The Band
Tradition-bearers
We are Pressgang Mutiny, Toronto’s “delightfully unhinged and uniquely talented” shantymen. We are musicians dedicated to challenging conventional understanding of sea shanties from a place of deep immersion in their roots.
We’ve travelled to discover where this work-song tradition came from, who sang it and why, and what it still has to say. Its often-erased Black and Caribbean roots inform the music we make today, from four-part harmony to our collaborations with reggae and hip hop artists.
We are tradition-bearers. We want our generation to contribute to the tradition and pass it on to people who will have their own ideas about what to do with it. That gives us plenty of room to experiment.
Our Story
Latest Release
Departure
On Departure, we explore the shared musical heritage of shanties, hip hop, soca, ska and dancehall with musicians who know those genres from the inside. Our voices meet samples, drum machines and new arrangements of songs we’ve spent years singing.
Listen to “Hill and Gully / Sally Rackett”: call and answer vocal lines with veteran Toronto reggae drummer and deejay Sunray Grennan make those connections audible. The album also features Carl Harvey of Toots and the Maytals, Al Cross and Terry Wilkins (Big Sugar’s original rhythm section), and melodic rapper, lyricist and vocalist Matt Somber.
We’re back in the studio, recording our next album.
Watch
Videos
Old Mick · Official video
Roll Boys Roll · Official video
Pour Boire · Live at Shrewsbury
"Sailing centuries-old songs straight into the modern world."
Music Crowns
"Now here's a crew I would sign on with."
David Francey
"…a vital tradition of work songs that represents the world's first truly multicultural music."
Songlines ★★★★
"Pressgang Mutiny really are doing them differently from the other modern bands I've heard."
London Celtic Punks
Keep in Touch
Get Our Emails
We’ll let you know when we’re playing and when there’s new music to hear.
Podcast
The Shanty Show
We talk with shanty singers and researchers about the songs they know, where they learned them and the people they learned them from. There’s usually some singing, too.
Available on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts.
All Episodes