboo & M.I.A.) - \"Baby (Switch RMX)\" MP3 via Stereogum
