Skavoovie, chink-ka or skat skat skat, they all bring us down to SKA

Last Saturday, the 15th of June, I went to a concert in Camden. Nothing fancy so far, as you can go to gigs in Camden every single weekend. But, this time, I came out of my comfort zone and experienced a genre of music than I know quite poorly: Ska!

If you’re a novice, you might first wonder “What’s that name?!” Well, the name and the music have quite a blurry history. There are different stories about where the name “ska” is coming from but it all seems to evolve around Ernest Ranglin (Jamaican guitarist and composer) and Byron Lee (Jamaican musician, record producer and entrepreneur). Ranglin says that the term was invented by musicians, referring to the scratching guitar strum that sounds like “skat, skat, skat”. Ernest also made a distinction between R&B and Ska saying that the first is “ka-chink” while the second is “chink-ka”.

Another theory claims that it could come from the expression “Skavoovie” used by Cluett Johnson (Jamaican double bassist, leader of the band “Clue J & his Blues Blasters”) to greet his friends. Byron Lee is claimed to have introduced the name “ska” to name a rhythm that musicians were calling “Staya Staya”. In the end, “ska” seems to be coming from the sound that a guitar or a piano makes.

Originally from Jamaica, Ska was born in the fifties and was a foretaste of rocksteady and reggae. It is easily recognisable because of its walking bass line accentuated with an upbeat rythm. In a word, it swings!

The band that was playing Saturday is named “The Intensified”. The atmosphere was friendly and the band happily chatted to the audience. It was a very intimate yet professional concert. The band was relaxed and gave a great performance that got the whole room to dance and wiggle. The sax player was truly amazing and had an impressive touch that raised the sound of his instrument to another level! The compositions were original and the trumpet player even composed a song moments before the concert.

A bit later, they welcomed Dave Barker on stage. Famous ska and rocksteady singer, he interpreted his biggest hits, “Double Barrel” and “Monkey Spanner”. Dave and his warm voice got the whole audience dancing and cheering.

For more than an hour, the band and Dave made their fans travelled back to the past and to the seventies and gave us a hint of summer and sunshine (much needed in this depressing weather!). In a few words: a fantastic gig in the heart of Camden.

Just a bit of advice: don’t miss “The Intensified” next time they’re in concert!

Miss DiversiT