Soca News Magazine | June 2017

SOCANEWS Free

i120/ JUNE 2017 ISSN 1464-7087

socanews.com

MAS 2017

FUTURISTIC

GALAXIA

FUN MAS SECTION

tearsevents.com

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contents JUNE 2017 | ISSUE 120

regular

features

07. NEWS

10. Counting down

to London’s new Caribbean festival 18. in the village

12. SOCA PEOPLE SCROUGE

14. MUSIC

NEW RELEASES VIDEOS

SOCA ON THE WEB

SOCA RIDDIMS

21. EVENTS

FIND A FETE

VISIT OUR WEBSITE FOR MORE

SOCANEWS.COM

26. Soca Videos are

the new norm

25. feature

CARNIVALS & FESTIVALS

DIARY 2017 SN JUNE 2017 05

EdITOR’s Letter Hello, Hola, Bonjour, Ciao.... ok, so that’s as far as my googling of foreign languages is taking me today...

With just over 11 weeks to go and all the band launches now over, it’s down to you to get involved and choose a band, and then a costume - as we always say, don’t spectate, participate. There are a myriad of bands to choose from, all with their own take on the mas; the choice is yours.

If you would like to have Soca News delivered directly to your door, email your name and full postal address to info@socanews.com with the subject ‘Sign me up free for 12 months’, and we will do the rest.

COVER PHOTO OF TEARS MAS ‘FUTURISTIC’

We’re always looking for new writers, and I’ve been told that everyone has at least one good story in them. If you’d be interested in contributing to Soca News, please do get in touch; email us at info@socanews. com, and let’s get your name in print.

For information about advertising in the next issue, please contact us on 0333 012 4643.

YOURS IN SOCA. Joseph Charles EDITOR

PUBLISHER & EDITOR Joseph Charles jc@socanews.com CREATIVE Joseph Charles SUB EDITOR Katie Segal katie@socanews.com CONSULTING-EDITOR Stephen Spark stephen@socanews.com

SALES & ADVERTISING sales@socanews.com

ADDITIONAL SUPPORT Ashley Harris, Feminine Touch.

WORDS Adanna Austin, Joseph Charles, Shaun Hutchinson & Stephen Spark

PUBLISHED BY Joseph Charles Publishing 86-90 Paul Street London, EC2A 4NE

PICTURES Andrea DeSilva, Richard Holder, Shutter In Motion, Stephen Spark & Victor Morris

TELEPHONE + 44 (0) 333 012 4643 EMAIL info@socanews.com WEBSITE www.socanews.com

instagram.com/socanews

twitter.com/socanews

facebook.com/socanews

The views expressed in Soca News are not necessarily the views of the editor or the publisher. All material contained within this publication is the copyright of Soca News. No material, written or photographic may be reproduced in any way without the written permission of the publisher. No liability will be accepted for any errors which may occur within the magazine. © 2017 Soca News. All rights reserved.

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news

Paint the town red - Notting Hill changes hands WORDS | STEPHEN SPARK

The June general election ended on a spectacular note with controversial Conservative MP Victoria Borwick losing her Kensington seat, which includes Notting Hill. After three counts, Labour’s Emma Dent Coad won by just 20 votes. The extremely close contest meant that Kensington was the very last of the UK’s 650 parliamentary constituencies to declare a result. It has been a Conservative stronghold for many decades.

Lady Borwick hit the headlines in December 2015 when she said she would survey local residents and businesses about the future of Notting Hill Carnival.

Soca News interviewed Borwick in January 2016.

She told us: “Carnival brings tremendous pleasure; it brings tremendous cohesiveness; there are all sorts of very positive things about carnival.”

However, her floating of ideas such as ticketing the event, or moving it to a park, plus her focus on crime and knives, gave many people the impression that she was anti-carnival at heart.

By contrast, Coad is unashamedly a Notting Hill Carnival fan. In her blog, she revealed that she first attended in 1980, and recalled, “The freedom

of dancing and drinking in the street was new to me and exhilarating, and the atmosphere of pure joy – and love – was uplifting.” To the charge that carnival is a hotbed of crime, she noted, “Carnival doesn’t create crime. Criminals attend carnival.”

In her view, this crime coverage has prompted those who don’t understand the event to try to sanitise the carnival. Coad described her predecessor’s NHC survey as, “An ill-judged effort, with highly deterministic questions, that resulted in polarising and inflaming opinion”.

Soca News hopes to subject Emma Dent Coad to our own questionnaire, and we look forward to hearing more about her opinions of Notting Hill Carnival.

• Read her full post here: http://emmadentcoad. blogspot.co.uk/2016/09/my-carnival.html

FOR MORE NEWS VISIT

SOCANEWS.COM/NEWS SN JUNE 2017 07

news

london zouk explosion

T

he inauguration of Club Zouk at carnival in the 90’s created awareness of the music, Creole culture and associations with the music of the Caribbean and Africa. The club night took place every Friday in Dalston, and remained the destination of choice for a Parisianstyle African / Caribbean dance culture club, an alternative tropical night out to enhance appreciation of languages and culture.

For many, mention of zouk will bring to mind only the groups Kassav and Gazoline, but of course there are many, many more – in fact, there are now so many sub-genres that you might not have even heard of them. To mention just a few, do zouk chire, zouk beton, zouk love, zouk compa and zouk enbas boudin ring a bell?

If you would like to be part of the zouk movement, or just experience a good time, you’ll be happy to hear that Club Zouk is back - once a month, at the The Royal Lounge in Wembley.

Aimed at the new generation of zouk, soukous, soca, bouyon, compa and cadence–lovers, who enjoy and are proud of the culture they represent, every last Friday of the month it’s time to throw on your glad rags and get partying.

For more information, email clubzouk@btinternet.com or info@theroyallounge. co.uk; telephone Lloyd on +44 (0) 7961 753 359 or Garnet on +44 (0) 7984 937 109.

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cMA proposes a Soca Zone for Notting Hill Carnival 2017

T

he Caribbean Music Association, which governs the DJs who play music on the trucks over the two days of Notting Hill Carnival, have proposed a ‘Soca Zone’ to their members.

The zone would stretch the length of Ladbroke Grove, and would mean that DJs may only play music of the following genres; soca, samba, sega and compas (kompa).

Soca News welcomes ideas like this, but shouldn’t this apply to the entire carnival route?

Any DJ (a term used lightly) worth their salt should be doing this anyway. Tell us what you think by emailing your comments to editorial@socanews. com with ‘Soca Zone’ in the subject line.

FOR MORE NEWS VISIT

SOCANEWS.COM/NEWS

Brixton memorial will honour African and Caribbean troops WORDS | STEPHEN SPARK

S

eventy-two years after the end of the Second World War, Commonwealth soldiers are finally to be honoured with their own memorial. The African and Caribbean War Memorial will be unveiled in Windrush Square, Brixton appropriately enough on Windrush Day, Thursday 22 June.

Many will welcome this belated recognition of the vital role played in both world wars by African and Caribbean servicemen. The initiative received a letter of support from the Queen and has been supported by MPs, high commissioners and military leaders. However, the impetus for the memorial has come from a private body, the Nubian Jak Community Trust (NJCT), rather than any official body.

NJCT said that the aim of the memorial is to “ensure there is a lasting legacy honouring the contribution made by African and Caribbean Military Servicemen and Servicewomen as well as addressing the historical omissions that have been made about their participation”.

In both world wars, most of the African and Caribbean recruits were given non-fighting tasks,

which proved just as dangerous and unpleasant as combatant roles. In addition to the dangers of war, they had to put up with discrimination, lower pay, dirtier jobs and a lack of practical support after being demobbed.

In December 1918, resentment at this unequal treatment boiled over in the four-day Taranto Mutiny and, the following year, in strikes and riots in the Caribbean and London. Longer term, the disillusion among returning soldiers from the British West Indies Regiment fed calls for Caribbean independence. That resentment continued into the 21st century, as many of the old soldiers received no pension from their island government or the British government – and until Nubian Jak’s private initiative, no memorial in Britain either.

London Mayor Sadiq Khan said: “These brave individuals, who came from what was formerly the British Empire, sacrificed an enormous amount to defend the freedoms that we now enjoy.”

Related events include 20 June: Launch of the book REMEMBERED: In Memoriam. 21 June: Play REMEMBERED, Paul Robeson Theatre. 22 June: African & Caribbean Memorial World Celebration Concert.

For more details, see www.acmemorial.com; phone: 020 7692 4880; email: info@acmemorial.com.

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feature

Counting down to London’s new Caribbean festival WORDS | STEPHEN SPARK

T

he launch of a festival devoted to all things Caribbean is worth celebrating, so Soca News was excited to be invited to the press unveiling of Jus’ Caribbean on Thursday 18 May at the St Lucia High Commission in the presence of HE Guy Mayers.

The chief organiser is David Roberts, CEO of CaribDirect Multi-Media, and the event has Grace Foods UK as prime sponsor.

Brockwell Park in south London will be the venue for a two-day celebration of Caribbean food and drink on Saturday 19 and Sunday 20 August.

The dates are easy to remember, as it’s the weekend before Notting Hill Carnival. Expect plenty of stalls selling food from all the Caribbean islands, a big presence by Grace Foods (Levi ‘Reggae Reggae Sauce’ Roots and plenty of giveaways are promised), plus spirited erudition from rum ambassador Ian Burrell.

The picnic in the park atmosphere will be enhanced by music – watch this space for details – poetry and dance. Between acts, visitors can browse the arts and craft stalls, while children will have their own play area.

A big attraction will be the Caribbean Celebrity

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PICTURED KADIFA CHAMBERS MS TNT UK CARIVOG INTERNATIONAL MODEL 2016/17, DAVID AND CAROL ROBERTS, FOUNDERS OF CARIBDIRECT MULTI-MEDIA.

Cook-Off. Competing for a £1,000 first prize, the best Caribbean chefs will be pitted against each other under “near primitive conditions” (which seems a little harsh on Herne Hill), with three hours to produce a three-course meal from a black box of “mystery ingredients”.

There’s a serious side to the event too. On Friday 18 August, the Caribbean Food & Drink Conference will take place at Lambeth College, Clapham Common South Side. Topics under discussion include investing in the Caribbean, climate change, health (diabetes and allergies) and advice for Caribbean producers on accessing the UK food and drinks market in the post-Brexit economy.

Help for Heroes, Prostate Cancer UK and a Sickle Cell charity are the event’s three nominated charities. At the launch the chair of the African Caribbean War Memorial also said her charity wanted to be involved in Jus’ Caribbean.

Tickets for the conference will cost £20 online, £25 at the door, and for the festival at £5 online and £10 at the gate.

Find out more at: juscaribbean.com; Facebook: JusCaribbeanFestival; Twitter: @JusCaribbeFest.

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soca people

scrouge Scrouge’s biggest musical influence is Bunji Garlin. He says that he’s been following the artist since before he was well-known, and has always admired the commitment and drive behind his music - something that Scrouge himself has adopted since jumping onto the soca bandwagon.

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Tour Dates 24/June CHARLESTON, SC 01/July MIAMI, FL 15/July ATLANTIC CITY, NJ 21-22/July MINNEAPOLIS, MN 12/August SAN DIEGO, CA Check social media for more performance dates.

INSTAGRAM.COM/SCROUGEMUSIC TWITTER.COM/SCROUGEMUSIC_3P

L

ashawn ‘Scrouge’ Selwood is no stranger to the worlds of calypso or soca. The entertainer, who hails from the U.S. Virgin Islands, has been singing and performing since 2012.

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music

new soca releases HERE ARE JUST SOME OF THE NEW SOCA RELEASES FROM THE UK, BARBADOS, GRENADA, SAINT VINCENT AND SAINT LUCIA

POLE DEEVINE

BIPOLAR LAVAMAN

RHYTHM SECTION

BLOCK THE ROAD

UPSIDE DOWN

BOAT RIDE

PROMOTER TROUBLES

LIL PIECE

ALL I WANT IS YOU

TOM AND JERRY

HYPA 4000

SHORTPREE

SKINNY FABULOUS

NAPHTALI

PETER RAM

MS PAIGE

RED PLASTIC BAG

SUNSHINE & NADIVA

FOR MORE MUSIC VISIT

SOCANEWS.COM/MUSIC

MORE MUSIC MAY BE FOUND ONLINE AT SOCANEWS.COM/MUSIC 014 SN JUNE 2017

soca on the web Sunday 5-8 PM

7-9 PM

MEGA MIX SHOW DJ CRIS VIBESFM.COM

THE BEAT SOCA SHOW

SMOKEY JOE & DANNYD THE BEAT 103.6FM

6-8 PM

THE CARIBBEAN AFFAIR

videos

new soca riddims

MARTIN JAY BAKAHNALRADIO.COM

8-10 PM BAKAHNAL IN D

JUNCTION

DJ TORO BAKAHNALRADIO.COM

monday 7-9 PM

Baila Mami

NAILAH BLACKMAN

WE LIMING

DJ SONIC CARIBBEANSESSIONS.CO.UK

boom box riddim

9-11 PM FLAG ZONE

FLAGZ SOUNDS CARIBBEANSESSIONS.CO.UK

VARIOUS ARTISTS

10-12 PM BACCHANAL VYBES

OF SOCA

SOCA DEVIL RJR 98.3FM RADIORJR.COM

tuesday 7-9 PM

ISLAND VIBES

DJ TWIN T CARIBBEANSESSIONS.CO.UK

Miserable MENACE

wednesday 7-9 PM

THE DUKEZ OF HAZARD SHOW

DJ DUKEZ CARIBBEANSESSIONS.CO.UK

mad people jab riddim

9-11 PM JUST ROLO

DJ ROLO CARIBBEANSESSIONS.CO.UK

thursday 6-8 PM

D BREAK AWAY SHOW

7-9 PM

SHUTDOWN SHOW

DIGGA D BAKAHNALRADIO.COM

VARIOUS ARTISTS

oath

TIAN WINTER

DJ SLYSTA CARIBBEANSESSIONS.CO.UK

9-11 PM SOCA SHAKEDOWN

MIKE FORBES CARIBBEANSESSIONS.CO.UK

Friday 7-9 PM

SOCA OR DIE

RAS KENNY CARIBBEANSESSIONS.CO.UK

9-11 PM CARIBBEAN SESSIONS

SHOWCASE

DJ CJAY CARIBBEANSESSIONS.CO.UK

Refill FAITH

ramen & Bread riddim VARIOUS ARTISTS

saturday 7-9 PM

ON THE MOVE

THE MOVEMENTS FAMILY CARIBBEANSESSIONS.CO.UK

IF YOU HAVE OR KNOW OF A RADIO PROGRAMME THAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO SEE INCLUDED IN THIS SECTION, PLEASE EMAIL INFO@SOCANEWS.COM WITH ALL THE RELEVANT INFORMATION SN JUNE 2017 015

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feature

In the village

W

elcome to ‘What’s happening @ Carnival Village’, a monthly round-up of carnival arts and activities at the Tabernacle and Yaa Centre.

The FREE carnival arts workshops, in partnership with Elimu Mas Academy, are in full swing at the Yaa Centre.

You may have missed the first three - ‘Wire Bending’, ‘Moko Jumbie’ and ‘Accessorising Your Costumes’, but there is still time and availibility for the others. They’re creative, educational, fun events where you can observe or participate in carnival crafts and skills with a specialist artist or artisan guiding you.

For more details about the workshops, to book a place or see the other events in the summer programme, check out the website at: http://yaacentrew9.com/events.

Are you a mas band, individual artist or member of any of the carnival arts arenas? The Yaa Centre has workshop space available to hire, at a very reasonable carnival-loving rate. For more details, contact admin@carnivalvillage.org.uk. We would love to hear from you.

Don’t forget…

At the Tabernacle we have the monthly Kaiso Lime in association with Talk Yah Talk Kaiso on the first Saturday of the month, and some seriously good jamming with ‘Steel Pan Clash’ on the first Sunday of each month.

Culinary delights await you in the Tabernacle restaurant, which serves Caribbean cuisine with periodic and unique twists influenced by the diverse ethnicities of the region.

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events

You are strongly advised to check with the event promoter, as details sometimes change and cancellations may occur; all information was correct at the time of going to print.

sat 17 Jun

sun 18 Jun

sat 24 Jun

ELIMU MAS ACADEMY AND CARNIVAL VILLAGE TRUST

MAGNUM OPUS EVENTS

ELIMU MAS ACADEMY AND CARNIVAL VILLAGE TRUST

CARNIVAL WORK� SHOP: MAKING UP FOR MAS

@ Yaa Centre, 1 Chippenham Mews, W9 2AN. Time 1-4pm.

Price free. See pp.16-17

ASHTON AND FRIENDS CATERING

CURRY ON DE THAMES 5

@ Royal Princess, Festival Pier South Bank, Belvedere Road, SE1 8XZ. Time 8pm. Sailing at 9pm. Price £30, food included.

CUKA

DOMINICA VS ST LUCIA

@ Heritage Inn Rhum Bar, 301 Cricklewood Broadway, NW2 6PG. Time 10pm-3am.

Price £10 & £12.

SOCANEWS.COM /EVENTS

SO SO SOCA

@ The Magic Roundabout, Old Street Roundabout, EC1Y 1BE. Time 2-11pm. Price £4, £8 & £12.

ELIMU MAS ACADEMY AND CARNIVAL VILLAGE TRUST

CARNIVAL WORK� SHOP: MAS MAKING - BACK PACKS AND HARNESSES

@ Yaa Centre, 1 Chippenham Mews, W9 2AN. Hosted by Tony Mason. Time 2-5pm. Price free.

See pp.16-17

fri 23 Jun D’REMEDY

SIZZLING SUMMER LIME

@ Miusan, 16 Inverness Street, NW1 7HJ. DJs Triple M, Armanic Hic, DJ Tate & Prince Vern. Guest DJs Ms RiRi. Time 8pm-2am.

Price £5 & £10.

CARNIVAL WORK� SHOP: WIRE BENDING - CREATION AND ARTISTRY @ Yaa Centre, 1 Chippenham Mews, W9 2AN. Hosted by Carl & Lynette Gabriel. Time 11am5pm. Price free. See pp.16-17

BARBADOS CULTURAL ORGANISATION

ANNUAL CHARITY BALL @ Holiday Inn London Bloomsbury, Coram Street, WC1N 1HT. Time 7pm-2am.

Price £55. Tel 07834 883 370.

sun 25 Jun ELIMU MAS ACADEMY AND CARNIVAL VILLAGE TRUST

CARNIVAL WORK� SHOP: DANCE JAMBOREE

@ Yaa Centre, 1 Chippenham Mews, W9 2AN. Time 2-3:30pm.

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events

COCOYEA LONDON

SUMMER OF SOCA MUSIC

@ The Soca Temple, Undersolo 22 Inverness Street, NW1 7HJ. DJs Soca Massive, DJ Fats & Zoomer D. Time 5pm-midnight.

Price free b4 8pm, £5 thereafter.

Tel 07956 223 247.

NUTMEG MACE SPICE ASSOCIATION

FISHERMAN'S BIRTHDAY - FAMILY FUN DAY

@ The Old Lyonian Sports & Social Club, 74 Pinner View, HA1 4QF. Time midday-7.30pm.

Price £2 children, £5 adults.

tue 27 Jun COCOYEA

ION BAR DAYS

@ The Soca Temple, Undersolo 22 Inverness Street, NW1 7HJ. DJs Smokey Joe plus other DJs on rotation. Time 7-11pm. Price Free.

thur 29 Jun SOCAHOLIC & UCOM

SUMMER TING

@ Mabel’s, 29-30 Maiden Lane, WC2E 7JS. DJs DJ Chris Vee, Mr Hype & DJ Jamzy. Time 6pmlate. Price free b4 8pm.

SOCANEWS.COM /EVENTS

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fri 30 Jun

sun 02 Jul

SOCA MASSIVE AND ASSOCIATES

BARBADOS CULTURAL ORGANISATION

WE JAMMIN’ STILL

@ RnR Wine Bar, 225 Chingford Mount Road, Chingford, E4 8LP. DJs Soca Massive, Zoomer D & DJ Fats. Time 8pm. Price £5 after 10pm.

GET MAD ENTERTAINMENT

BASHMENT & CHILL

@ Dogstar, 389 Coldharbour Lane, SW9 8LQ. DJs DJ Shakit.

Time 10pm-3:30am. Price free before 10pm, then £5.

THE ROYAL LOUNGE

CLUB ZOUK - DRESS UP FRIDAY

@ The Royal Lounge, 397 High Road, Wembley, HA9 6AA. Time 9pm-5am. Price £10 + b/fee.

sat 01 Jul TALK YUH TALK IN ASSOCIATION WITH CARNIVAL VILLAGE TRUST

KAISO LIME!

@ Carnival Village, Tabernacle Powis Square, W11 2AY. DJs Soca Massive, DJ Fats & Zoomer D. Time 7pm-10:30pm. Price free.

ONE THE BAND

DE ONE FETE CAMOUFLAGE

@ Nambucca, 596 Holloway Road, N7 6LB. DJs DJ CJay, Trevor Davis, Danny D & DJ Slam. Time 8pm2am. Price £7.50 & £10.50.

ANNUAL CRICKET EXTRAVAGANZA

@ Blagdons Cricket Club, Beverley Way, KT3 4PU. Live Acts Mistah Dale. Time 10am.

Price £10 adults, £3 children, £5 parking.Tel 07834 883 370

ELIMU MAS ACADEMY AND CARNIVAL VILLAGE TRUST

CARNIVAL WORK� SHOP: DECORATIVE TECHNIQUES: FOOTWEAR

@ Yaa Centre, 1 Chippenham Mews, W9 2AN. Hosted by Tia Rochester. Time 1-4pm. Price free. See pp.16-17

sat 08 Jul ELIMU MAS ACADEMY AND CARNIVAL VILLAGE TRUST

CARNIVAL WORK� SHOP: THE BEAT OF CARNIVAL: JAB JAB @ Yaa Centre, 1 Chippenham Mews, W9 2AN. Hosted by Greta Mendez. Time 5-9pm.

Price free. See pp.16-17

SHIPWRECKED CARNIVAL LONDON

DUTTY LAVA - UV PAINT PARTY

Vauxhall Arches, 39 Parry Street, SW8 1RT. Time 9pm-4am. Price £10 & £20.

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Carnivals & festivals Diary

2017

Are you looking for somewhere exciting to go this year? These are just some of the carnivals and festivals taking place worldwide, as well as several right here in the UK. (Where relevant, we’ve used the date of the main event as an indicator, although the carnival/festival season may run for longer.)

jun 2017

01 - 04 04 10 16 - 19 17 17 20 - 22 22 - 25 24 25 30 - 02

SOUTH CAROLINA CARNIVAL BERLIN - CARNIVAL OF CULTURES NORTHAMPTON CARNIVAL BERMUDA HEROES WEEKEND OSLO KARNEVAL BIELEFELDER CARNIVAL OF CULTURES ST KITTS MUSIC FESTIVAL HOLLYWOOD CARNIVAL CHARLESTON CARIFEST PRESTON CARIBBEAN CARNIVAL SWISS SOCA FESTIVAL

SOUTH CAROLINA, USA BERLIN, GERMANY NORTHAMPTON, UK BERMUDA OSLO, NORWAY BIELEFELD, GERMANY ST KITTS HOLLYWOOD, USA SOUTH CAROLINA, USA PRESTON, UK ZURICH & LUCERNE

jul 2017

02 03 - 04 08 10 - 11 14 - 16 15 - 16 15 - 16 17 - 18 22 29

COWLEY ROAD CARNIVAL CARNAVAL TROPICAL DE PARIS GENEVA CARNAVAL VINCY MAS BRAZILICA CARNIVAL DERBY CARIBBEAN CARNIVAL ACTON CARNIVAL SAINT LUCIA CARNIVAL CARIBBEAN MUSIC FESTIVAL ZOMER CARNAVAL

OXFORD, UK PARIS, FRANCE GENEVA, SWITZERLAND ST VINCENT LIVERPOOL, UK DERBY, UK ACTON, UK SAINT LUCIA LIVERPOOL, UK ROTTERDAM, HOLLAND

SOCANEWS.COM/CARNIVALS * AT THE TIME OF GOING TO PRINT ALL INFORMATION WAS DEEMED TO BE CORRECT. WE HAVE DOUBLE AND TRIPLE CHECKED OUR DATES, BUT IF YOU CAN SEE AN ERROR, OR THERE IS AN EVENT YOU THINK WE’VE MISSED, PLEASE LET US KNOW BY EMAILING INFO@SOCANEWS.COM. SN JUNE 2017 025

feature

MX PRIME PERFORMING AT BREAKFAST IS 2017

Soca I

Videos are the new norm WORDS | ADANNA AUSTIN

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n 2009, only a handful of soca artists understood the importance of having a music video. They were few and far between, and they represented the best of the industry. In those times, making a video was an added expense that not every soca artist could afford. Even in the last few years, many of the videos in existence for soca songs were ‘lyrics videos’, where you just saw an animation of the song’s lyrics as the song played.

Fast-forward to 2017, and most, if not all, artists have a video to accompany at least two or three of their songs. Why? Because it helps the audience stay connected to the music, and it’s a vital part of their marketing strategy -especially when competing on the international stage.

Few if any calypso artists recognised the importance of the video. The great legend Kitchener had some foresight, and saw the importance of creating visual accompaniments for Run, Tokyo Band and Bees Melody. His comrades might not have been as visionary, but the craze would soon catch on. Now, both young and old have soca videos. From Calypso

LEAVE ME ALONE - CALYPSO ROSE

WATCH THING + LIGHTS GO DOWN - SKINNY FABULOUS

Rose to Aaron Duncan - one of the youngest soca stars - the video is almost ubiquitous in 2017.

A video is an essential tool in any artist’s arsenal, to stay a cut above the rest. A soca video transcends not just the music and the lyrics but gets the audience involved in the story. So popular are music videos now, that fans are also creating parodies of them using nothing but their mobile devices; have you seen the parody of 2017 Road March, We Jamming Still? It’s a testament to the power of video in this age of soca, and why it is such a memorable medium.

Artists continue to push the boundaries, finding new ways to reach their audience and captivate attention each year, and video has definitely become one of the best ways to do so. In 2017, we not only heard but experienced their power when artists including Destra, Voice and Machel launched a new song and dropped a video immediately, instead of after the usual months’ wait. It’s now much more accessible, even for those with limited budgets, to create their own videos; with the popularity of

VAGABOND - RICARDO DRUE

WHO DRINKING RUM - KING BUBBA

live streaming on mobile devices, some artists are simply relying on capturing live footage of their performances.

Many of the videos may be found on YouTube and or the artist’s website, and can be easily embedded into social media. This is giving artists a wider reach, not only across the Caribbean but globally. A quick search on YouTube will find videos of some kind from most soca artists across the Caribbean.

As soca artists work to keep up with international standards, plus try to be relevant for 12 months of the year, artists like Peter Ram, Destra and King Bubba recognise that they are not only competing with their counterparts. They’re trying to capture the imagination of an audience who are constantly hooked on live streaming videos of their favourite international stars such as Beyonce, Chance the Rapper and Rihanna. For these reasons, they realise that the music is not enough. The world is evolving into a more immediate one, where seeing is believing and seeing is everything.

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ADVERTISING TO ADVERTISE IN THE NEXT ISSUE OF SOCA NEWS t. +44 (0) 333 012 4643 e. sales@socanews.com

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The Soca News brand specialises in, and is dedicated to, Caribbean music, news, culture, carnival and lifestyle. It is established as the UK’s leading authority on soca music, stories, events, and has instant access to a vast online global community.

to advertise or subscribe

+44 (0) 333 012 4643 | info@socanews.com

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