Favorite Non-American Ska Bands?

I'm willing to admit that the only ska I'm familiar with is Jamaican ska from the 60s, British Ska from the very short-lived two-tone era, and then American ska from about '81 to present day. And I know some Canadian ska, but that's just Kingpins, The Planet Smashers and King Apparatus. Everybody knows about that.

Those of you who are knowledgeable about ska from other countries, please enlighten me and the rest of us as well.

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Permalink Reply by Ska Bob on September 16, 2011 at 1:34am

I wouldnt call 2tone short lived, at least not right now, seems to have a revival going on, The Selecter had an album come out this month, very classic Selecter style if you havent heard it. Anyway, some bands I like are Firebug (Brazil), Kalles Kaviar (Switzerland), Simmertones (UK), Bobby Pins & The Saloon Soldiers (Germany), Danny Rebel & the KGB (Canada), The Fundamentals (Canada), The Valuables (Canada), The Soulicitors (Canada), Ska-P(Spain), Skalariak(Spain), Red Soul Community (Spain), Jaquee (Sweden), Dezil (The Republic of Seychelles), The Duelers (UK) and likely some more I will add later as I remember.

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Permalink Reply by Skibz McCullock on September 16, 2011 at 8:17am

That's a great question. Practically every major country has or has had a sizable ska scene, but so little of it gets exposure in the Western world. I'll admit I'm not that knowledgeable when it comes to current bands, since my focus is mainly in the 1980s UK/European scene. As far as that stuff goes, if you're looking for more bands in the style of 2-Tone, here's some of the biggest names to get you started:

England: The Hotknives, The Loafers, The Trojans and the Potato 5.
Germany: The Busters, Skaos, Bluekilla, El Bosso & Die Ping Pongs and Dr. Ring-Ding.
Misc.: Mr. Review and Mark Foggo's Skasters (Netherlands), Skarface (France), Napoleon Solo and Babylove & the Van Dangos (Denmark).

Those are just my favorites off the top of my head. I can do a more comprehensive list when I'm not so sleep-deprived, plus I'll also have to check out some of the bands Ska Bob listed.

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Permalink Reply by Sid on September 16, 2011 at 12:44pm

Well, Ska Bob, I was calling Two-Tone short lived 'cause most people tend to think of Two-Tone beginning in '79 with Gangsters, and ending in '81 with Ghost Town. Now, that may be as ignorant as implying that ska's 3rd wave began with The Impression that I Get and ended with... I dunno, Superman by Goldfinger, but that's probably because the whole wave theory might be a very ego-centric American idea, which is why we tend to think of 3rd wave as starting in '81 with the Toasters and ending with... whenever it is that the Toasters are gonna quit. That or 1998, depending on who you talk to.

I wasn't implying that British ska simply stopped then, though. That just happens to be the very short era most people classify as Two-Tone.

Anyway, though. Thanks for the suggestions. This is good information.

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Permalink Reply by Ska Bob on September 17, 2011 at 1:54am

Im not trying to plug my station (well maybe some) but I play all these bands and more, listen for a bit and you will heard music from all over the world. Just recently I have been able to get realtime listener maps, this was one I saved from a few days ago, gives you a good idea where ska is still popular.

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Permalink Reply by CzechRudie on September 18, 2011 at 2:22pm

Ooooh ska is still popular in Germany and also in Spain, there are lot of skinheads, Mods who are engages in ska, 2tone and early reggae music. Most actives labels in Europe are Grover from Germany and Liquidator from Spain. I should enumerate much Non american ska bands. So because I'm from Czech I recomend you my Favourite czech and slovakian bands

1. The Chancers (2tone)

http://bandzone.cz/thechancers

http://www.myspace.com/realchancers

2. Discoballs

http://www.myspace.com/disc0balls

http://bandzone.cz/discoballs

3. Polemic

http://bandzone.cz/polemic

http://www.myspace.com/polemicskaband

4.Skafander

http://www.myspace.com/bandskafander

http://bandzone.cz/skafander

You can write response to this bands

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Permalink Reply by The Brass Action on September 22, 2011 at 6:48pm

I suggest checking outr Ska-T's podcast which you can subscribe to on iTunes or check out www.musicaloccupation.com! He plays a ton of Canadian ska (Rude City Riot, Los Furios, The Expos, Westbound Train, just to name a few... oh and us from time to time) and other favourites from around the globe. Either way its a great show, and always worth a listen.

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Permalink Reply by User Name on September 23, 2011 at 12:09am

There are a lot of great ska bands from outside the US.

I'm particularly fond of Distemper from Russia. Meganoidi from Italy were cool then they went all weird-prog-rock style. Oi! Skall-Mates from Japan are pretty awesome.

Some others that are ok and are yet to be mentioned are Casino Royale (Italy), Skatoons (Germany), Les Frelons (France), Jazzbo (Germany) and a list that could go on and on.

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Permalink Reply by Skibz McCullock on September 23, 2011 at 1:47am

Other bands from France include ASPO (About Some Precious Oldies), Babylon Circus, Skaferlatine, Jim Murple Memorial, 8°6 crew, Nomades et Skaetera, 65 Mines Street and Les Skalopes. I can vouch for all of 'em.

I'd be interested in hearing more recommendations for Italian bands. I recently discovered Giuliano Palma & the Bluebeaters and have become enamored with their mix of ska and Italian pop.