Case Studies
272
The Swedish Caribbeans 273
the
most active Reggae bands during 1999, also as part-time
musicians.
The
various types of actors among Swedish Caribbeans fit into the
catego-
ries, doers, knowers and makers very well (see fig p. 270). The
majority of actors
are in the doer's group, while there are rather few knowers and
makers. Among
the doers, those involved in parties and carnivals are the largest
category, while
the more specialised doers who face more in the direction of knowers
are fewer.
Few among the doers are professional in their area. The majority
practise their
"Caribbeaness" in their spare time. the ideologists are mainly to be
found
among Jamaican music's Rastas. The most common arrangers are those who
organise parties and various events. A couple of arrangers who
organise events
in
Sweden with artists and bands from the Caribbean enjoy a special position.
Thereare no companies producing commercial phonograms of Caribbean
mu-
sic in Sweden. Those records that are released are produced by doers
(musicians
and intermediaries) or knowers. Among those active on the Internet
there are
both webmasters and organisers of e-mail lists and electronic
discussion fo-
rums. Among the administrators there are those who manage the various
as-
sociations' and orchestras' bookings and accounts.
DJs occupy an important place among actors. It is they who convey news
from the Caribbean to the public and set the musical trends in the
grouping.
DJs do not only know a lot about the repertoire but also often have
extensive
knowledge of the music's best-known practitioners, its original
environment
and history. For this reason the majority of DJs can be regarded as
knowers.
Contacts with Trinidad and Jamaica
Soca Rebel's leader, Lars Hansson, was first in Trinidad in
1985 but he did not
attend the carnival until 1989:
I
really came into contact with the music during my visit to the carnival in
Trinidad
in
1989. I was struck by the infectious rhythm and that practically an entire
nation
took part in the music and total event. I've also found the humour and
satire that ex-
ists in calypso and soca amusing. Perhaps you have to know Trinidad to
understand
it. When I began playing soca it was a cool experience to see that
even Swedes like
the music and get with it. It also gave more and more enjoyable
sessions than those
I
had with the jazz-rock group. (E-mail from Lars Hansson
970402)
The direct contact with Trinidad referred to by Lars Hansson was quite
unu-
sual among activists in the 1980s, but has become more common in the
1990s.
Soca Rebels recorded a version of the soca Nanny Wine in
Swedish as their first
record. Originally made by Crazy, a very popular calypsonian (a
Trinidadian
term for a calypso singer who makes his own songs), the record was
played on