Christian ska
| Christian ska | |
|---|---|
| Stylistic origins | Contemporary Christian music, Christian alternative rock, ska, ska-punk |
| Cultural origins | Late 1970s, United States, United Kingdom |
| Typical instruments | Electric guitar, electric bass, trumpet, tenor trombone, tenor saxophone, drums |
| Other topics | |
| List of Christian ska bands | |
Christian ska is a form of Christian alternative rock, and subgenre of ska and ska-punk which is lyrically oriented toward contemporary Christian music. Though ska did not constitute a genre within the Christian music industry until after third wave ska had peaked in the general market, Christian ska continued to thrive independently into the early 2000s.
Ska music came to be seen as "an excellent vehicle for exhortation and praise due to its up front lyrical style" and upbeat, energetic, joyful sound. While there were a large number of smaller bands, ska in the Christian marketplace in the late 1990s came to be primarily represented by three bands: The Insyderz, The O. C. Supertones, and Five Iron Frenzy; all of whom were commercially successful and ministry-oriented in their own right. As with third wave ska in the general market the sound was often intermingled with that of punk, swing, or rockabilly. In parallel with mainstream ska, many underground Christian ska bands released one or two ska based albums before completely genre-hopping away from ska or dissolving. Even the sounds of the "big three" tended to evolve. By 2002 one critic described the horn section of the Supertones as "providing color instead of the dominant sound".
While Christian bands have played ska since the days of Jesus music, one of the first well documented Christian bands to play ska was Ishmael United, which operated in the late 1970s and early '80s from the United Kingdom. Their sound was new wave or two tone, similar to other British bands such as The Specials or Madness. Another early Christian ska band was The Israelites, formed in 1989. They play a traditional style of ska. similar to the Skatalites or Desmond Dekker. They released two albums before Christian ska matured, and still play today.
...
Wikipedia