So its March now, Trinidad carnival 2013 is but a memory in the minds of all who took part, but this year many complained after carnival of a feeling that something was missing , I felt it too, it was good but not the best however that's another blog post.
Looking back at carnival 2013 I decided to list what were for me the top ten moments of Trinidad and Tobago carnival 2013, ten moments that made me stop and think, 'this is a moment to remember.
Here it is...
MASSASSINATION'S TOP 10 MOMENTS OF TRINIDAD CARNIVAL 2013
1 THE RETURN OF SUPER BLUE:
photo:http://studiolafoncette.com
Super Blue’s return did not
simply reveal that God given talent and determination can triumph over all
adversity, but it also portrayed that substance is king over style and hype.
Super Blue’s return also taught us that the foundation stones of culture can and
should never be forgotten for without the basic tenants of an art form its is
nothing.
2013 was the 2nd time that
Austin Lyons has made a victorious return to carnival and in this return or
rebirth he managed to inspire all generations, old and young with a style some
might today describe as dated but all agreed was spiritually infectious (its
substance).
Soca needed Super to return,
I believe Machel did too, even with Bunji and Fayann firing on all cylinders
Machel is an awesome combination of talent and showmanship a combination that
only one gifted with talent and a magnetic spirituality could have defeated
Machel.
On the days leading up to fantastic Friday to the
morning after the event the name super Blue could be heard in every barber-shop,
rum-shop, radio station, taxi maxitaxi and bus. Soca monarch judges tied the
two making them both Monarchs but by Ash Wednesday Carnival 2013 was
undoubtedly the carnival of Super Blue’s return. DE BOUNCING START!
2 POWDER!
Mac Farlan's Joy Down town POS.
Powder was a most present
aspect of carnival 2013, from Machel’s winning tune FOG with the lines ‘powder
this is how we celebrate’ to Super Blue’s opening call for ‘water and powder’
in Fantastic Friday. Powder was present in the fetes, on the road for Jouvert
and even in big bands on Tuesday harping back to the days of the fancy sailors
and even further back to the African use of powder in spiritual practices.
Powder in 2013 was an inspiring sight.
3 TED EUSTACE KING OF CARNIVAL 2013.
Even though the King of
carnival competition ended in a draw the crowning of Ted Eustace as a King of
Carnival in 2013(Moko in flames) signified the passing of a title and torch from father to son
to little brother Keeping the title King of Carnival and the Eustace name
synonymous for possibly another decade. From Tedder Eustace to Curtace Eustace
and now Ted the tradition successfully continues.
4 THE LAUNCH OF RITUALS OF POWER & REBELLION BY HOLLIS
CHALKDUST LIVERPOOL Ph.D
Launched on the 6th of
February 2013 the day before the calypso monarch finals in which teacher,
Calypsoian and author Hollis Liverpool better known as the Mighty Chalkdust was
to compete for a ninth title.
I first saw this book in the library of London
Metropolitan University when doing research for my dissertation in 2010.
By then the book was long out of print and
countless attempts to find it on line or in book shops on both sides of the
Atlantic proved fruitless for me. It was only in discussing the important role
the work played in my dissertation to the author was I informed it was never
available in Trinidad before.
In my opinion Rituals of Power & Rebellion is indeed a seminal text in the historical and intellectual construction of Trinidad and Tobago’s Carnival, as well as those in the Caribbean. I advise everyone to get a copy and read it.
All cow joke aside Bunji Garlin the Viking of Soca with Nigel Rojas had arguably the most popular fete
tune for the 2013 Carnival season. From its time of release to carnival Tuesday
Differentology had the crowds singing out the chorus ‘we ready for the roooad’.
The tune that almost in fond retrospect takes
the listener through a carnival experience probably that of the last week of
carnival leading up to Jouvert and Tuesday. This mixture of dance and soca music was
favoured to dethrone Machel in the groovy Soca monarch competition but Bunji
pulled out to great disappointment and admiration of his fans. I have a feeling
this track has caused a shift in soca music that we will see next year..
I am a Bunji Garlin fan, I
am also a fan of the late Lord Maestro, one of the most revolutionary
Calypsoians in the early days of Soca. Bunji’s cover of Maestro’s Savage wasfor me a moment in carnival 2013 because it celebrated the underclass, the part
of the society like it or not that laid down many of the foundation blocks of
modern carnival. A group that today are being priced out of carnival by a
growing ambitious middle class that seem bent on taking over the culture and
transforming every aspect of what it looks like. Bunji’s Savage had many locals
and returnees alike claiming to be anti stush (or anti posh) thus returning the
festival to its roots with the stush being identified as undesirable .
7 MACFARLANE CROSSES THE SAVANNAH STAGE FOR THE LAST TIME
WITH JOY THE FINALY.
After dominating the band
of the year competition for most of the first decade of the 21st century band
leader and designer Brian Mac Farlane has decided to call it a day. To the
average Mas player or tourist that comes for Carnival this fact might mean
nothing, but to fans of High Mas, love him or hate him, Brian Mac Farlane is
the last of the High Mas designers to dominate the face of Carnival, and while
there are young designers and small bands that keep the Mas of meaning alive,
none has been able to attract the numbers of masqueraders that are needed to
make epic presentations as the epic bands of the past did.
This could actually
be the end of an era in Trinidad and Tobago’s Carnival history.
8 THE PASSING OF PENGUIN.
Road March King of 1982 and
Calypso Monarch of 1984 Seadley Joseph - the Penguin passed away on the 27th of
January 2013 just as Carnivals climax was on the horizon. The timing of his
passing during the heights of the Carnival season is almost an expected aspect
of Carnival these days, as it seems like every Carnival a legend now passes on,
as if to join some Grand Carnival in the sky. Penguin’s tunes in the 80s were
an integral part of the Carnival, one a personal note an integral part of my
childhood and his contribution will never be forgotten. May he rest in peace.
Dalton Narine, Peter Minshall and Tony Hall. Photo from http://repeatingislands.com
I could hit myself over the
head for missing this one, the TTFF 3rd Annual Carnival film series saw Peter
Minshall attend two screenings of his work, Rat Race, and Mas Man the complete work.
Both directed by Dalton Narine who was also present to answer questions. The
two for me are the greatest teachers I ever had in Mas Minshall the Mas Man and
Narine whose documentaries gave me insight to Minshall’s works through his
documentaries. The two of them in one room, an Epic moment indeed!!
10 BUNJI AND FAYANN BOTH PULL OUT OF FANTASTIC FRIDAY.
Bunji and fayann.
Photo:jayblessed.com
Bunji and Fayann pulling
out of the Soca Monarch competition was probably the biggest upset of carnival
2013. Bunji who arguably had the hottest groovy soca tune of the year with
Diffrentology was seeded to walk away with the title if he competed. Fayann
always coming strong, the POWER soca monarch final of 2013 had the potential of
being the biggest and best in its history. Had the couple decided to go head to
head with Machel and Super Blue in the national stadium on that night it would
have been mayhem. But the couple decided to pull out and the shockwaves went
right through the entire Carnival universe.
What would have been the
final outcome if they had stayed?!
Taken from overtime tv.
Trinidad James talks about his Trinidad and Tobago carnival experience on Sirius Radio and mentions soca stars like Machel Montano, SuperBlue and Bunji Garlin, also the Trinidad and Tobago people.
So the clash of the Soca Titans Super Blue and Machel Montano resulted in a tie both super men obliterating the competition with their performances but the unstoppable Machel could not overcome the unbeatable Super Blue. It was epic it was fantastic. Lafoncette Photography caught some of the magic check it out.
Nicki Minaj has released her new video made in Trinidad 'Pound the Alarm', and it is intense, I think director Benny Boom did some good work on this one and the thousands of extras who made it possible, nuff respect to them. Its a carnival atmosphere and the people made it so!
A road trip to the spiritual sources of black American culture
The United States of Hoodoo is a film about how African based spirituality has informed America´s popular culture. The old African gods have taken on new forms since their arrival on North America's shores. Their spirit now manifests itself in turn-table wizardry, improvisational skills and mind-blowing collages, rituals and performances.
Featuring Darius James and Ishmael Reed, Nick Cave, Val Jeanty, Shantrelle P. Lewis, Danny Simmons, Kanene Holder, David "Goat" Carson, Hassan Sekou Allen, Sallie Ann Glassman
Theatrical release in Germany: July 2012 International release in autumn 2012
Website: http://hoodoo.stokedfilm.com On Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/UnitedStatesOfHoodoo
Yes people it's the triple 'M' threat!
Both the the baddest Soca artist of a generation, and the works of the baddest mas man of another, feature on the baddest blog for the first time in one post!
HA HAAA!
I just liked the sound of that...but yes Minshall and Montano came together again as part of Montano's winning 2012 Groovy Soca Monarch performance of 'Mr Fete'. The performance featured the world famous 'Tan Tan and Saga Boy' and a 'sun burst' by Peter Minshall, you also see an appearance of the legendary Calypso Rose and the lovely Rachel Price.
Now a lot is being said about the CALO festival held over the past weekend and I don't know all the facts, but what I will say is that besides the short comings of which there is a growing list, I thought the entertainment rocked. Between Friday night with Roy Cape featuring Blacks and Benjai, then Krosfyah and Kes the band. To 3canal and Machel on Saturday I had a ball some of the best partying I've done in a while in London.
I will touch on the other stuff later.
For now here's some action from the King of Soca Mr H.D. Machel Montano.
Lyrically, she is ready for Fantastic Friday. Physically, she is prepared and judging by the look of last Sunday’s semifinal round performance, the woman who in 2009 walked away with both the Groovy and Power Monarchs, is more than ready for the on-stage rivalry. The T&T Guardian caught up with Fay Ann Lyons-Alvarez last evening. In a brief chat, she said the vibe in her camp as the days drew closer was good.
“I am confident of my song and my chances,” she said. “We’ve been in this for some years and we have a more than in depth idea of what the competition is like.” For the soca empress, whose father Austin “Super Blue” Lyons had for years, ruled the Carnival circuit, the Soca Monarch competition means that lyrics and melody must be second to none. “Plenty times you find artistes don’t focus a lot on lyrics and melody and they won’t get the crowd’s response,” she said.
“Another artiste, on the other hand, may have a popular song but they won’t get the crowd response because their music lacks these elements.” On the issue of what’s seemingly an on-stage bit of rivalry between Machel Montano and Destra Garcia who’ve both been chosen to enter this year’s competition, Fay Ann said such is always the case. “The rivalry exists all the time,” she said. “It exists among the women in the industry...this one find she should be number one and so on.”
The Consider It Done hit-maker, however, says the only difference this time around is the fact that Destra brought the issues into the realm of her fans and supporters of the competition. “I compete with Bunji all the time, but it’s not that you compete, it’s how you deal with the rivalry,” she said. Indicating that she herself was sometimes dubbed aggressive, Lyons-Alvarez argued that one could be aggressive and right, and aggressive with some level of class. She says the problem escalates when disrespectful language and attitudes are meted out in the public domain.
All in all, Fay Ann Lyons-Alvarez is ready for whatever showdown may present itself on March 4.
“My aim is to survive this Carnival with my sanity because there’s been a lot of nonsense going on publicly and professionally,” she hinted. She, however, says like each year, she focuses on making music that can take her well into another Carnival, regardless of whether she wins the competitions or not. In the meantime, as the heat of Fantastic Friday’s Soca In The City theme penetrates the land, fans, supporters and even ill-speakers can rest assured that Fay Ann Lyons is coming hard on competition night.
Trinidad’s own Machel Montano has copped the Bob Marley Entertainer of the Year Award at the recently held 29th International Reggae and World Music Awards (IRAWMA) at the York College Performing Arts Centre in Queen’s, New York.
The official magazine for the event explains the IRAWMA is not only about reggae music.
’The IRAWMAs recognise artists in Gospel, Salsa, Latin, Reggaeton, Calypso, Soca, African, Soukous, Compas, Racine and Hip Hop. We remain steadfast in our commitment to honour those who have made their mark globally in the Reggae and World Music Industry,’ says Ephraim Martin, president of Martin’s International and Associates and IRAMWA producer.
Julian Marley, one of the sons of reggae legend Bob Marley,
congratulates Machel Montano
on receiving the Bob Marley Award for Entertainer of the Year.
In 1981, Jamaican photo-journalist Ephraim Martin staged the first Reggae Awards in Chicago. Over the past 29 years the annual event has travelled to Miami, Atlanta, Ft Lauderdale, New Orleans, New York and Jamaica drawing record audiences in each location. Reggae and World Music Industry experts select the top entertainers in more than 40 categories. Music fans across the globe are then given the opportunity to vote for their favourites and the nominee with the most votes takes home the coveted trophy. The IRAWMA show is the oldest and longest running annual Reggae and World Music event.
Montano, who was nominated in five categories, began his award haul with the award for Most Outstanding Show Band. The other nominees were LUST, Morgan Heritage, Inner Circle and Third World.
He then took the award for Best Calypso /Soca Entertainer beating nominees Fay-Ann Lyons, Skinny Fabulous, Edwin Yearwood and Alison Hinds. While accepting this award, Montano jovially said that it was not fair that he alone should get this award and so he called Hinds to please accept it for her contribution to the art form. Hinds who later went on to win for Best Female vocalist was all smiles. But it was the top award for the night Montano was in search of and got. The Bob Marley Award for Entertainer of the Year and that was the icing on the cake. Montano is the first soca artist to win this prestigious award. The other nominees were Sean Paul, Beenie Man, Tarrus Riley and Julian Marley one of the sons of the reggae legend. Montano in his speech thanked his mother Liz Montano, all his fans, his band Machel Montano HD, and his close friends in the industry like Pitbull who he will be taking with him on a multiple city US tour next month. Montano closed the the show with a sparkling performance. All the awardes joined him onstage including Queen Ifrika who tried her hand at soca. The show ended with all the awardees singing Bob Marley’s One Love to close the show.
If you think 2010 road march, Palance, is some new kind of soca, you’re wrong. It’s very traditional, says former UWI professor of literature and calypso researcher, Dr Gordon Rohlehr. Palance writer, Kernal Roberts simply took the trumpet line from a brass section and put a word to it, Rohlehr said. “The word palance doesn’t mean anything. It’s really a rhythm.” Colin Lucas did the same thing in Dollar Wine, as well as several other artistes, Rohlehr said. “Traditions have become almost subliminal. You are constantly listening to it without really realising that it’s in a new package.” Road march traditions go as far back as the 18th and 19th centuries, Rohlehr said. “Slaves brought from West Africa the call and response Kalinda stickfighting songs. Road marches have this basic call and response chorus.” If some feel that Machel Montano is trying something new by incorporating rap, dance hall and disco into his music, they are wrong, too. That has been going on for decades, Rohlehr said. “Ever hear about calypso twist, calypso mamba and soul train? Calypso has always absorbed whatver music was available. “Artistes are trying to cater to our cosmopolitan society and different markets. “So what looks like a new breakthrough is really a struggle for survival,” Rohlehr said.
Traditional calypso dying
Traditional calypso may be dying in the tents but it is growing nationally, historian, The Mighty Chalkdust (Hollis Liverpool) said. “When I began to sing calypso in the 1960s, they used to have six finalists in the Calypso Monarch competition. Now they have 15. “When I started, they had 18 semifinalists. Now they have 35. “When I began in calypso, you could only count 50 calypsonians. Now, there are about 4,000,” Chalkie said, proving his point that calypso is not dying but, in fact, growing. Continuing, he added: “When I started there was no calypso in schools. Now there is a primary schools’ competition. Many institutions and corporations have calypso competitions every year. “It can’t be that it’s dying.”
Where calypso is dying is in the tents, Chalkie said. “There are a number of reasons, the chief of which is crime. You need a car to go to the tents and if you come with your car, they are breaking into it.” Another reason, is that fete promoters have pulled a large section of tent goers away, Chalkie said. “At one time, people came to the tents to hear the jump-up calypsoes. But you get those in fetes now.” A third reason for dying calypso tents is the type of calypsoes being composed. “A lot of what you hear in the tents are not calypsoes, they are the writings of journalism,” Chalkie said. The art of writing a calypso involves the use of satire, metaphors and figures of speech, he noted. “A lot of calypsoes now are like normal conversation. When I talk, they get angry with me.”
Emphasis on rhythm
A road march calypso in the 1940s was called a “leggo” calypso. Ras Shorty I introduced soca in the 1970s and, till then, the music was still slow, Chalkdust said. “But by the eighties, the pace changed. Soca artistes began sampling the music of other countries like rap and reggae. “They began to carry the music faster and faster,” Chalkie noted, tracing the evolution of the road march. “While experimenting with other types of music has been going on a long time, the difference between past and present road marches is the lyrical content, Chalkie said. “You could have understood the lyrics of past road marches, even while dancing. “Artistes today go for the hookline, like ‘palance.’ If you ask the average man to sing a Kitchener or Sparrow road march, they could sing a whole verse. “If you ask them to sing a verse from Palance, they can’t. Worse yet, last year’s road march. “The emphasis now is on rhythm and few lyrics.” Chalkie said even steelbands are having a hard time with today’s road marches. “They can’t sit down and arrange one because the melody is all over the place.”
Judges need training
Chalkdust on results of Calypso Monarch:
Placing sixth in last Sunday’s Calypso Monarch competition did not cause eight-time winner, The Mighty Chalkdust (Hollis Liverpool) any worry, but he had a problem with the judging. Chalkie made the comment while responding to questions about how he felt about the results. “Placing sixth was no worry for me, but calypso is very difficult to judge. There are judges who have no training and would put you all over the place.” Noting that he didn’t know who the judges were in the competition, he added: “…but I know that judges today need training.” Chalkie said he had offered himself as a calypso judge but was not accepted. The judges made no mistake about winner, Kurt Allen, who took home $1/2 million, for he has talent and skill, Chalkie said. “If I lose one competition, it doesn’t matter.”
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