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STMTCG: Satta Massagana by The Abyssinians

  
 
Hydra vs Leviathan
18:57 / 14.05.06
Yousendit link: here...

Illmatic's already commented on this tune when i posted the link to test if it worked in the "STMTCG: Introduction" thread, so i'll copy & paste hir posts onto here...

a few starting comments from me: "Satta Massagana" was, when it was first released in (IIRC) 1969, one of the first, if not the first, tunes to epitomise the "Roots" reggae sound, which was to become the dominant style of Jamaican music for the whole of the 70s and first half of the 80s (and, for me, the most inspiring, politically, culturally and spiritually powerful form of "African Diaspora" music (within which i include pretty much all "pop" music), and the cultural explosion without which there would not have been punk, hip hop, dance music, or anywhere in the world except the US and UK on Western people's musical "awareness map")...

(the version here is not the original 1969 version, which i don't think is available on CD, but the near-identical recut version on the 1971 album "Forward On To Zion", which when re-released on CD was itself re-titled "Satta Massagana".)

"Satta Massagana" is often referred to as "reggae music's national anthem" (to quote the liner notes of my Heartbeat CD), which is an interesting characterisation, given that what the song is about is, in one sense, the negation of Jamaican national identity by the Rastafari faith and appropriation of its "spiritual homeland" of Ethiopia (the lyrics of the song are sung partly in the Ethiopian language Amharic, in which "Satta Massagana" means "give thanks and praise [unto God]" (although allegedly it is in fact a mispronunciation)...

"Satta" is also one of the first reggae songs to have its rhythm track re-used for other releases, including other songs by vocal harmony groups and solo vocalists, "DJ" [in Jamaican music meaning MC, rather than "selector" as Jamaicans would call the "decks and record bag" kind of DJ] pieces, solo instrumentals, and some of the earliest dubs... it's also one of the most well-known and most often re-used rhythm tracks in reggae (has probably been versioned by almost all the major roots producers and artists), and has still been "versioned" several times in the last few years. ("Declaration Of Rights", on the same album, is another major/prolific "riddim"...)

(there used to be a site called www.reggae-riddims.com that catalogued, or attempted to, all of the major riddims and what cuts had been released of them, but i believe that site went down recently, to be replaced in its domain by another one consisting only of recent ragga/dancehall riddims)

so, this thread is for discussion of the song, the political/spiritual themes evinced therein, and the "versioning" culture and its influence on modern music as a whole...
 
 
Hydra vs Leviathan
19:02 / 14.05.06
Illmatic's posts from the other thread:

no. 1:That's funny. I was listening to a DJ version of "Satta Massa Gana" only yesterday. (Big Joe's "In the ghetto", a cut to the Johnny Clarke version of the tune, on If Deejay Was Your Trade, a Trojan compilation).

That track was one of my favourite reggae records many years ago, when I purchased it on a Grounation 7" (UK roots label). My taste in reggae have changed quite a bit since then and I haven't listened to heavy roots* in years, but have been rediscovering it lately. It used to make it onto all my compilation tapes.

Things I still love about this tune - the beautiful vocal harmonies, and the vibe expressed - the heartfelt desire to return to the "homeland". This is a common theme in a lot of black music. In it's blues and gospel formations, the homeland takes the form of the Christian heaven, sometimes allegorised as the home state - reflecting the homesickness of migrant workers. There's a beautiful blues record called "I want to go back home" that catches this perfectly, but I can't remember the artist.

As expressed in this record, to me, it sums up something about the whole mood of the time - when what now seems a "utopian" solution was a very real aspiration for large sets of immigrant communities in the Caribbean and the West. In a broader sense this reminds me of the other political struggles for a better world which were characteristic of the 60s/70s which are now also seen as "utopian" impossibilites. If you like this, another track you might want to check out with very similar themes would be Fred Locks "Black Star Liner".

For those unsure on the difference, "roots" is rastafari-inspired, seventies reggae characterised by slow, heavy rhythms and "sufferers" lyrics - that is, lyrical themes on difficulties of life in "Babylon" (the West) for black people, black pride/history and the Rastafari aspiration to return to "Zion" - repatriation to a black run state in modern Africa - i.e. Ethiopa, under the rulership of Haile Selaisse. Selassie only died in 1975 so this was a real possibility for a while (IIRC, some rastas did actually re-settle in Ethiopia - not sure if it yielded the postive results they were hoping for though).

Natty Ra Jah: What do you like about it? Why did you post it?

no. 2:In short, what blows my mind about this song: the aspirational homeland in a lot of black music had a real geographical focus for a while. Marley sang "Almighty God is a living man" meaning Selassie.

How strange/weird/wonderful is that?

no. 3:Here's an interesting article about the track.

(link)

"Satta Massagana" (meaning 'give thanks') is obviously notable for its use of Amharic, the language of Ethiopia (Abyssinia). The Amharic is a result of Donald Manning's Rastafarian influence on the group. The study of Amharic in Kingston in the 60s was a function of the post-colonial, Pan-African identity and Rastafarian awareness sweeping
the ghetto after Haile Selassie's 1966 visit to the island. Collins recalls how Donald's brother Neville used to teach Amharic in the Jonestown area of Kingston. "[He] was a man who used to . . . have classes around there, where we could all go and learn the language, cause he used to get books from Ethiopia through England -- Ethiopian opinions. And those books contain all literatures that we need . . .
That's how come we get acquainted with the Amharic . . . Bredren from all about used to come there and learn."
 
 
Hydra vs Leviathan
19:23 / 14.05.06
Thought i'd also, to better illustrate the practice of "versioning", if people are unfamiliar with it, post up a few yousendits of various versions to "Satta":

Here's the (aforementioned by Illmatic) track "In The Ghetto" by Big Joe: version

And here are 2 much more recent versions (both "modern roots" classics in themselves):

Capleton: Raggy Road (a replayed, but relatively "straight" version of the original riddim)

Anthony B: Redder Than Red (here the Satta riddim is, at first, slightly harder to discern)

Also, small correction to Illmatic: the compilation "If Deejay Was Your Trade" isn't on Trojan, but on the UK based Blood And Fire reissue label (have to post this, because it's my favourite label, and also their forum is probably the best source of reggae knowledge anywhere on the internet)...

BAF actually have put out a compilation called "Tree of Satta" consisting entirely of "Satta" versions... however, i haven't yet got round to buying that...
 
 
illmatic
19:58 / 14.05.06
Cheers for posting those versions mate. Hadn't heard either of them before. Will restrain myself from adding more comments till other people have had a listen. Intrigued to here what other people make of it.

BTW had seen your name over on B & F and wondered if it was the same person - I just lurk there from time to time, never posted.
 
 
illmatic
20:02 / 14.05.06
Oh, and I just assume by default that every comp is on Trojan - I've got so many!
 
 
SteppersFan
13:05 / 15.05.06
Seeing it live by the Abyssinians is to be in the presence of deities.
 
 
illmatic
13:48 / 15.05.06
For Godsakes stop showing off and post a bit more than that YOU FUCK

(... erm, sorry Paul).
 
 
illmatic
14:54 / 15.05.06
One of the interesting - perhaps most interesting? - things that comes up for me in thinking about this track is the notion of repatriation, not least because the last time I looked, repatriation was a BNP policy!

I have mixed feelings about the whole notion of political or spiritual projects being tied in with popular music. (Been a lot of discussion on the board about this in regard to Hip Hop). I really enjoy the music and often find its themes very inspiring, but I think what really fascinates me about it is the intersection of vectors - the historical moment that throws these things toegether, rather than wanting to accept the real-life consequences of this kind of project.

As I mentioned above, there is actually a Rasta community in Ethiopa trying to bring the spiritual dream of rastafari to life. It's in Shashamane. Some interesting links there - the first BBC link makes it clear that this community still has to contend with poverty and economic difficulties that any marginal community might have to deal with.

I think this is expresed in my musical tastes as well. I first seriously got into reggae through listeing to Joey Jay's (brother of Norman) show on Kiss FM. he played a lot of seventies "steppers" and cultural tunes, and this shaped my early listening. However, in later years, I've found myself more moved by rocksteady, the sweet love songs, rather than the big conscious themes. Not sure why this should be....

Interested to hear anyones elses thoughts on this, particularly in relation to how they listen to reggae.
 
 
SteppersFan
17:53 / 15.05.06
LOL, I thought that was a useful and concise contribution! (And factually correct in my view.)

Repatriation is a subject much discussed in criticism of reggae. It is probably not a term with a fixed meaning. Certainly the desire for repatriation in Jamaica in the seventies with deep, recession-driven poverty and newly-introduced "guns in the ghetto" produced a very real sense that literal physical return to Africa could be a preferable option.

But in JA that was not the only meaning applied to the term, and certainly not in the UK, whether within the context of rasta reasoning or without. It voices appositely a concern for black identity. It is also a universal theme, as recognised by people such as Jah Shaka; everyone wants to "go home", however you define that. And it is trite, but still accurate and meaningful, to say that "everyone comes from Africa". Reggae articulates humanity's genetic heritage. In a sense, I-Roy's "repatriation is a must" chant / chat is more an expression of universal longing than an endorsement of far right politics. (Not that Illz is suggesting that.)

On the subject of the roots ideology versus lovers' tunes -- I think in reggae it's difficult to seperate the two. Most artists repertoire encompasses both. Just look at Sugar Minott (his new two disc retrospective on Moll Selekta is recommended). And there's a well established trajectory for reggae fans in the west - start with dub, because it's like psychedelic rock, move on to roots, then in a flash discover that dancehall is better than either, before finally being illuminated by sweet, deep rocksteady. Which of course continues to be the lodestone of inspiration for most JA producers.

BTW, Abyssinians are playing in Brixton on June 18th and I am seeking permission to and experience some solsticial reggae vibes...
 
 
Gypsy Lantern
11:54 / 16.05.06
A barbelith Abyssinians outing on the 18th June?

The idea of repatriation as a metaphorical rather than physical "return to the homeland" is really close to the notion of Guinea in Haitian Vodou. Guinea is considered as both the literal West African location, and as a kind of "African Heaven" where the Lwa reside and where serviteurs in the Religion hope to return to after death. A lot of parallels there with the concept of Ethiopia in Rasta ideology.
 
 
SteppersFan
14:17 / 16.05.06
> A barbelith Abyssinians outing on the 18th June?
Sounds like a good idea to me gypsy, will get back to you... at the Academy, with Culture, Luciano, and Andrew Tosh. Their set time is therefore bound to be limited, and it's £27.50!!

> The idea of repatriation as a metaphorical rather than
> physical "return to the homeland" is really close to the > notion of Guinea in Haitian Vodou.
Indeed. It would be interesting to see how close these ideas really are. I think the rasta version began to be formulated in the 20s inspired by the Blac Star Line and Marcus Garvey. Also, rasta seems somewhat antagonistic to Voodou and other diasporic cults, such as obeah - I'm thinking of things like Scratch's Black Candle.
 
 
illmatic
15:55 / 16.05.06
What I find really interesting about repatriation is that it did make it out of the clouds of myth and religious ideology into a real geographical location. Thinking about it though this is hardly unusual - the post-colonialism landscape is full of aspirational stuggles for defined homelands and self-goverment.

The first thing I thought of was the calls for a seperate black state/homelands in the US, which I associate with Public Enemy (though was Chuck D just quoting Farrakhan?) but then it occured to me that we've seen these stuggles in almost every country (Sikhs in India,as one for instance). One of the problems always seems to be that once these nations are established they can't free themselves from the economic systems that surround them, so end up impoverished and so forth, whatever their founders intended. Any thoughts?
 
 
SteppersFan
09:23 / 18.05.06
> What I find really interesting about repatriation is that
> it did make it out of the clouds of myth and religious
> ideology into a real geographical location.
The mythological side really reminds me of all that stuff about Polar symbolic landscapes and Nordic / Germanic mythic lands...

> One of the problems always seems to be that once these
> nations are established they can't free themselves from
> the economic systems that surround them, so end up
> impoverished and so forth, whatever their founders
> intended. Any thoughts?

Hmmm. I think it's less that they can't free themselves from the economies around them, more that they can't manage their economies well! Probably not a popular view but there you are. On this tip it's interesting that Shaka chose to foster community projects in Ghana rather than Ethiopia.
 
 
illmatic
19:06 / 18.05.06
I hate to hijack Natty Ra Jah's thread, but I'm curious as to how many people have listened to this, and what they thought even if they hated it.
 
 
Scrambled Password Bogus Email
08:26 / 25.05.06
Just for the record : Abbyssinians are playing live at the Brixton Academy on June 18th.
 
  
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