IslandMix - Soca, Reggae, Zouk and Caribbean Entertainment

I was in another post and came across a argument about bands from the leeward islands converting the trini/bajan style. Are they selling out? Or they simply trying to make a name for dem selves. Bands especially in Antigua to me have a trini style which I have no problem with. I feel the origin of antiguas style of music fading away. The tin iron and riddim box. I dont blame nobody but the Antiguan market. Its a shame bands got to convert and alter just to be herd. But I also blame people who dont support these bannds. Bands like Veto, Elakru, dA Bhann.......guys who had that back home flavor then later changed dem style. It sounds like im complaining but im wondering when I drop my material if im gonna have to alter or convert to something else like the rest?

harizon i love antigua riddims iron riddim box style with de congo kickin in they better keep the riddim box style in de leeward islands anyways i starting my band soon HARIZON look out for me band oh yes my song is soon be played in the A/V room check it out st.kitts jam crew) dr.riddim)

I love all styles of music. While embracing other styles, I certainly hope that Antigua doesn't lose it's jam band style. I look forward to hearing both of your music when it comes out. I wish y'all much success. :)

like i said i have no problem with mixing they 2 styles...thats how i produce...i think ongku has done a great job at mixing the 2 styles as well as fitting in his originality in his songs as well....but the other bands have not yet learned how to mix the styles...i find da bahann and el a kru sounding completely trini....they are 2 ways this can go..

1. becasue its trini style the band may get more recognition becasue that is the more recognized style of soca round the world

or...

2. you may get lost in the pack..since all the trini and bajan big artists are all using the same style and have perfected it...your music may not stand out as much and get lost in the pack.

so i say mix the 2 styles in you music....
a great example of mixing th two sytle is "FIRE MAN" w/ onyan, machel etc...that song encorperates the 2 styles very well...listen to it again and check it out!!

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DEFENDING "SMALL ISAND MUSIC" FROM THE BIAS, PREJUDICE, OVER-PATRIOTIC AND RACIST SOUTHERNERS.

I hope your band have that sugar city flavor and dont try to alter your style. I aint no soca anylsis but Try to stand out from Nu Vybez and small axe. Respect and good luck.

yeah boss this band gone got flavour with sugar city style and got tons and tons and tons of power thanks :)

Hmmm..good topic. I'm not too familiar with the "jam band" type of sound. But Da Bhann and Burning Flames to me sounds hott. I dont think they have a trini sound at all....as a matter of fact, I think they sound better than some trini tunes out right now.

Some of my favorites Da Bhann's "my love will never die" "Something's got a hold on me"
Flames' "buss a nut", "Strings" and "nut power"

st, kitts i lookin forward to hearing your matrial....make sure you market you stuff adiquatly..by that i mean don't just think that getting big in your own country is gonna get you big internationally..make sure you do what you need to do and go where you need to go and push your stuff hard to the right people so your stuff can be played along side the big boys on a regular basis internationally..i want to hear your stuff being player right along side xtatic, flames, square 1 and krosfyah no matter where soca is being played and who is playing it!! you get me!!!

break a leg!!

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DEFENDING "SMALL ISAND MUSIC" FROM THE BIAS, PREJUDICE, OVER-PATRIOTIC AND RACIST SOUTHERNERS.

I really don't see this as selling out, I see them as a victim of circumstances and politics..... Remember I was there I fought like them I felt their pain, "I know" this is not just sitting on the outside and analysing what's going on I was in it and to be honest with you Onyan has borne more than dem by a long stretch up to this day he has to beg people to get his music played...... Harizon do you remember when Elakru had tunes in the early 90's with the real Antiguan flavor, songs like Ring Ting, Helicopter etc. how they does tear up the place but the powers that be made it impossible for them to get anywhere because a certain members father was an opposition minister??? Or even when Da Bhann was originally Dread and the Baldhead (now they've lost the dread) and they also got the sh*tty end of the stick..... So if I see I'll never get anywhere by staying true to my countries patterns am I not to experiment with different ones and if I'm successful continue in this trend????
That's exactly what Elakru and Da Bhann did they tried the Trini ting it worked for them they making money by chosing to go that way..... However at this moment it is by far more beneficial to Elakru than Da Bhann because, Da Bhann has gotten really bad reviews in TnT for their live performances in 2002 and has not been able to get jobs in TnT since that, right now they don't even get jobs in Antigua because people just keep saying their live performances are just too weak...... Remember it doesn't stop at making/ producing good music you've got to be able to go out there and sell it....... Elakru on the other hand has benefitted tremendously from this a mean they're in TnT atleast 5 times a year performing, they play for Masquerade Mas troupe every year for TnT carnival and have continued to get great reviews..... I have a Newsday from TnT Carnival 2003 and they're front back and center in this and I was given a Guardian from TnT carnival 2004 and they center and back of that also with great reviews, and that's what you want out of it when you choose a different road, for it to be beneficial to you at the end of the day ah mean everyone won't see it as a plus but only who feels it knows it.......
Onyan now has chosen to do mostly slow songs because his market is now basically St. Maarten, Anguilla and St. Lucia and those are the type of songs hitting it up in those Islands, so although he still gives you alittle homestyle he doesn't market or concentrate on this, because it is not profitable. I think however Elakru is kinda moving back to home little by little also and I think the reason for this is because they're actually the only band that gets jobs at home throughout the year.... Da Bhann used to be their competition but since people just don't want to hear them live it's just Elakru and someone was telling me REVO also do alot of local gigs since they've gotten a good female singer.....

My advice to you Harizon is do you...... Don't think because it didn't work for someone else it won't work for you..... TAke for example both of promise songs were produced by Elakru and they gave his music a totally different style to what they're accustomed of giving themselves....... That's whay you need to remember what's you may not be another person, because really I cannot see Elakru embracing a style like Burning Flames and it works for them it's just not them two totally different personalities.....

shan1 is it really working for them??? is it??...yes they may be getting more gigs and making more money in trinidad....but is their music being played in regular rotation by soca club DJ's and soca radio disc jockey's round the world??? is thier music being played right along side sq 1's music, xtatic's music or krosfyah's music..on a regular basis??
flames have just started to get that regular rotation only in the past 4 years....showdown with xtatic is what got them to that point..before then you would only hear buning flames music at antiguan jams for antiguan by antiguans or to a lesser extent other leeward islands jams...now any where in the world you go and you go to a soca jam chances of hearing a burning flames song is very high....you get me....el a kru had a hit a few years back (ie lethal batty) the song got on VP soca gold and all...and i can tell you that year i can count the number of times on one hand i heard that song play at MAJOR soca jams (where they were mostly non-antiguans)...it wasn't getting the sort of play a HIT tune should...this is how i gauge when you have made it..when other bands (especially the big trini and bajan bands) start covering your tunes at their gigs round the world then you have trully made it...that means your songs have truly trancended to the point where people who wouldn't normally have a need to play a non-trini/bajan tune for their fans have to now do so becasue your matrieal is just that POPULAR!!!

look at chi chi man by wanski..evey trini band last year here in toronto covered that tune at ther gigs here for caribana last year...every last one...from roy cape to traffic...dispite the fact that the antiguan population here is minimum!!! the song was still covered...same thing for "mash it up" the year before!!!

so until el a kru, the bahann, high intensity, small axe, ny vybes or any other leeward island band get to the poinrt where other bigger more reconized bands feel it important enough to do covers of tunes from these bands at their gigs and/or the big radio station soca dj's and big soca club dj's play those bands tunes right along side the more recognized ones from trinidad and barbados on a regular basis..the all the other $_h_i_t means phuck all!!!

that my opinion!!

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DEFENDING "SMALL ISAND MUSIC" FROM THE BIAS, PREJUDICE, OVER-PATRIOTIC AND RACIST SOUTHERNERS.

So you're actually telling me you expect everything to fall into place one time???? Do you know how long Flames has been in the music business and you clearly stated that it has only been the past four years they've been getting the recognition they deserve 4yrs years out over 22yrs, so I don't expect Elakru or Da Bhann to get big over night.....
As for Lethal Batty yes they had bands like Krosfyah, Flames,Square One playing it I heard them with my two ears... Don't expect a hit from Antigua to get the same recognition as one from TnT or Barbados now much-less to five years ago...They have clubs in TnT, Miami and other places still playing Lethal Batty... You have to start somewhere , Flames wasn't always big I remember the days when I was little and used to go watch flames outside Deluxe Cinema playing for free to small crowds before they made it big enough to stop do that....... Krosfyah, Xtatik and Square One they all started from scratch.... I'm quite sure if you did a survey on all these big artiste's you'll see some of them have been in the business for 10 and more years before making it......
There's no way you can compare the popularity of a hit song from 4/5yrs ago to one from a year ago, soca has grown so much since then, markets that weren't available back then has now opened up....... How much people know flames hit song Workey Workey compared to how much know Mud Dung.... If you're assessing something you'll have to assess the entire medium on the same basis not assess one from last year and try to put it up against one from 5yrs ago that's unfair to both parties......

rATTY.....U AND SHAN CAN MEK SOME STRONG ARGUMENTS BOY...CARRY ON

what you are saying is true shan1...but so is what i'm saying as well...we're both right....i can't disagree with you casue what you saying is true...but so is what i'm saying as well...

you're right about the market being more open now...but we need to take a little more advantage of this open market without compromizing or conforming to much away from our sound!! i just think a lot of aniguan bands don't realize that becasue the market is more open now they really don't have to conform and compromize that much anymore!!!...they just need to work a lttle harder on marketing etc.
i see things a bit different than you do shan1 thats all...i can't say you wrong in your sentiments but niether can you say i'm wrong either.

and just a little info..i use to par wid flames long before they even played soca..when they used to set up outsaide dem mother hounse in potter and play rock songs from duran duran and journey!!!
PHUCK.. i remember when oungku used to go school at sunnyside!!!
so please don't try pull no rank wid me bout "outside of deluxe"!!!
lol J/K!!!

respect here

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DEFENDING "SMALL ISAND MUSIC" FROM THE BIAS, PREJUDICE, OVER-PATRIOTIC AND RACIST SOUTHERNERS.

B]PHUCK.. i remember when oungku used to go school at sunnyside!!![/B] LOL!!!! No disrespect here I was just taking it back a little, remember I said I was young back then muchless to when he was in school????Larrrddd where was I then ....

As you can see I never said you were wrong, because I understood from the jump where you were coming from..... But remember we're not the only ones reading this and so we have to debate and show that there's always two sides...... It's not about being right or wrong, and I don't ever want it to come down to the low's I've seen certin threads reach here...... I know you'll never disrespect me and I'll never disrespect you...... because there's always something to learn and gain from a civil debate....

To address the issue of marketing is another story..... I think sometimes these guy's sit back and wait for a lucky break too much because of what they've been through..... I really do think they need to step up in this area big time, they leave too much to chance......

P.S ask Harizon if he not entering ANU's soca monarch this year it's registration time right now....[