Soca News Magazine - May 2022

SOCANEWS F REE

MAY 2022/142 ISSN 1464-7087

SOCANEWS.COM

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CONTENTS MAY 2022 | ISSUE 142

REGULAR 07 NEWS 18 MUSIC

New Soca Releases Albums/Riddims Radio Shows + Streams

31 EVENTS

40 CARNIVAL CALENDAR

PLAY AH MAS ITS CARNIVAL TIME Here is just some of the upcoming carnivals over the next couple of months.

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Your soca guide to whats happening when and where.

42 TRAVEL

Sea level rise threat to Caribbean islands – Guadeloupe, Martinique, Marie-galante and Saint Martin

28. SOCA PEOPLE

Blaxx, Dexter Stewart, a brief profile of his life and career

REVIEW

FEATURES

14. ACASA’S SPRING COLLECTION

24 CARIBBEAN CULTURE

Calypso and Soca return in style

PREVIEW 16. LIVE SOCA ACTS IN LONDON

When and where to see them

at the Foire de Paris – but the real attraction is hall 4

37 QUEENS’S JUBILEE

A right royal platinum parade preview

NEVER MISS AN ISSUE

44 CARNIVAL ARTS

and culture come to Oxford in July

ALL ISSUES ARE FREE ONLINE OR SUBSCRIBE TO RECEIVE A PRINTED COPY

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GET LISTED: If you’re a carnival organiser, promoter, mas band, steelband, soca sound, community group or other participant who’s feeling left out because we didn’t mention your event, or if you’d like to advertise in the magazine or online, the remedy is in your hands. Get in touch! Email us at info@socanews.com or call on 0333 012 4643.

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EDITOR'S

LETTER Hello Soca People

I

hope this issue finds you fired up, and ready for the road ahead.

On social media, websites and pretty much everywhere you look there’s plenty of talk about Notting Hill Carnival 2022. Bands are launching left, right and centre, trying to sell you any amount of feathers, sequins, gems and fabulous experiences.

Yes, we’ve seen the comments/complaints about the lack of material in some of the costumes being advertised. However, with more than 60 bands officially listed by Notting Hill Carnival Ltd, you’ll surely find a costume that you’re going to feel comfortable wearing on the road. And many bands do have options with more coverage than we are shown see in the promo shots, so delve deep.

Look out for our full list of bands and their 2022 themes in our June issue. We’ll also be hearing from some of the designers whose creativity makes carnival such a special artistic experience.

It’s a busy month, and we have over three pages of events for you to look through (see page 31). Let us know how many events you manage to attend this month, and which ones really impressed you.

Don’t forget that if you'd like to put pen to paper and try writing for us, you can just email hello@socanews.com.

COVER IMAGE SAHARA FROLIC NATION

YOURS IN SOCA Joseph Charles EDITOR

PUBLISHER & EDITOR Joseph Charles jc@socanews.com

SALES & MARKETING sales@socanews.com

CREATIVE Arian Popal, Joseph Charles & Sidney Silburn

WORDS Dunstan Creavalle, Radeya Dikumwini Osman & Stephen Spark

SUB EDITOR Katie Segal katie@socanews.com

PICTURES Shutter In Motion, Stephen Spark & Suicidal Shots

CONSULTING EDITOR Stephen Spark stephen@socanews.com

instagram.com/socanews

twitter.com/socanews

PUBLISHED BY Soca News Ltd 86-90 Paul Street London, EC2A 4ND TELEPHONE + 44 (0) 333 012 4643 EMAIL info@socanews.com WEBSITE www.socanews.com

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. © 2022 Soca News. All rights reserved.

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NEWS

• ELIZABETH 'LADY' MONTANO

MACHEL MONTANO CELEBRATES 40 YEARS AS KING OF SOCA

E

lizabeth ‘Lady’ Montano has written a biography of her son, entitled King of Soca. The story of Machel Montano will be on Trinidadian bookshelves and in online bookstores in June.

The book is one of the key elements put in place to celebrate Machel's 40th anniversary in music; it is accompanied by several significant events taking place around the world. The biography is also the debut publication of Lady’s very own EESM Publishers imprint.

King of Soca gives readers premium access to the professional and personal life of one of the biggest global soca artists, through the words of his own mother. It covers the evolution of man and artist over four decades, detailing uncommon elements of his journey in the world. To keep abreast of developments or pre-order, follow @kingofsoca across Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, or email eesm@kingofsoca.com for more information.

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NEWS

BARKING & DAGENHAM CARNIVAL IS BACK

A

fter being physically absent for two Covid-affected years, Barking and Dagenham Carnival will be returning this year with both live and online elements. It will take place at the Barking Learning Centre and in Barking Town Square.

The carnival was created by Ukon Careers in 2014 as a children’s celebration, but has since transformed into a family event open to all, including senior citizens, children, young people and disabled persons.

Revellers can expect steelpan and soca performances, dance, performances from local and international carnival artists, African drumming, tamboo bamboo, samba and carnival craft-making workshops.

Volunteers are welcome, so if you’d like to get involved, contact Cleon at info@ukoncareers.com.

Barking & Dagenham Carnival takes place on Saturday 9 July, from 1pm to 6pm.

GOT A STORY? EMAIL US NEWS@SOCANEWS.COM 8 SN MAY 2022

GET UP, STAND UP!

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f you haven’t yet, get yourself down to the West End to see Get Up, Stand Up! The Bob Marley Musical. Reflecting the life of the revolutionary reggae superstar, the production is showing now at the Lyric Theatre, London.

The musical resonates with the way Marley used his music to provide solace and resistance against oppressors. Masterminded by the multiaward-winning team of Lee Hall (writer) and Clint Dyer (director), performers tell an insightful story filled with passion, politics and resilient hope, from Trenchtown to the West End. The Evening Standard said, "It isn’t just a joyful night out it’s a major and important cultural event”.

Get Up, Stand Up! The Bob Marley Musical is showing at the Lyric Theatre, Shaftesbury Avenue and is booking now until January 2023. For more information and tickets visit https://getupstandupthemusical.com/about.

NEWS

TOBAGO CARNIVAL CONFIRMED FOR OCTOBER

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fter two years of enduring, Tobago Carnival is ready to unpack its bags and hit the road in full swing, from Friday 28 to Sunday 30 October.

Tashia Burris, Tobago House of Assembly (THA) Secretary for Tourism, Culture, Antiquities and Transportation, announced on Monday 4 April at the assembly's Mandate virtual forum that revellers can expect the full carnival experience - as compared to the modified version held in Trinidad in February.

THA Chief Secretary Farley Augustine added that the committee formed to plan the festival and events is still under construction, but assured the public that there will be concrete news to share by next week.

Whilst information about the budget allocation is yet to be released, stakeholders, including Trinbago Unified Calypsonian Organisation (TUCO), Pan Trinbago's Tobago Region and the Tobago Carnival Band Leaders Association, are currently making plans for the carnival to be the best in Tobago's history.

KINETIKA 2022 FLAG HIRE BROCHURE

K

inetika has launched Spectacular Installations, a brochure showcasing the company’s distinctive, intricate and colourful hand-painted silk banners which may be hired for events.

For more than two decades Kinetika has created large-scale silks, which tell diverse stories and have featured in such high-profile events as the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

The 20 hand-painted, 6m-tall scrolls from the Silk River Collection (2017) were produced to celebrate the 70th anniversary of Indian independence, and the country’s cultural relationship with the UK. In 2024 Kinetika plans to reprise its 2021 Beach of Dreams project, which took 500 pennants on a 500-mile journey along the east coast of Britain. To find out more, see https://kinetika. co.uk/hires SN MAY 2022 9

NEWS

KES AND MACHEL TO PERFORM AT ESSENCE FESTIVAL OF CULTURES

T

he Essence Festival of Cultures is taking centre stage in New Orleans, Louisiana, this summer, from 30 June to 3 July and global soca icons Kes the Band and Machel Montano have been billed to perform on Friday 1 July.

Headliner Nicki Minaj and supporting acts Beenie Man and Mickey Guyton will also thrill the crowd with their performances on the same day.

Other headlining artists will include Kevin Hart, Janet Jackson, New Edition, The Isley Brothers, The Roots & Friends, Summer Walker, Jazmine Sullivan and, D-Nice & Friends.

Sponsors for this year's festival include CocaCola, AT&T, Ford and Black & Positively Golden.

To learn more about the festival and to buy tickets, visit www.essence.com/essence-festival-2022.

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• KES (AKA KES THE BAND)

PHOTOGRAPHER | SUICIDAL SHOTZ

WOMEN IN CARIBBEAN CARNIVAL: POWER, PERFORMANCE AND PLAY

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n a recent lecture, Dr Emily Zobel Marshalls spoke about the historical and cultural context of Carnival, giving a glimpse into her research on women in Carnival. She spoke extensively about the famed mythological trickster, the symbolic meaning of Carnival to Caribbean people and the many roles women play in Caribbean carnivals.

Dr Marshall is the author of Anansi’s Journey: A Story of Jamaican Cultural Resistance (2012) and American Trickster: Trauma Tradition and Brer Rabbit.

A video of the lecture is available on YouTube.

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NEWS

MANCHESTER CARNIVAL SCORES HALF A CENTURY

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he organisers of the 2022 edition of Manchester Carnival are calling for mas and steel bands to participate in this great annual event, which will be back on the road after two years lost to Covid restrictions.

The carnival began between 1970 and 1971, when a group of Nevisians and Trinbagonians started a procession; it has now developed into a much-loved Manchester tradition.

This year, the carnival runs from Saturday 13 to Sunday 14 August – and it will finally be able to celebrate (a little later than expected) its 50th anniversary.

To take part, for sponsorship opportunities or for more details about what’s planned, send an email to Manchester.CarnivalTC@outlook.com.

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READING CARNIVAL 2022 IS CANCELLED

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he Reading Caribbean Cultural Group (RCCG) has announced that this year's Reading Carnival, which was scheduled to take place from Friday 26 to Sunday 28 August, has been cancelled. The carnival cancellation is a casualty of the difficulty in securing funding to host the free event, and the challenge of securing volunteers.

RCCG is currently partnering with Reading Borough Council, Thames Valley Police, local businesses, and local community organisations to focus on providing a safe, family-friendly community carnival in 2023. There will be a fundraising event for Reading Carnival 2023 on Friday 3 June at The Atrium, Scours Lane, Reading, RG30 6AY. For more information, or to support the carnival as a volunteer or with a donation, email rccg.cic@gmail.com.

NEWS

JUST INCARNIVAL T-SHIRTS GIVEAWAY

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he organisers of mas band Just INCarnival will be giving away free Queen's Jubilee T-shirts as they invite revellers to come and experience the vibrancy of Caribbean culture on 2 June at Golders Hill Park.

The band will be there as part of a Jubilee fun day celebration, sponsored by the City of London and the London Borough of Barnet.

There will be music, entertainment, food stalls and a funfair, all culminating in a fireworks display.

The Jubilee Fun Day takes place in Golders Hill Park, NW3 7HE, on Thursday 2 June, from 2pm to 10pm. For updates and more information, visit, justincarnival.com.

WATFORD CARNIVAL Watford has plans underway to celebrate its first Watford Cultural and Musical Carnival this summer. It is scheduled to take place on Saturday 30 July at the Radlett Road Playing Field, Watford.

ATLANTA DEKALB CARNIVAL 2022

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fter a postponement last year due to the Covid-19 pandemic and its attendant issues, the Atlanta Dekalb Carnival, organised by the Atlanta Carnival Bandleaders Council and Atlanta Carnival Entertainment, will return in 2022.

The festival promises to be ‘The Hottest Carnival in North America’, and is described as a familyfriendly event filled with international and local artists, food, drinks and other side attractions.

This year's carnival will take place on 28 May, Memorial Day Weekend, at Stonecrest, Georgia.

For tickets and more information visit www.atlantadekalbcarnival.com.

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REVIEW

• BROWN SUGAR

PHOTOGRAPHER | STEPHEN SPARK

ACASA'S SPRING COLLECTION

CALYPSO AND SOCA RETURN IN STYLE WORDS | STEPHEN SPARK

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ficionados of ‘the first music of the Caribbean’ have been heading to the London Calypso Tent every August since 1992. So what were we doing at the Tabernacle in Powis Square this March? It was actually the end of the 2021 season running a little late, thanks to Covid and some funding hiccups (covered recently by Soca News).

Happily, the weather played along, and on both days – Thursday 24 and Saturday 26 March – the sun and cloudless blue sky did their best to convince us it really was August.

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So too did the ACASA All-Stars Band, which was in cracking form. It was hard to believe that it had been more than two years since we’d been able to enjoy live these talented musicians. The Divettes, in great voice as always, showcased their beautiful harmonies before MC SuperTrini Vibes (Kerryn Seale) got the main show underway.

Because this was a show rather than a competition, we heard a mix of old and new songs. And what a variety they were – up-tempo party soca, old-school soca, passionate calypso, humorous calypso and traditional calypso. We were taken

on a journey of (re)discovery, from Muffinman’s summery feelgood factor Smashin’ (“Under the Westway, that’s the best way”), Brown Sugar’s protest against received wisdom on Covid 4 Times Likely and classic Cloak style in Don’t Run Down My Brother Calypsonians, to Musicman’s catchy Me Know, Rev B’s dignified Raise Yuh Head and G-String’s old yet up-to-the-minute topical High Blood Pressure ("stressed out by non-stop media coverage of “war and rumours of war…”).

The London Calypso Tent – which includes the Calypso Monarch and Groovy Soca Monarch competitions – is organised by ACASA, the Association of Calypsonians and Soca Artistes. The second genre in the organisation’s name also provided us with lots of variety. Batch reprised his popular Hold On Tight and gave some instruction to our MC, De Admiral took us straight back to soca’s golden age with You Give It To Somebody, contrasting with Ms Desire’s energy-filled performance of Doing Me. The strong, punchy opening to Helena B’s road march -ready Feel It is a wake-up call to DJs to play this at Notting Hill 2022, whilst DeeVine’s Can’t Wuk Me has what it takes to get a fete on the move. And of course SunDivas put their all into their ever-popular Unstoppable.

However, there was one calypso that conveyed a message so relevant, poignant and powerful that it prompted sustained applause. Tobago Crusoe’s Nobody Wins a War stole the show, proving that a well-conceived calypso is truly timeless. A few hours before, your reviewer had been reporting on the Ukraine solidarity march and rally in Trafalgar Square, where John Lennon’s 1969 hippy anthem Give Peace a Chance was played. Admirable sentiments, of course, but, of the two songs, Crusoe’s is by far the most impressive. In these troubled times, it surely deserves daily national airplay, not to mention translation into Russian and Ukrainian.* Crusoe ended his session with a wickedly sharp take on Prince Andrew’s dubious antics (“The Grand Old Duke of York/He loved plenty woman”), skewering his subject more successfully in a few humorous lines than many outraged commentators have done in several pages of newsprint.

The evening closed with a rendition of Happy Birthday for bandleader Felix, as most of the calypsonians joined him on stage for a final fling.

The show provided ample proof that UK calypso and soca have survived the pandemic in fine voice. Congratulations to ACASA chair Vincent

John and his team, the band, the artists, the Divettes and the Tabernacle for overcoming all the challenges to ensure that the 2022 season now start… * There’s a curious Trivial Pursuit-style connection between Tobago Crusoe, the President of Ukraine and Notting Hill. Crusoe sang classic calypso on the two Paddington Bear films; President Zelensky voiced the part of Paddington for the Ukrainian-language versions; and Peruvian Paddington was, of course, a resident of the Royal Borough, ostensibly living next door to Paddington Arts and across the road from the Yaa Centre.

There’s surely a calypso in that - Give Marmalade a Chance, perhaps?

• DE ADMIRAL

PHOTOGRAPHER | STEPHEN SPARK

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PREVIEW LIVE SOCA ACTS IN LONDON WORDS | RADEYA DIKUMWINI OSMAN

We won’t mention covid if you don’t… but word on the street is that the world is opening up again as both tensions and restrictions are easing. As several artists touch down on our shores, it’s beginning to look colourful over here. Soca News has curated a list of events and shows to go to in London. The list exclusively comprises performances by soca artists in London during May.

FRI CHANCE 20 Preedy

MAY

SAT 21

I LOVE SEWO JAM

MAY

Featuring Saint Lucian artist and Chocolat crooner, Blackboy, and Dominica’s Triple Kay Combo alongside plenty of bouyon, dennery segment and more by a host of DJs, this show promises to serve the audience with back-to-back, high energy performances.

SUN 29

BRUNCH & DAY PARTY

MAY

FRI 3

JUN

SAT 4 JUN

• FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT ANY OF THESE EVENTS, VISIT SOCANEWS. COM/EVENTS

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Presented by Soca Madhouse, Wine Pon Live artist, Preedy will be live with his show 'Chance' for the first time in London. This international debut of the artist’s show will be in Brixton.

Blackboy, Triple Kay

Nessa Preppy

To be hosted in London, this Candy Mas event will feature a live performance by Touching It singer Nessa Preppy, as well as an showcase of the band’s costumes for Notting Hill Carnival 2022.

HELLO SUMMER

Kerwin Dubois, Farmer Nappy, Bunji Garlin, Fay-Ann Lyons, Edwin Yearwood, Ms Desire On the Bank Holiday Friday of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, Kerwin Dubois, Farmer Nappy, Bunji Garlin, Fay-Ann Lyons and Edwin Yearwood will all feature live at Mingle UK’s ‘Jam All Weekend Festival’.

JAM J’OUVERT

Shal Marshall, Problem Child, Motto, Lil Natty & Thunda, Tallpree, Pahjo, Triniboi Joocie Shal Marshall, Problem Child, Motto, Lil Natty & Thunda, Tallpree, Pahjo and Triniboi Joocie are all scheduled to thrill audiences on the Jubilee weekend with their live performances at Mingle UK’s ‘Jam All Weekend Festival’.

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MUSIC SOCA TRACKS

FOR MORE MUSIC VISIT SOCANEWS.COM/MUSIC

BLAXX PLAYLIST

DEXTER STEWART, OR BLAXX, AS HE WAS KNOWN, SADLY PASSED AWAY. CHECK OUT OUR PLAYLIST: SOCANEWS.COM/PLAYLIST/BLAXX

1. BRASS 2022

BARBADOS

2. MASH UP

SOME OF THE LATEST SOCA RELEASES FOR BARBADOS CROP OVER 2022.

3. ROCK SO

1.

4. RUM INA ME HEAD

2. ACTION PACK

5. AFTER QUARANTINE

3. MAUBY

2022 2022 2022 2021

6. SAME WAY 2020

7. FAR CRY 2020

8. REMOVE YUHSELF 2019

9. CANBOULAY 2019

10. GYAL OWNER 2019

11. HULK 2018

12. PLACE IN LIFE 2014

13. LEH GO 2014

14. CARNIVAL JUMBIE 2011

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BADD!

IWEB X MIKEY MERCER STIFFY

RED DEAD RIDDIM

BRUCELEE ALMIGHTEE

4. LESS NOISE (HUSH) RED DEAD RIDDIM

MOLE DE CHIEF

5. SHE GETTIN ON BAD ILL BLAZE & FATHER PHILIS

6. DRUNK REMIX STIFFY & PONG

7. BEN IT

FADDA FOX

8. RING DING

KING BUBBA FM

9. PLEASE ME

MARZ VILLE & CLAUDETTE PETERS

10. FAKERZ

STATEMENT

FOR MORE SOCA

SOCANEWS.COM/MUSIC

• KISHA KAY

• MANDELLA LINKZ

SAINT LUCIA

GRENADA

1.

1.

SOME OF THE LATEST SOCA/DENNERY TRACKS FOR SAINT LUCIA CARNIVAL 2022.

CATCHING FEELINGS

KISHA KAY

SOME OF THE LATEST TRACKS FOR SPICE MAS 2022.

LASHES & LICKS

LYNCHY X SANDMAN

2. THERE FOR YOU

2. SPOILING ME NAME

3. THE SNEAKY LINK SONG

3. THE TING

4. SWEETNESS

4. JAB WANT MONEY

ARTHUR ALLAIN MOTTO

STRESS PILL RIDDIM

BLACKCHINEY X AMBI

5. FATTY BOO

STRESS PILL RIDDIM

QPID

6. STRESS

STRESS PILL RIDDIM

AMBI

7. WELL BLESS

CHICKEN & RICE RIDDIM

FREEZY

8. FEY (DO IT)

CHICKEN & RICE RIDDIM

BLACKBOY

9. SINK IN YUH BACK

MR LEGZ X HOLLYWOOD HP ALMA BOY

MANDELLA LINKZ

5. CARNIVAL DESIRE SKINNY BANTON

6. GRENADATHE BEST TRIS

7. ONE LIFE TO LIVE TEMPTRESS

8. ENTRANCE

EVA READY RIDDIM

BOYZIE

9. MAS IN STYLE

WETTY BEATZ X BOYZIE

10. MI SHELL TALLPREE

CHICKEN & RICE RIDDIM

TEDDYSON JOHN, COOYAH

10. CHICKEN & RICE CHICKEN & RICE RIDDIM

MOTTO

SUBMIT YOUR MUSIC MUSIC@SOCANEWS.COM

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MUSIC ALBUMS/ RIDDIMS

RECENTLY RELEASED RIDDIMS AND ALBUMS A| ARTISTS • P| PRODUCER • Y| YEAR

SOLEY LEVE RIDDIM A| TYNIE, RIA BLACK & SISTARON P| AROMATIC TRACKS Y| 2022

BOIL & BUBBLE RIDDIM

CHICKEN & RICE RIDDIM

A| DYNAMITE, DRASTIC, KEESHA, RUDY LIVE, DJ AVALANCHE & FADDA FOX P| DJ AVALANCHE Y| 2022

A| FREEZY, COOYAH TEDDYSON JOHN BLACKBOY & MOTTO P| MOTTO Y| 2022

GHOST BUSTER RIDDIM

BUMPA CONVO RIDDIM

A| CASPA G, DYMEZ X DAPIXEL & DAT C DQ P| MXG OF ISLAND SHAK ENTERTAINMENT Y| 2022

A| JAYDA, MANDELLA LINKZ & BLAKA DAN P| DELAN THE PRODUCER Y| 2022

PALMWINE RIDDIM A| GBM NUTRON, FULL BLOWN, TEDDYSON JOHN & KERWIN DU BOIS P| SYNDICATE MUSIC Y| 2022

3RD GEAR RIDDIM A| BUNNY REBEL FLANKA, MAD KING, MASTER KILO & DYNAMITE P| LESTER "MACK' IROHA Y| 2022

ONE PIECE AH RIDDIM A| LYRIKAL, MR KILLA, MACHEL MONTANO, SKINNY FABULOUS & WETTY BEATZ P| WETTY BEATZ Y| 2022

FOR MORE SOCA

SOCANEWS.COM

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MUSIC RADIO SHOWS + STREAMS

LISTENING TO THE RADIO IS NOT WHAT IT USED TO BE, ESPECIALLY WHEN IT COMES TO SOCA MUSIC. THERE ARE A MYRIAD OF STREAMS AVAILABLE. BUT WE’VE LISTED ONLY THE MORE PERMANENT SOCA SHOWS.

MONDAY

FRIDAY

1AM GMT

6PM GMT

BIG HITZ AND CLASSICS BIG IRIE SOUNDS The Frontline Radio flrradio.com

WEDNESDAY 9-11PM GMT

THE RDR SHOW

CREDABLE Bakahnal Radio bakahnalradio.co.uk

THURSDAY 7-9PM GMT

THE BREAKAWAY SHOW

DJ DIGGA D Bakahnal Radio bakahnalradio.co.uk

THE FRENCH SOCA CONNECTION DJ DUTTY FREAK The Frontline Radio flrradio.com

8-11PM GMT

SOCA AND COCKTAILS DJ LOKDWN I Chunes Radio tun.in/se22k

9-11PM GMT

FRIDAY NIGHT PARTY DJ CJAY Caribbean Sessions caribbeansessions.co.uk

SATURDAY 12PM-2PM GMT

THE SUPER SOCA SHOW

8-11PM GMT

SOCA 2D WORLD DJ ROCKSHUN I Chunes Radio tun.in/se22k

1AM GMT

MOVE WITH DJ REE DJ REE The Frontline Radio flrradio.com

NOT ON THIS LIST?

SUBMIT YOUR DETAILS TO INFO@SOCANEWS.COM

AAA BADBOY & DUB BOY, ATKI2 (AT KEY TWO) AND JONSEY WALES Ujima 98FM ujimaradio.com 12PM-2PM GMT

SOCA IS WE

DJ PIPER Roots FM 95.4 ukrootsfm.com

2PM-4PM GMT

SOCA IS WE DJ PIPER Flo Radio floradio.co.uk

5-7PM GMT

THE MIGHTY HITMAN SHOW DJ D’MIGHTY HITMAN The Frontline Radio flrradio.com

SUNDAY 12PM-2PM GMT

THE CARIBBEAN AFFAIR DJ MARTIN JAY Bakahnal Radio bakahnalradio.co.uk

12PM-2PM GMT

SOCA AND CHUTNEY SUNDAY DJ SWEET.K Lock Down Radio UK lockdownradiouk.com

5PM-7PM GMT

LUSH SOCA SUNDAYS CHÉ IN THE MIXX Robbo Ranx Radio robboranx.com/listenlive

9PM GMT

THE KROOSHALL FACTOR KROOSHALL The Frontline Radio flrradio.com

11PM GMT

THE SUNDAY LYME D'RANGER The Frontline Radio flrradio.com

OTHER STREAMS | CARIBBEAN SESSIONS CARIBBEANSESSIONS.CO.UK/RADIO TEAM SOCA TEAMSOCA.COM | BAKAHNAL RADIO BAKAHNALRADIO.CO.UK THE FRONTLINE RADIO FLRRADIO.COM 22 SN MAY 2022

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FEATURE

• FOIRE DE PARIS - DENIS DUVIGNEAU, KOLEKT'OR, HALL 4

CARIBBEAN CULTURE AT THE FOIRE DE PARIS BUT THE REAL ATTRACTION IS HALL 4 WORDS + IMAGES | STEPHEN SPARK

I

f you were wanting to sample the best in Caribbean culture, especially music and food, you probably wouldn’t think of buying a ticket to the Ideal Home Exhibition. Yet, in Paris, that’s exactly what you’d do. Ideal Home’s French equivalent, the far superior Foire de Paris, bounced back on 28 April after a two-year Covid hiatus, spread across five vast halls at Porte de Versailles in the south-west of the capital.

You’ll find everything you might expect, from glossy interior décor to ingenious domestic gadgets being demonstrated by entertainingly manic salespeople. This being France, food and wine play a big part, 24 SN MAY 2022

from great cartwheels of cheese to mountains of saucisson. But the real attraction for Soca News readers is likely to be Hall 4 ‘Artisanat et Richesses du Monde’.

Hall 4 is a showcase for France’s still quite numerous overseas possessions, including Martinique, Guadeloupe, Guyane (French Guiana), Saint-Martin, Réunion and Marie-Galante. You’ll also find stalls from African countries that are part of the Francophone world (a concept even more redolent of imperial nostalgia than the Commonwealth), plus outliers such as India, Italy and Brazil. To British eyes it’s an odd mix, but great fun, because this is where the colour, energy and life of the two-week event are to be found – all the fun of the foire, in fact! It’s surely no coincidence that black Parisians make up a large proportion of visitors to the Foire de Paris.

So what are they all looking for? If the arrays of enticingly colourful bottles are anything to go by, rum - or, rather, rhum – is a big draw.

Most stalls are happy to let you sample their rums, punches and rhum arrangé (flavoured with fruit and spices), but there are so many on offer that making an informed choice is almost impossible. My personal pick was Arawak’s warming and sophisticated shrubb, a variety of rhum arrangé that one online guide describes as “a heady blend of spices, sugarcane spirit and sun-dried orange peels”. If Cointreau floats your boat, then shrubb may be up your street too.

Then there’s food, much of it from big, brash stalls proclaiming ‘bokit’. The definition of bokit – essentially a hot streetfood-style snack – seems infinitely flexible and the best approach is probably just to wander round until you spot something that looks fresh, tasty and delicious and accompany it with some Martinican Lorraine beer, a planter’s punch or non-alcoholic cocktail. After that, you could try some homemade ice cream. For something slightly different, there are dainty little samosas and gato piment from Mauritius and Réunion. The Indian Ocean also contributed brightly coloured spices, arranged in orderly pyramids like an art installation, but it was the prettily packaged hibiscus jam (bissap rouge) offered by Boubacar Ndong, from Senegal, that got my vote.

Tempting though these treats are, Hall 4 isn’t all about eating and drinking; there are stalls selling stylish African-print clothes, hats and SN MAY 2022 25

• FOIRE DE PARIS - LA KAZ A EPICES, HALL 4

bags, jewellery, metal figures from Burkina Faso, children’s books, dolls, natural cosmetics… more than enough to please anyone, surely.

Carnaval de Guyane should be on any carnivallover’s bucket list, not least because it claims to have the world’s longest carnival season. Its traditions, costumes and music are distinctive and seductive in ways that demand a long article of their own (for a flavour, I recommend the gorgeous Elle Me Dévore sung by Victor Clet aka Quéquette). A highlight of my visit to Foire de Paris 2022, therefore, was coming across the stall of Kolekt’Or, run by the excellent Denis Duvigneau (Patawa Production), which was a treasure-trove of CDs and DVDs. Budgetary constraints meant I had to curb an impulse to buy one of everything, and instead settled on the four-CD + DVD compilation, Kolekt’Or Vol 10: De Nana à Polina. Les Mécènes de Guyane (1977-2017). (Les Mécènes are one of Guyane’s top groups, and Nana and Polina are two of the clubs famous for carnival dances.)

26 SN MAY 2022

As if that isn’t exciting enough, you may be lucky enough to catch one of the mini-carnival parades down Allée Centrale alongside Hall 4, usually just after 1pm. Groups noted on 30 April included Davina Samba School, Mass Paname and KBM Karibean Mass, the latter including a small pan-round-the-neck contingent.

Some of the top bands and singers from participating territories and countries perform on stage at the back of Hall 4. Without a printed guide or screen, it can be hard to work out whose music you’re enjoying, but the standard is high and you soon get caught up in the Caribbean and African rhythms, which need no translation – they pass straight through the heart to the waist and feet.

This year’s Foire de Paris has passed, but it’s left happy memories (not wholly down to Christophe Fautra’s shrubb!). The music alone is worth the Eurostar ticket, so I’ll definitely be marking next year’s calendar with the dates: 27 April to 8 May 2023. See you there!

SN MAY 2022 27

28 SN MAY 2022

SOCA

PEOPLE

BLAXX DEXTER STEWART

A BRIEF PROFILE OF HIS LIFE AND CAREER

B

orn on 21 December, soca artist Blaxx, Dexter Stewart, grew up in South Trinidad.

He came from a musical family and his mother, a vocalist, wrote his first calypso. Blaxx’ father, Jerry Stewart, was a musician and founder of the Jerry and New School band; he ushered Blaxx into music at age thirteen, a path that nurtured his talent and groomed him to be the artist we came to enjoy so much. He came to prominence later in life than many, but he has left a significant mark.

Many of Blaxx' authentic lyrical masterpieces were cult favourites synonymous with the carnival season in Trinidad and Tobago, and they transcended to other carnivals around the globe. His larger than life personality and ability to create mood lifting, danceable and melodic songs earned him a substantial fan base and he leaves a legacy that will be honoured for generations to come.

Soca News mourns the artist, the lover of people, who allowed others to harness their creativity and talents. Our condolences go out to his family and friends.

FOR MORE OF BLAXX'S MUSIC CHECKOUT OUR PLAYLIST

SOCANEWS.COM/PLAYLIST/BLAXX

Kurt Allen became instrumental in Blaxx' journey to stardom, when he invited the prior Blue Ventures singer to join Roy Cape All Stars - later D'All Starz. Blaxx recorded many songs with the band, including the all-time classic, Leh Go (2013).

Dutty, written by Nadia Batson, propelled Blaxx into his first big break in the soca industry in 2007. After this, he went on to create crowd-pleasing music with the release of every one of his songs. His musical prowess was seen by the notable artists who lent their skills and talents to groom and mentor him, just some of whom include Destra Garcia, Ronnie McIntosh, Olatunji Yearwood and Esther Dyer.

Blaxx never forgot the people that lifted him, and he made it his life’s mission to pave the way for upcoming artists such as Voice, Erphaan Alves, Ricardo Drue, and Teddyson John.

In 2021, he hosted his own show, Blaxx and Friends, and went on to release a song, Mash Up, in anticipation of the 2022 Taste of Carnival season.

The Rum Ina Me Head singer passed away on 28 March 2022 from Covid-19 complications, after spending a short time in intensive care in Arima General Hospital, Trinidad. He was 60 years and is survived by a wife and five children: Faith, Harmony, Lisey, Tyrrel and Kello.

SN MAY 2022 29

30 SN MAY 2022

EVENTS

DON’T KNOW WHERE TO GO, OR WHAT TO DO?

Our events listing is all you need to keep you in the know. We cover predominately London, but whenever or wherever we hear about a soca fete or Caribbean related event, we’ll list it. If you’re a promoter, then to ensure you get listed please send us your event details and a copy of your flyer to events@socanews.co.uk.

FOR OUR FULL EVENT LISTINGS, VISIT SOCANEWS.COM/EVENTS

MAY 2022 SAT 07 MAY INVASION PARTIES

BASHMENT VS SOCA

@ Lower Deck, Greenwich Students’ Union, Dreadnought Building, 30 Park Row, SE10 9LS. Music by DJ Fete, DJ Larni, DJ

Shortman, DJ Teeshow, DJVibes, Kyle Shyne, Manny Dimes & Spookz. Time 10pm-3.30am.

Price £5-£15.

SUN 08 MAY BUSSPEPPER PROMOTIONS

SPRING BRUNCH

@ Brixton Village, Coldharbour Lane, SW9 8PS. Food by Chef Hasan De Four. Time 1-8pm.

Price £20-£45.

SOCA MASSIVE FANCY SAILORS UK

TROPICAL SUNRISE CARNIVAL BAND LAUNCH @ Yaa Centre, 1 Chippenham Mews, W9 2AN. Time 2-10pm.

Price £5 & free for under 18s.

SOCANEWS.COM /EVENTS SN MAY 2022 31

EVENTS FOR MORE EVENTS

SOCANEWS.COM/EVENTS SUN 15 MAY FUNATIK MAS

NOTTING HILL CARNIVAL REGISTRATION LIME

@ The Tabernacle, 34-35 Powis Square, W11 2AY. Music by Martin Jay & Panfever UK Music.

Time 2.30-7pm. Price Free.

FRI 20 MAY SOCA MADHOUSE

CHANCE!

@ The Prince Of Wales, 469 Brixton Road, SW9 8HH. Featuring Live Preedy. Music

by Clarkee Tee, DJ Paulie & Flagz Sound. Time 10pm-4am. Price £20-£30.

CARIBBEAN'S IN LONDON

ZOUK LOVE

@ Adulis Lounge, 44 Brixton Road, SW9 6BT. Music by DJ Gastress & DJ Payton. Time 8.30pm-3am. Price £10-£21.

SAT 21 MAY D.A. CONNECTIONZ & RUBY’S

I LOVE SEWO JAM

@ Ruby’s London, 7 Advent Way, N18 3AH. Featuring live Blackboy (Saint Lucia) Triple K Combo (Dominica). Music by Dan Soul AAY, DJ Cut Bucktown, DJ Realboss, DJ Redboy, DJ Vern & Lucian Rebel. Time 10pm-4am.

Price £22-£30.

I LOVE SOCA UK

I LOVE SOCA

@ Scala, 275 Pentonville Road, N1 9NL. Music by Credable, Deejay Dee, DJ Armani, DJ Bajie, DJ Bones, DJ Majikal, DJ Matchiz, DJ Paulie, DJ Shaker, DJ Sharnz, DJ Shay, DJ Tate, DJ Vibes, MC

Stiffler, Mr. Mention, QT 2Hype, Silverfoxx & Team 246. Time 11pm-5am. Price £1-£25.

SUN 22 MAY REMEDY EVENTS

REMEDY 7 YEAR ANNIVERSARY

@ Tower Millennium Pier, EC3N 4DT. Music by DJ Armani, DJ Tate, Triple M & Prince Vern. Time 6-10pm. Price £25-£35.

VIBRANCE MAS

THE CORAL REEF COLLECTION FOR NOTTING HILL CARNIVAL 2022 @ Theatre Royal Stratford East Bar, Theatre Square, E15 1BN. Music By DJ Audiohazard, DJ Boots, DJ Markee, DJ Redz & Morris Roots. Time 4pm-10pm.

Price £6.

FRI 27 MAY AJ’S CALYPSO TENT

AJS CALYPSO TENT

@ The Show Room, The Grosvenor Casino, Rose Klin Lane, Reading, Bershire, RG2 OZN. Time 8 - 11.30pm. Price £12.

JUST VIBEZ

CARNIVAL VIBEZ

@ Paradise, 19 Kilburn Lane, W10 4AE. Time 9pm-3am. Price £6-£10.

MIND MEH BUSINESS

HAZE THE LAVISH FETE

@ Core Bar, 10-15 Queen Street, EC4N 1TY. Music by DJ Kookie, DJ Laura Lee & DJ Shay. Time 10pm-3am. Price £10.

NUBIAN EVENTS

CIRQUE DE SOCA

@ Fire, 39 Parry Street, SW8 1RT.

Music by Deejay Dee, DJ Armani, DJ Guff Nuff, DJ Triple Threat, Lolondon & DJ Triple M. Time 11pm-6am. Price £10-£15.

SAT 28 MAY DJ STYLZ UK

CHUTNEY IN LONDON

@ The Hub, Caxton Road, N22 6TB. Music by DJ CJ, DJ Stylz UK, Dr Selectah, Rikkie D & Selecta A. Time 9pm. Price £15-£25.

SUN 29 MAY SWITCH ENTERTAINMENTS

COOLER SPLASH III

@ Theobald Street, Radlett, WD7.

Time 12-8PM. Price £35.

CIRQUE PARTIES

CLOUD 9 – THE SOCA ROOFTOP ZESS

@ Chringuito, Museum Gardens, E2 9PA. Time 2-10pm. Price £5-£10.

CANDY MAS

BRUNCH & DAY PARTY

@ Kenton Hall, Woodcock Hill, Harrow, HA3 0PQ. Featuring live Nessa Preppy. Music by Black Coffee, DJ Armani, DJ Guff Nuff, DJ LT, DJ Matthew, DJ Nate, DJ TYTY & Milktray. Time 2-8pm.

Price £20-£25.

CARNIVAL CONCIERGE & RELEASE D RIDDIM

BACKYARD JAM

@ Island Vibes Kitchen, Gerry Raffles Square, Stratford, E15 1BN. Music by DJ Credable.

Guest plus DJs on rotation.

Time 3-10pm. Price £7 & £10 door.

SOCANEWS.COM /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 PRESS.

32 SN MAY 2022

NEVER MISS AN ISSUE ALL ISSUES ARE FREE ONLINE OR SUBSCRIBE TO RECEIVE A PRINTED COPY

SOCANEWS.COM/SUBSCRIBE

SN MAY 2022 33

EVENTS FOR MORE EVENTS

SOCANEWS.COM/EVENTS

JUNE 2022

@ The Tabernacle, 34-35 Powis Square, W11 2AY. Time 8pm10pm. Price Free.

THURS 02 JUNE

EVENT CONNOISSEURS

ECLIPSE X ZULU INTERNATIONAL

SUMMER OASIS

@ Tower Millennium Pier, EC3N 4DT. Music by Deejay Dee, DJ Bones, DJ Paulie, DJ Triple M, Shaker HD & Shep Beats. Time 12-5pm. Price £30.

SPIRIT OF THE CARIBBEAN

@ The Ilec Conference Centre, 47 Lillie Road, SW6 1UD. Music by Buppy C & Patrick Isaacs. Time 6.30pm-2.30am. Price £100.

SUN 05 JUNE NAT BAJANS UK

FRI 03 JUNE MINGLEUK

JAM ALL WEEKEND – THE FESTIVAL - HELLO SUMMER

@ Cranford Community College, High Street, Hounslow, TW5 9PD. Featuring live Kerwin Du Bois, Farmer Nappy, Bunji Garlin, Edwin Yearwood, Fay-Ann Lyons & Ms Desire. Time 1pm. Price £45.

RCCG

RED, WHITE & BLUE

@ The Atrium, Scours Lane, Reading, RG30 6AY. Music by Mr Marvellous. Time 9pm-2am.

Price £8-£10.

SAT 04 JUNE MINGLEUK

JAM ALL WEEKEND – THE FESTIVAL - JAM JOUVERT

@ Cranford Community College, High Street, Hounslow, TW5 9PD. Featuring live Shal Marshall, Problem Child, Motto, Lil Natty & Thunda, Tallpree, Pahjo & Triniboi Joocie. Time 1pm. Price £45.

ELIMU MAS ACADEMY

A PLATINUM JUBILEE CONCERT

A LIL BIT A BIM (BARBADOS DAY) – FOOD, CULTURE, CRICKET & MUSIC @ Draycott & Hanbury Cricket Club, Hanbury, Hanbury Woodend, Burton-on-Trent DE13 8TH. Featuring live Red Plastic Bag. Info Activities on the day include, line dancing, food stalls, children’s entertainment, carnival band and steelband music, including a 20/20 cricket match between the host Draycott Hanbury CC and a Barbadian team Time 11am-7pm. Price £5-£10.

INTERNATIONAL STEPHEN

BRIGHT COLOURS BOAT RIDE

@ London Pier. Time 1-6pm.

Price £25-£35.

FRI 10 JUNE SOCA FRENZY

14TH YEAR ANNIVERSARY

@ Scala, 275 Pentonville Road, Kings Cross, N1 9NL. Time 11pm5am. Price £3-£15.

SAT 11 JUNE TALK YUH TALK

@ 34-35 Powis Square, London

W11 2AY. Time 7pm. Price Free.

BUSSPEPPER

SUMMER STARTER

@ Forge, 24 Cornhill, EC3V 3ND. Time 5-11pm. Price £15-£20.

SUN 12 JUNE COCOYEA LONDON

NOTTING HILL CARNIVAL BAND LAUNCH

@ 34-35 Powis Square, London W11 2AY. Time 2-8pm. Price Free.

SOCA LOCO

SOCA LOCO

@ Night Tales, 14 Bohemia Place, London, E8 1DU. Time 2-10pm.

Price £11-£16.

SAT 18 JUNE SOCA ADDICT X SHIPWRECKED

BRUNCH SATURDAY

@ PITCH Stratford, 2 Bridge Road, E15 3FF. Time 11.30am4.30pm. Price £50.

REGULAR EVENTS EVERY SATURDAY JUST INCARNIVAL

CARNIVAL SATURDAYZ

@ Allotmentz, Friern Barnet Road, N11 3EH. Music by DJ Sweet K. Time 5-10pm. Price Free.

SUBMITYOUR EVENT

SOCANEWS.COM /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 PRESS.

34 SN MAY 2022

SN MAY 2022 35

36 SN MAY 2022

FEATURE

Queen’s Jubilee

a right royal platinum parade preview WORDS | STEPHEN SPARK

Unless you’re a resident of Planet Zog (which has lousy wifi) you may have gathered that there’s going to be a ‘bit of a do’ to celebrate the Queen’s 70 years on the throne. A platinum work anniversary is impressive by anyone’s standards, and despite enduring more than one 'annus horribilis’, Her Majesty continues going in to the ‘office’ a quarter-century after most people have settled into cosy-slippered retirement.

SN MAY 2022 37

Every year the Queen takes the Royal Train to Tattenham Corner to watch another great horsey frolic, the Epsom Derby, and she’ll be determined not to miss it on Saturday 4 June. Later the same day, the Royal Family is hosting a monster fete in front of Buckingham Palace, dubbed the Platinum Party at the Palace. Tickets were allocated months ago, but you can watch it live on big screens in St James’s Park and the Mall. There’s no word yet whether it will have any Caribbean musical content.

B

ritain may have lost an empire, but it can put on a jolly good show when the need arises, as the 2012 London Olympics demonstrated. This year, the capital’s carnival talent is being tapped once again to provide the Platinum Jubilee Pageant’s ‘wow’ factor, just as it was for the Golden Jubilee celebrations.

Those who took part in 2002 are unlikely to forget the surreal thrill of playing mas in the Mall.

The celebrations actually started last week, from 12 to 15 May, as over 1,000 human performers – including Bollywood dancers and the Trinidad & Tobago Steelband – plus 500 horses took part in ‘A Gallop through History’ in the grounds of Windsor Castle.

But what exactly are we celebrating? The dates can be confusing. Princess Elizabeth became Queen immediately after King George VI died on 6 February 1952. A coronation takes time organise, so that was held 16 months later, on 2 June 1953. The Queen was 96 on 21 April, but her official birthday is always in June; it’s marked by gun salutes and the impressive Trooping of the Colour parade down the Mall.

Thursday 2 June starts our four-day Platinum Jubilee holiday weekend and marks both the Queen’s official birthday and the 69th anniversary of the coronation – even though her actual birthday (21 April) and the actual 70th anniversary of her becoming Queen (6 February) have both passed. It’s all a cunning trick to confuse American tourists!

38 SN MAY 2022

The PP@theP is really just a warm-up for the main event – the Platinum Jubilee Pageant on Sunday 5 June. We know it will go along the Mall, but the rest of the route hasn’t yet been revealed.

However, for the 2002 event masqueraders formed up along the Embankment, moved slowly up Northumberland Avenue, then passed under Admiralty Arch into the Mall, before wining under royal inspection from the palace balcony. The return was via Buckingham Gate, Victoria Street and Parliament Square. The 2022 parade may well use the same route – check media for details.

What can you expect to see on the day? The parade is divided into four ‘acts’. Act I For Queen and Country leads off with the phantasmagorical Royal State Coach, a demented riot of giltwood vegetation, mythical creatures and random symbols of imperial power; wisely, the Queen will not be travelling in it, the coach is notoriously uncomfortable. It will be followed by 1,750 servicemen and women, many of them from Commonwealth countries, plus 200 horses.

Next comes The Time of Our Lives, a nostalgic wallow through seven decades of popular culture – music, dance, fashion and ‘national treasures’, including venerable TV hosts, Daleks and Sinclair C5s.

It’s Act III Let’s Celebrate that’s most likely to grab our attention. Some 2,500 people will tell, in 12 separate ‘chapters’, “the story of the Queen’s reign and personal interests”, so expect corgis and, yes, more horses. Portrayals will include “street theatre, music-on-the-move, urban dance, and the very best of Carnival, May Day, Mela, Fiesta and Mardi Gras”.

Here we’ll see some familiar and respected names in the carnival arts. Mahogany will put 300 masqueraders on the road as elephants, giraffes and flamingos, portraying the animal kingdom’s response to Princess Elizabeth’s accession whilst on safari in Kenya. Carl Gabriel – famed for his iconic wire and papier mâché figures – is believed to have created a wire-framed portrayal of the monarch, which will be followed by masqueraders in purple and white to represent the coronation robe.

Emergency Exit Arts and Mandinga have created a huge, mobile oak tree, from which ribbons will emerge so that dancers can caper around it like a giant maypole. Bringing a South Asian flavour to the parade, Nutkhut’s dancers will be wearing specially commissioned Platinum Jubilee saris while acrobats ‘bake’ a four-tier wedding cake to represent the Queen’s marriage to Prince Philip.

Isle of Wight-based Shademakers will contribute “A menagerie of farmyard animals and mythical creatures" including lions, unicorns, a dragon, peacocks, swans, chickens, pigs, sheep and a snake. At Notting Hill, the band was known for its Gothic take on mas, but it might be a touch insensitive to parade its nightmarish flayed horse in front of an equine-loving Queen. Still, it would be a treat to see it again.

Other groups will bring dragons, princesses, seahorses and ‘gangsta grannies’ to the show, so this ‘act’ is definitely the one to watch out for.

After that, Act IV Happy and Glorious appears to be little more than an excuse for a knees-up around the Queen Victoria Memorial, singing the National Anthem in the company of assorted ‘national treasures’. If the prospect of Notting Hill -sized crowds without the soca doesn’t appeal, you can watch it all on big screens in the Mall, St James’s Park and Whitehall or, from the comfort of your sofa, on BBC1.

•

STEELPAN TO PLAY AT QUEEN'S PLATINUM JUBILEE

O

ne hundred steelpan players drawn from four of the UK’s top steel bands will play for Her Majesty at the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations at Buckingham Palace on Sunday 5 June. The combined steel band will be formed of 25 players from each of Ebony Steelband, Mangrove Steel Orchestra, Croydon Steel Orchestra and Metronomes.

Appropriately, in the centenary year of the Grandmaster’s birth, the music will be Pan in A Minor and London is the Place for Me by the late Lord Kitchener (Aldwyn Roberts), arranged by Andre White. Pans will be tuned by Birch Kelman and Dudley Dickson, and the musical director for the performance is to be Leon ‘Foster’ Thomas.

The late Frank Rollock of London All Stars helped put together a similar 100-strong ‘National Steel Band’ for the Queen’s Golden Jubilee, which played outside Buckingham Palace on Tuesday 4 June 2002.

Those celebrations of 20 years ago included a highly successful mas contingent that passed along the Mall to the palace before heading back along Buckingham Gate and Victoria Street to return to the starting point on the Embankment, where masqueraders were provided with picnic lunches that included bottles of Thames Water!

There are several official websites, such as www. platinumjubilee.gov.uk and www.platinumpageant.com.

However, much of their information is out of date and incomplete, pointing users to expired deadlines and broken links. In lieu of improvements, Soca News will bring you elevant updates when they are available.

SN MAY 2022 39

CARNIVALS INTRODUCTION

Covid has taken a severe toll on carnivals around the globe, but Soca News has compiled this quick guide to what’s happening with some of the main carnivals this year. We’ve saved you the trouble of having to go and look for them yourself, and pulled together a list on our website, at socanews.com/carnivals (WHERE RELEVANT, WE’VE USED THE DATE OF THE MAIN EVENT AS AN INDICATOR, ALTHOUGH THE CARNIVAL/FESTIVAL SEASON MAY RUN FOR LONGER.)

MAY 2022

JUNE 2022

SAT 28 MAY

SAT 28 - SUN 29 MAY

ATLANTA CARIBBEAN CARNIVAL

PRESTON CARIBBEAN CARNIVAL

ATLANTA, USA

PRESTON, UK

SAT 4 JUNE

FRI 10 - SUN 12 JUNE

LUTON INTERNATIONAL CARNIVAL

SOUTH CAROLINA CARNIVAL

LUTON, UK

THUR 16 - SAT 18 JUNE

CHARLESTON CARIFEST CHARLESTON, USA

40 SN MAY 2022

SAT 11 JUNE

NORTHAMPTON CARNIVAL NORTHAMPTON, UK

SOUTH CAROLINA, USA

FRI 17 - SUN 19 JUNE

SAT 18 JUNE

SUN 19 JUNE

PHILADELPHIA CARNIVAL

HANWELL CARNIVAL

MANCHESTER DAY

PHILADELPHIA, USA

LONDON, UK

MANCHESTER, UK

FRI 24 - SUN 26 JUNE

HOLLYWOOD CARNIVAL

WED 29 JUNE - MON 4 J ULY

CAYMAS

JULY 2022

FRI 1 - SUN 10 JULY

JAMAICA CARNIVAL

CALIFORNIA, USA

CAYMAN ISLANDS

MON 4 - TUE 5 JULY

SAT 9 JULY

SAT 9 JULY

SUN 17JULY

VINCY MAS

BARKING & DAGENHAM CARNIVAL

ACTON CARNIVAL

DERBY CARIBBEAN CARNIVAL

SAINT VINCENT AND THE GRENADINES

LONDON, UK

MON 18 - TUE 19 JULY

SAT 30 JULY

SAINT LUCIA CARNIVAL

ZOMER CARNAVAL

SAINT LUCIA

ROTTERDAM

JAMAICA

LONDON, UK

DERBY, UK

SN MAY 2022 41

TRAVEL

SEA LEVEL RISE A THREAT TO CARIBBEAN ISLANDS GUADELOUPE, MARTINIQUE, MARIE-GALANTE AND SAINT-MARTIN

P

WORDS | STEPHEN SPARK

arts of the French Caribbean islands could be uninhabitable within 20 years, a geographer has warned.

The effect of global warming on sea level rise and the increased number and severity of storms and floods will have a particularly serious effect on France’s overseas territories of Guadeloupe, Martinique, Marie-Galante and Saint-Martin, 42 SN MAY 2022

said Virginie Duvat, Professor of Geography at the University of La Rochelle, France.

Prof Duvat said that sea level rise cannot now be stopped, so we must expect more deadly floods like those that devastated Pointe-à-Pitre and other communities in Guadeloupe on 30 April. Unless global warming can be reversed, by approximately the year 2060 vulnerable areas will

• VIEW FROM TERRE-DE-HAUT PONTOON, LES SAINTES ARCHIPELAGO, GUADELOUPE, FRENCH WEST-INDIES WITH TERRE-DE-BAS ON SIGHT

be flooded 180 days of the year, she estimates.

The main port, industrial and commercial areas are situated in Pointe-à-Pitre, so this kind of damage would wreck the island’s economy.

The professor said that while some of the climate change effects can be mitigated temporarily by replanting corals and mangroves – which are vital for coastal protection and for fisheries – the only long-term solution is to stop polluting the air, land and sea.

The alternatives are bleak: severe shortages of water and large parts of the islands’ coastlines disappearing under water.

As well as effectively destroying the sun-sea-sand tourism industry on which the entire Caribbean

depends, it will also force the relocation of tens of thousands of local people to upland areas. That brings its own problems, said Professor Duvat, because mass settlement in the upland regions may trigger mudslides and rock falls of the kind so often seen in South America.

Although Duvat was talking about the Frenchadministered territories, precisely the same threats affect all the other Caribbean islands, so co-operation across the region is vital.

“We will have to adapt with climate-compatible practices for everything, all the time, and we have to anticipate it now," Professor Duvat told Agence France-Presse.

SN MAY 2022 43

FEATURE

CARNIVAL ARTS AND CULTURE COME TO OXFORD IN JULY

O

WORDS | STEPHEN SPARK

xford is often referred to as ‘the city of dreaming spires’, but in July it’s set to become the city of ringing steelpan, rousing calypso and vigorous debate about all things Carnival.

From Friday 1 July to Sunday 3 July, the International Conference on Carnival Arts & Culture* moves out of London for the first time and will be held at Oxford Brookes University (OBU). (* Previously the Biennial 44 SN MAY 2022

Steelpan Conference, first held in 2006.)

Organisers are putting together a packed programme of presentations, performances and workshops. The first two days will be on OBU’s Headington campus, a mile out of the city centre and easily reached on foot or by frequent buses.

Friday’s session will be in the Abercrombie Building, a stylish example of modern architecture. On Saturday, a five-minute walk takes you into a completely different setting – the 19th-century grandeur of

• HEADINGTON - HEADINGTON HILL HALL, OXFORD BROOKES UNIVERSITY

Headington Hill Hall, once the home of the Morrell brewing family and later of disgraced publishing magnate Robert Maxwell.

The conference had been timed to allow participants to spend Sunday enjoying the city’s much-loved Cowley Road Carnival, which regularly attracts 50,000 people.

However, Cowley Road Works, which organises the carnival, announced that it was taking a break this year, “to take time to consider the future”.

The news shocked carnival-lovers and the East Oxford community, which has enthusiastically supported the

event since it began in 2001.

Cancellation forced a rethink of the conference programme, which has now been extended to include ‘Fun in the Park’ on Sunday 3 July. Conference participants will be joining local artists to provide Carnivalthemed entertainment and activities in Blackbird Leys. This will follow a roundtable discussion focusing on the future of Cowley Road Carnival.

Reading has also lost its carnival this year, so a major topic on Friday and Saturday will be how the Covid lockdowns have affected carnivals, their finances, community cohesion and people’s wellbeing – and what can be done to improve things.

Is technology the answer? We all got used to online meetings, even watching ‘virtual’ carnivals and band launches online, but do we want to go on doing that? Are they a sustainable, or desirable, substitute for the real thing? Carnival, after all, is very much a ‘hands-on’ event.

The conference will allow us all – including overseas participants, thanks to those online platforms - to discuss how we should move forward.

Also in planning at the

moment are events in collaboration with the award-winning Museum of Oxford and the eclectic Pitt Rivers Museum; more about those in a later article.

Outside the conference rooms, Oxford is well worth exploring. It’s easy to reach, with fast rail and coach links to London, the North and West, but driving in the eco-conscious city is discouraged. As well as fascinating, historical old colleges, there are beautiful parks, two rivers (the Thames, called the Isis in Oxford, and the Cherwell, where you can try your hand at punting), a canal, two theatres, several museums (including the old jail), plenty of historic pubs (find the labyrinthine Turl Tavern in the town centre, if you can) and a covered market.

Just up the road from OBU you will find the notorious but now officially protected Headington Shark (look up) and the place where folk musicologist Cecil Sharp set in motion the revival of morris dancing. It’s a city full of surprises!

The conference and park events are free to attend. For updates, search eventbrite for "9th carnival arts conference".

To find out more or to present a paper at the conference, contact: • Dr Hanna Klien-Thomas, Research Fellow Creative Industries, Oxford Brookes University; email: hklienthomas@brookes.ac.uk • Professor Haroun N Shah, Department of Natural Sciences and Faculty of Arts and Creative Industries (PT), Middlesex University; email: Harounnshah@gmail.com SN MAY 2022 45

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46 SN MAY 2022

VIBRANT, HANDMADE SILK FLAGS If you’re looking for beautiful, hand painted silk flags and banners for your event or carnival, we can help!

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Each of our flags tells a story and was made in celebration of different communities. Some collections were created to celebrate large events including the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Others are from our own place-making projects including Silk River and Beach of Dreams.

We have options for everyone, as well as the professional riggers to manage your installation.

Check out our new 2022 Flag Brochure HERE Telephone | 01708 202846 Kinetika Advert.indd 1

Website | https://kinetika.co.uk

Email | hires@kinetika.co.uk SN MAY 2022 47 12/04/2022 14:45:50

48 SN MAY 2022