Feb 21, 2019
The Album: The Bacao Rhythm and Steel Band: The Serpent's Mouth (2018)
Steel pan/drum music emerged out of Trinidad and Tobago over the
course of the 1950s. Its tinny yet melodious timbre was unique and
it soon became a signature style within the diverse soundscape of
Afro-Caribbean music. The tourism industry compelled steel drum
bands to adapt pop hits into their repertoire and by the late '60s
and early '70s, it was common to hear soul and funk tunes being
given a steel pan makeover. Even Morgan's stepfather, Bob Sharpe,
got in the action as part of the Salt
N' Pepper Steel Band, whose lone album includes covers of
the Jackson 5 and Johnny Nash
(and Oklahoma too!).
The Bacao Rhythm and Steel Band, formed by Germany's Bjorn Wagner
after a few years living in Trinidad & Tobago, is directly
influenced by that earlier era. Across their two
albums, 55 (2016) and
last year's The Serpent's Mouth, Bacao tackle any
number of surprising hits, many of them drawn from hip-hop as well
as soul/funk, plus their own original compositions. If you ever
wanted to hear Gang Starr deep cuts get the steel pan makeover, you
came to the right place.
The Serpent's Mouth was the album pick of DJ Garth Trinidad, whose been a radio fixture in Los Angeles since the mid-90s, when he first started at KCRW and rose to fame on his weeknight Chocolate City show. He continues to hold down a 8-10pm slot when he's not busy music supervising or hosting concerts at the Hollywood Bowl.
More on Garth Trinidad
More on The Serpent's Mouth
Show Tracklisting (all songs from The Serpent's Mouth unless indicated otherwise):
Here is the Spotify playlist of as many songs as we can find on there.
If you're not already subscribed to Heat Rocks in Apple
Podcasts, do
it here!