Soca music
Posted by: ritu in Untagged on Nov 20, 2009
Raggae or Soca is a form of dance music which originated in the Islands of Trinidad and Tobago from calypso music. It originally combined the melodic lilting sound of calypso with insistent percussion (which is often electronic in recent music) and local chutney music. Soca music has evolved in the last 20 years primarily by musicians from various Anglophone Caribbean countries including Trinidad, Guyana, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Barbados, Grenada, Saint Lucia, Antigua and Barbuda, United States Virgin Islands, British Virgin Islands, The Bahamas, Dominica, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Jamaica and Belize.
The nickname of the Trinidad and Tobago national football team, the Soca Warriors, refers to this musical genre.
History
The reputed father of soca was Lord Shorty (born Garfield Blackman), in Trinidad and Tobago, whose 1973 recording of "Indrani"[1] started the trend.[2] In the 1970s he began writing calypso songs for other young calypsonians including Maestro and his cousin "BARON" who had a hit called "SEVERE LICKING" produced by Shorty. Trinidad and Tobago has been renowned for its magnificent carnivals, originator of calypso and the steel pan. A prolific musician, composer and innovator, Ras Shorty experimented the fusion of Calypso(African derived) with East Indian rhythms and for nearly a decade before unleashing "the soul of calypso,"...soca music. Shorty had collaborated with Dominica's 1969 Calypso King, Lord Tokyo and two calypso lyricists, Chris Seraphine and Pat Aaron in the early 1970s on a visit to Dominica. Soon after Shorty released a song, "E-Petit" with words like "Ou dee moin ou petit Shorty" (meaning "you told me you are small Shorty"), a combination of calypso, cadence and Creole(as reported in Exile One Gordon Henderson's book, "Zoukland" 1999 edition). It would be Lord Kitchener who would begin the noticeable and accredited transition. According to Lord Kitchener's former manager Errol S. Peru, a pioneer in the promotion of calypso & soca music, "Kitch had a knack for Kaiso... anything he composed was instantly a hit." Byron Lee & the Dragonaires made soca a West Indian social wave, but the Baha Men, Kevin Lyttle, Machel Montano, Burning Flames, Krosfyah, Rupee Walker and others in the 21st century brought it to American recognition.
Some notable Soca Producers and Composers include, Leston Paul, Ibo Joseph, Kenny Phillips, Shawn Noel (Da Ma$tamind), Neil Bernard, KC Phillips, Kondwani "Kd" Applewhite, Ossie Gurley and a host of others.
Like calypso, soca was used for both social commentary and risqué humor, though the initial wave of soca acts eschewed the former. Lord Shorty was disillusioned with the genre by the 1980s because soca was being used to express courtships and sexual interests. Like all things related to sexual freedom, it was embraced because of its ability to reflect the desires of a society that was sexually repressed. Soca music became an expression of sexuality through metaphors in the West Indies. Soon after, Shorty moved to the Piparo forest, converted to the Rastafari movement and changed his name to Ras Shorty I. There he created a fusion of reggae and gospel music called jamoo (Jah music) in the late 1980s. In the 1990s, and now the new century, soca has evolved into a blend of musical styles. Machel Montano's collaborations with Jamaican musicians (Red Rat and Beenie Man), American musicians (like Walker Hornung), Panama musicians (Karamel and Lans) and Japanese artists have pushed the boundaries of modern Soca. Machel Montano would be the first mainstream soca artist to sell out venues all over the world including the Theater at Madison Square Garden.
The nickname of the Trinidad and Tobago national football team, the Soca Warriors, refers to this musical genre.
History
The reputed father of soca was Lord Shorty (born Garfield Blackman), in Trinidad and Tobago, whose 1973 recording of "Indrani"[1] started the trend.[2] In the 1970s he began writing calypso songs for other young calypsonians including Maestro and his cousin "BARON" who had a hit called "SEVERE LICKING" produced by Shorty. Trinidad and Tobago has been renowned for its magnificent carnivals, originator of calypso and the steel pan. A prolific musician, composer and innovator, Ras Shorty experimented the fusion of Calypso(African derived) with East Indian rhythms and for nearly a decade before unleashing "the soul of calypso,"...soca music. Shorty had collaborated with Dominica's 1969 Calypso King, Lord Tokyo and two calypso lyricists, Chris Seraphine and Pat Aaron in the early 1970s on a visit to Dominica. Soon after Shorty released a song, "E-Petit" with words like "Ou dee moin ou petit Shorty" (meaning "you told me you are small Shorty"), a combination of calypso, cadence and Creole(as reported in Exile One Gordon Henderson's book, "Zoukland" 1999 edition). It would be Lord Kitchener who would begin the noticeable and accredited transition. According to Lord Kitchener's former manager Errol S. Peru, a pioneer in the promotion of calypso & soca music, "Kitch had a knack for Kaiso... anything he composed was instantly a hit." Byron Lee & the Dragonaires made soca a West Indian social wave, but the Baha Men, Kevin Lyttle, Machel Montano, Burning Flames, Krosfyah, Rupee Walker and others in the 21st century brought it to American recognition.
Some notable Soca Producers and Composers include, Leston Paul, Ibo Joseph, Kenny Phillips, Shawn Noel (Da Ma$tamind), Neil Bernard, KC Phillips, Kondwani "Kd" Applewhite, Ossie Gurley and a host of others.
Like calypso, soca was used for both social commentary and risqué humor, though the initial wave of soca acts eschewed the former. Lord Shorty was disillusioned with the genre by the 1980s because soca was being used to express courtships and sexual interests. Like all things related to sexual freedom, it was embraced because of its ability to reflect the desires of a society that was sexually repressed. Soca music became an expression of sexuality through metaphors in the West Indies. Soon after, Shorty moved to the Piparo forest, converted to the Rastafari movement and changed his name to Ras Shorty I. There he created a fusion of reggae and gospel music called jamoo (Jah music) in the late 1980s. In the 1990s, and now the new century, soca has evolved into a blend of musical styles. Machel Montano's collaborations with Jamaican musicians (Red Rat and Beenie Man), American musicians (like Walker Hornung), Panama musicians (Karamel and Lans) and Japanese artists have pushed the boundaries of modern Soca. Machel Montano would be the first mainstream soca artist to sell out venues all over the world including the Theater at Madison Square Garden.