From Past to Present: 5 Contemporary Songs that Utilize Steel Drums

In this post, we have a guest blogger—Michelle O.  She has a great blog about hip-hop production.  Enjoy!

No doubt that at this point, you’ve learned all sorts of  interesting tidbits on steel pans and their many uses in creating music. Turns out, plenty of musicians in the distant and recent past have also seen the steel pan's incredible versatility, and have utilized the instrument in a song or two. From hard rockers to pop princesses, artists have called on the steel drum to provided a boost to their bass, and a flavor to their music not normally found in other “standard” instruments.

Here are six songs that use the steel drum in interesting and creative ways, all differentiating in genre and usage. Hope you enjoy!

Lykke Li - Little Bit

Indie pop swooner Lykke is well known for her affinity for crunching synths and cool exterior. 2012’s “Little Bit” softens her sound with the inclusion of the steel pan, which dominates most of the bass beat of the song. Although much of the song relies on digital instrumentation, the steel pans warm, bold sound indicates that it may have been recorded as a live track.

The Knife - Pass it On

The grooving, Caribbean-style beat of “Pass it On” makes for the perfect environment for the steel pan. It might seems strange to witness the mix of electronica and Caribbean, but such experimentation is pretty standard for The Knife. The Swedish electronica pop band weaves the use of the pan seamlessly with soft synths and rattling 808s.

Fatima Al Qadiri - D-Medley

Fatima Al Qadiri is an Iranian-born, New York based producer. She often makes work that could be filed under a variety of genres: dubstep, drone, electronica, and even rap. Much like The Knife, Al Qadiri seeks to evoke a Caribbean vibe with “D-Medley,” where the steel pan feels like an afterthought in her beat. The producer’s generous reference to “electro-tropicalia” - a subgenre of electronica that favors Brazil’s tropicalia movement - makes her use of the steel pan suitable, yet unique.

M.I.A. - Bingo

Fans of this feisty rapper will instantly recognize her choppy, blunt drumming style from her Kala era, and the steel pan is all too familiar. Known to fans and critics alike as her “breakout hit,” Kala the album properly introduced a then-29-year-old M.I.A. to a world without whistling samples, bone-rattling bass, and yes...even the steel pan! Although “Bingo” never made the album’s final cut, it still gained traction as part of the album’s B-sides collection.

Jamie xx - Far Nearer

Usually known for his involvement in the ambient-pop fourpiece The XX, Jamie xx has definitely gained enough traction as a producer to build his own fanbase. Much like The XX, Jamie keeps his sound very minimalist, which makes it easy to hear the steel pan's light bass support echoing throughout the song. The steel pan's range of sound obviously comes in handy for producers like Jamie, who will often need to produce a softer, soothing sound not normally expected of percussion instruments.