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Neo-shanties is a term coined by literary scholar and member of the band Banana Boat, Paweł Jędrzejko, in the article “Spór o szanty” ("The Dispute over Shanties"), published on January 28, 2008, on the Polish portal Szantymaniak.pl. This term refers to contemporary maritime songs that either replicate the poetics and structure of work songs (e.g., they feature distinct divisions between the shantyman's call and the choir's response, the use elongated vowels at points of increased physical effort, and the steady, often monotonous, rhythm), or draw inspiration from traditional and forecastle songs and shanties, but no longer serve their original pragmatic function (coordinating the labor of sailors handling capstans, hauling lines, or carrying railway tracks). Instead, neo-shanties are composed with the view to stage performances, and thus are a purely artistic genre, and a form of entertainment. Defined in this manner, neo-shanties often incorporate musical and arrangement elements typical of other genres, such as folk, rock, jazz, and blues. To describe the latter phenomenon, Rafał Chojnacki proposed the term “neoclassical shanty”, though this term may be misleading as it suggests a connection to the Neoclassical period.

Neo-shanties and typological disputes

Jędrzejko explains the complexity of this phenomenon as follows:

Those more aware of the historical entanglements of "shanty" and emotionally attached to sea songs as they were understood [in late cold-war Poland] in the late 1970s and 1980s perceive our music as a symbol of a particular stage in their biography. The division between "forecastle songs" and "shanties—traditional work songs" is not merely a matter of typology that can be revised, challenged, or replaced. For a generation that cherished traditional sea songs during times when they often provided the only bridge to a colorful, free, and open world, "fidelity to classical shanties" appears to symbolize loyalty to an entire set of ideas and values with which younger generations of sailors and maritime culture enthusiasts—by their very nature—cannot fully identify. It also seems that listeners representing the "older generation" more readily accept contemporary maritime songs if they retain elements of traditional poetics (such as a quintal a cappella arrangement) rather than drawing from other musical genres (jazz, blues, rock and roll, or even country and bluegrass). However, even in such cases, they prefer not to call them "shanties" or "forecastle songs" and often propose alternative terms (such as "neo-shanties" or "new shanties"). Naturally, they are reluctant to accept, though they cannot prevent, the inevitable evolutionary changes introduced into maritime music by artists from the "younger generation." The "young," in turn, often failing to understand the reasons behind the alleged orthodoxy of the "old," feel understandably disheartened when their work is not appreciated by the "old guard." This is one of the possible reasons for the "shanty dispute"—but, of course, not the only one.

— Paweł Jędrzejko, Spór o szanty, Jędrzejko, Paweł (January 28, 2008). "Spór o szanty". Szantymaniak.pl (in Polish).

Emphasizing the fact that for the generation still remembering the experience of living beyond the "Iron Curtain" sailing was a crucial element of the discourse on freedom, and maritime music was its substitute, the author argues that generational changes necessitate an evolutionary shift, requiring an adjustment of terminology that has become too rigid to accommodate new realities.

Neo-shanties and linguistic usage

An illustrative example can be provided with the following concise argument: if we assume that the defining characteristics of the poetics of a genre such as the shanty (understood as a work song) are: a) clear divisions between the parts sung by the shantyman and the chorus, b) the presence of elongated vowels in places corresponding to moments of increased physical exertion by workers, and c) a steady rhythm, then both "South Australia" and "Zęza" or "Panta Rhei" by Banana Boat would qualify as shanties. In such a case, the relationship between the traditional and the contemporary song would be analogous to the relationship between early Enlightenment-era novels and postmodern novels (e.g., Gulliver’s Travels and Slaughterhouse-Five). However, if we define the typology based on historically conditioned practical applications of songs, then while "South Australia" qualifies as a shanty, "Zęza" and "Panta Rhei" do not—since the latter were not intended to facilitate coordinated physical labor but were instead composed and arranged explicitly for performance on stage. It should be noted, however, that both approaches to classification are valid—neither is inherently superior or more "true" than the other. A practical test does not necessarily resolve the issue either, as one could easily find a song that was never meant to be a shanty but could nonetheless be effectively used for work synchronization (it turns out, for example, that Englishman in New York provides an excellent rhythm for hauling halyards—tested and confirmed!).

— Paweł Jędrzejko, Spór o szanty, Jędrzejko, Paweł (January 28, 2008). "Spór o szanty". Szantymaniak.pl (in Polish).

Neo-shanties and research in humanities

Since "shanties," unlike many other musical genres rooted in popular and/or folk traditions, have not yet attracted significant academic attention in Poland, and due to their perceived "simplicity" and "niche status" (or rather, their supposed "primitiveness"), shanties are largely ignored by [...] media. Consequently, no serious attempts have been made to analyze the globally unique phenomenon of "Polish shanties." The shortage of systematic historical, cultural-historical, musicological, folkloristic, and sociological studies means that we do not possess a well-grounded, research-based understanding of their development. As a result, every shanty enthusiast is compelled to use their own intuitive "typology," and it is this typology that they instinctively defend in discussions. However, they fail to recognize that no systematic "meta-language of sea songs" has yet been developed, based on which we could strive for a more precise description of the current state of [...] maritime music culture. Unfortunately, the only solution to this situation would be to conduct thorough diachronic and synchronic studies based on existing methodologies employed by literary scholars, musicologists, and folklorists to analyze analogous phenomena.

— Paweł Jędrzejko, Spór o szanty, Jędrzejko, Paweł (January 28, 2008). "Spór o szanty". Szantymaniak.pl (in Polish).

Neo-shanties in peer-reviewed academic texts

The concept of neo-shanties, first introduced in the aforementioned 2008 Szantymaniak.pl article, was incorporated into academic discourse in the peer-reviewed paper by Paweł Jędrzejko, "Ślady na oceanie: refleksja nad myśleniem magicznym i prozą Lucjana Wolanowskiego," published in 2009 in the collective volume Wokół reportażu podróżniczego. T. 3, Lucjan Wolanowski (1920-2006). The concept also appears in the English-language version of this article, published in the academic journal Review of International American Studies in 2015.

Contemporary usage of the term

The term neo-shanties has gained popularity among journalists specializing in maritime music. Examples of its use can be found in articles by Kamil Piotrowski, such as “Imported Shanties. After the Port of Sea Songs Festival” (2011) and “Guests at the Philharmonic: 5 Years of Shantażyści” (2015). The term has also appeared in English-language publications concerning the band Banana Boat. In a review of the album Aquareal published on The Recorded A Cappella Review Board on February 19, 2016, critics Kimberly Raschka Sailor, Malcolm Piper, and Stephen Lanza described the band's music using the term “neo-shanties”.

See also

• Shanties
• Forecastle songs
• Folk music