branches on the world music tree
Each of these genres began as a folk music tradition, so in a sense they are part of the world music spectrum. However, over the last century they have all developed into large musical genres with their own sub-categories, and have developed features that have taken them away from from traditional musical forms.
The main area of divergence is in the act of composing. As blues, country and reggae have become increasingly commercialised, they have adopted many of the songwriting practises and values of mainstream pop music. Where once new songs would have emerged through communal composition and the folk process, nowadays new songs come almost exclsuively from the pen of individual songwriters. This is particularly the case in commercial country music, which now supports a large group of professional songwriters who sell their wares to performers.
At the same time, the sense of place which was once essential to these genres is largely lost. In their original forms these types of music came from clearly defined geographical areas – blues from the Mississipi delta, country from the southern US, and reggae from Jamaica. Now, each of these forms is well on the way to becoming a global musical style, much the same as jazz, rock, pop and classical.
However, within each of these styles there is still a core group of players who adhere to an older, more traditional version of the genre. Surprisingly it is often younger players who are attracted to this more ‘rootsy’ music. This trend is particularly strong in country music where a new sub-genre has emerged in the last 15 years that represents a reaction against the commercialisation of country music. Variously known as alt country or neo-traditional – this new music combines an indie / punk aesthetic with the more rootsy aspects of country music. Alt country takes its cues from the traditional music of the Appalachian mountains and the cowboy song tradition of the mid-west, rather than the slick, mass-produced sounds of Nashville, and emphasises the dark, gothic aspects of American culture.
