where's d'scene? rolling soca, chutney, jab & other caribbean pop

I tried a '22 soca mix the other day. I have to admit I wasn't super into it as a mix, but a few tunes caught my ear:

Kes x Dwala - Jolene

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uZWZWV8hGyk

GBMnutron - Down Dey

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1pTeX_43Ttg

Keshav - Move

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OVG5IEu4SEQ

Nailah Blackman x Mical Teja - Dingolay

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OffaL6SeiJE

I really really really like this one. feel it could have across-the-board appeal. should do well in a decade poll in fact:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0FWHavH6IQw

thanks for posting these updates!

Yes thanks. I am also liking German-born, Barbadian vocalist Rupee's "First Wine" 2022 single. He's been around a bit and has a pop-soca and reggaeish feel on some cuts. He and Kerwin Dubois recently were in DC at a festival

xp I appreciate that, sean!

That is pretty nice, curmudgeon, thanks. I think you might be into this Trini-Haitian collab (so might we all in fact):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KeMko3n-U7c

Kes x J Perry x Michael Brun - Liki Tiki

And speaking of Barbados, one thing I learned from my brief survey the other day was that this slice of Caribbean weirdness is apparently super popular:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6WlQ-7QjBGc

Father Philis - Brawling

been a while since I treated myself to fresh soca sounds, so I’m very happy with this selection. the only one I was familiar with was “Jolene”. “Liki Tiki” is an instant favourite too, J Perry’s Kreyòl part in particular makes it.

that Father Philis track is intriguing. he’s got a new one out, “Face Beat”, that’s even bigger than “Brawling”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WKg6b_Hezb0

Nailah Blackman just made a track with him (and Salty) as well, called “Teknique (Bum Bum Bum)”:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJDazGrOgJE

I found some of the tracks posted last week on the Get Soca 2022 compilation on Spotify, and listened to the whole fun thing.

a couple of highlights:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v8CFjp6JMuc
Boyzie • Stage In Life
(on the Chips and Dip Riddim by jab masters Xpert Productions - Slatta and Lil Kerry are on it as well)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ym1sqSc1414
Blaxx ft. Linky First • Rum Ina Me Head
(another jab track by the sound of it)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y2KrqgzksD8
Raymond Ramnarine ft. Vicadi Singh • Mind Yuh Business
(which has clear Indian inflections - does that mean this is “chutney”?)

but my favourite discovery is this guy Umpa, who’s from Guadeloupe but is equally at home in the Anglophone and Francophone vernacular:

the sparse “Plat” (which leans slightly more Kreyol) was on that comp: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pS0j2yb0XQ0

…but then there’s also his most recent one, the maximalist “Bap” (mainly in English): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQYNZP9PxEQ

it sounded exhilaratingly familiar and then I realised: it could have been a Ball J Beat! Ghanaian azonto producer extraordinaire of tracks like “Lapaz Toyota” (as well as “Pooley” after he had adapted his style)

(the man had that where’s my Grammy?!!!?!!! tag on his records long before Burna even entertained such notions (speculation, your honour!), let alone voice them)

I'm pretty out the loop for decent soca. Feels like 2020/21 were bumper years but even my soca-nerd pals seem more interested in stuff like amapiano and cruise-beat these days. What's good?

Don’t know. Here’s some random Bermuda dj’s Spotify playlist from earlier this year

Droppin' this here again for the ppl that need it this week 👍🏾😆

My 2022 Soca Top 20 Playlist https://t.co/gNykE8rocM

— DJ Rusty G (@djrustyg) June 13, 2022

cheers!

Awesome Machel Montano February 17 soca and afrobeats and more Carnival show in Trinidad

I want to go to Trinidad for this awesome February 17 carnival show with soca and afrobeats artists . Saw Machel Montano do an incredible show @ the since shutdown Crossroads in Bladensburg once or twice & have seen a few of the others but not all. pic.twitter.com/WcqzQGA3Wz

— Steve Kiviat (@SteveKiviat) February 11, 2023

Flyer for the show in the tweet

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cINEwJkzFSs

It's carnival season!

I'm loving both the amapiano version AND the soca version of Machel Montano x Hugh Masekela's* The Meeting Place

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hJLkvKVkaMs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aDDL_hr_n-c

*I know, right?!

Haven’t listened to DJ Private Ryan latest soca mix but a New York Times mention of it is my reminder to listen

Bunji's Hard Fete is the definitive soca of the year for me.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=97bq9Kjmr3E

Yeah it's an instant classic that one

I’m not quite ready for that road yet, but I’m pretty sure I prefer the “N.M.G. Roadmix” to the original version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L91PtPvDgtE

IG is showing me an ad for Soca Gold 2023

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2023/jun/22/well-play-until-our-teeth-drop-out-the-long-remarkable-lives-of-britains-windrush-era-musicians?CMP=share_btn_fb&fbclid=IwAR3kxUo678ukrRMUY7Bs2J30fY_t-tsq0HO7KnPYt4qZL4yg5AG1DEgqhK8_aem_th_AV9d3cRWfGL5S8Cevm0MShCRgVjBJgy_qXP-X5xmiuTlOFWtpHd3hZ_jQP1AAACA-nM&mibextid=Zxz2cZ

Article is about Immigrants to UK still playing music and their legacy

BRINGING TOGETHER THE BIGGEST NAMES ACROSS THE GENRE, “CARIBBEAN MUSIC AWARDS” UNVEILS FIRST SET OF PERFORMERS
====
ALISON HINDS, JADA KINGDOM, DEXTA DAPS, KRANIUM, NAILAH BLACKMAN, DING DONG, RUPEE, LILA IKE SET TO HIT THE STAGE FOR CARIBBEAN MUSIC’S NIGHT OF CELEBRATION WITH CONFIRMED APPEARANCES BY SPICE, BABY CHAM, TONI-ANN SINGH AND MORE
===
REGGAE LEGEND BERES HAMMOND TO BE HONORED WITH AN ELITE ICON AWARD
===
“CARIBBEAN MUSIC AWARDS” WILL TAKE PLACE LIVE FROM THE RENOWNED KINGS THEATRE IN BROOKLYN, NEW YORK THURSDAY, AUGUST 31 AT 8 PM ET
HOSTED BY 3x GRAMMY AWARD-WINNER WYCLEF JEAN

I have been sleeping on Ding Dong

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4UwKrek6gks

Have liked Alison Hinds for a while, still need to catch up on many others in soca world

Super Blue just did a late night, poorly advertised gig in DC area .

http://tt.loopnews.com/content/denyse-plummer-has-died-calypso-world-mourning-again

RIP Denyse Plummer

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_FKMW-9DvC0

Fallon “ What do want Santa” posted on YouTube a year ago ,

Actually “Wey yuh want Santa” parang

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/made-in-trinidad-screening-with-filmmakers-natalie-hill-adele-bertei-tickets-736828272197?aff=ebdsshios&fbclid=PAAaYNqTa_prkW7lQHewckmuceJztgcuNCJCslKBozXuWDr8zZj7v0tcoy5LU_aem_AZaL0mJ5NxVkkfOYJj8HOo9thpm0b32VA-6vLBd4Fycu-osMndTBS9uGNnEuAgwf50Q

Natalie Hill and Adele Bertei for a very special screening (1st in decades!) of Made in Trinidad
Made in Trinidad (First Screening in Decades! Filmmakers Natalie Hill & Adele Bertei in Person!)
The Philosophical Research Society proudly welcomes producer and directors Natalie Hill and Adele Bertei for a very special screening of MADE IN TRINIDAD, their barely seen, incredible documentary on Trinidad’s Carnival celebrations. Produced in 2001, their film toured the festival circuit to acclaim, but did not receive distribution – a casualty of the early aughts film industry’s unfortunate indifference towards ethnographic filmmaking. Now, twenty-two years later, PRS is excited to share a rare screening of this wonderful film!

That’s Feb 17 in Los Angeles for that soca in Trinidad film screening

Vivien Goldman article on the assassination of Trinidadian Rebel Sixx , who she first started listening to while living in Jamaica during Covid

https://pioneerworks.org/broadcast/vivien-goldman-jamaican-bass-bad-mind

I still need to finish the article

https://www.bam.org/film/2024/one-hand-dont-clap?utm_source=instagram&utm_medium=social&utm_content=film-onehand-ig-o-post&utm_campaign=film

Restored doc One Hand Don’t Clap about soca and calypso showing in Brooklyn through Thursday March 14

Has there been any remarkable soca this past year? Trying to catch up....

I'm putting on a soca night in Bristol on Saturday, so I hope to hear some good stuff.

I've fallen off with soca recently. I omky really know Hard Fete and Anxiety from the last season

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6ZRPtvSdjBvqTHqbW0gUCG

https://www.caribbeanlife.com/machel-montano-crowned-2024-tt-calypso-monarch/

Ooh nice thanks for this!

Machel Montano just recorded an npr Tiny Desk but I don’t think it’s online yet

I saw Montano years ago live and he and his band were great. I didn’t splurge for his pricey 50th birthday tour gig last night at the Kennedy Center and now after watching IG story clips on his page I wish I did. Oh well .

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y1f0WK9lsb0

Trinidad’s Machel Montano did the 1st ever soca NPR Tiny Desk and now it’s online

Great stuff!

The Fall soca/calypso song

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1EVf1BuGiYw

just delightful, thanks LightUserSyndrome

The instrumentation sounds more Hawaiian than calypso or soca.

Or high life.

Hawaii-life?

I like it, whatever

back to other recent post here - I saw Machel Montano live with a band circa 2005 in DC area Caribbean music club and they were great, and watching that Tiny Desk makes me kinda wish I had splurged for his recent Kennedy Center show here in DC ($100 tickets)

Love this Haitian track from last year

Tracy Magic Girls - Lajan

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I8tgHruhLmo

Also, this would be the perfect time to intorduce you all to my friend Stormy-J's absolutely RIPPING "Jab House" mix, where she mashes-up high-bpm house and Jersey Club sounds with Grenadian Jab Jab and Caribbean soca. Give it a listen:

https://soundcloud.com/stormy-j-radio/the-birth-of-jab-house-2024-mix-stormy-j