rolling soca / chutney / jab 2017

https://youtu.be/3mM5thuX2R4

Front page Washington Post article--

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/the_americas/leave-me-alone-trinidads-women-find-a-rallying-cry-for-this-years-carnival/2017/02/26/3888f116-f9e6-11e6-aa1e-5f735ee31334_story.html?utm_term=.dd8188aaf0c7

Every year, an onslaught of high-octane soca music is released ahead of Trinidad’s pre-Lent Carnival. The songs are new, but the themes are well-worn: Rum. Partying. And the allure of a woman’s gyrating body, preferably backed into a man’s grasp.

So it’s a little surprising that one of this year’s most popular Carnival tunes is a jaunty ballad performed by the 76-year-old music legend Calypso Rose and titled matter-of-factly “Leave Me Alone.” The song features a woman trying to party in the streets without interference from men, exhorting them to “leave me, let me free up.” And it’s being hailed as a feminist anthem.

“It’s like a rallying cry for women who just want to be able to have the option of enjoying their Carnival — Carnival being that space of freedom,” said Attillah Springer, 40, a Trinidadian writer and activist. “And then you have to deal with people who are trying to control how much freedom you feel.”

Calypso Rose is awesome

On the subject of calypso, Chalkdust just won his ninth Monarch title - overtaking Sparrow's record:

http://www.trinidadexpress.com/20170227/news/chalkdust-is-2017-calypso-monarch

that Bollywood song that the melody for "Budget" is borrowed from turned out to be this from Mela (1948): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kn5GDsFiK1Q

Good detective work!

Full Extreme is apparently in front in the Road March race.

I'm sure it will win. Who else is it up against?

The closest competitor seems to be Machel's Beat It.

Putting my money on Full Extreme, then.

^ Such a banger.

Officially the highest scoring song in Road March history - 556 plays.

Full Extreme has a new video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1DtNXHyh5r8

Probably a lot of crossover with 2016 but i have been listening to the following a lot:

Blaxx - Ranking Ting

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r3YIZhLcNcw

Nadia Batson - Loyalist

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xwgoza3plB0

Mya & Uncle Ellis - Ray Tay Tay

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VzQSigO0CjA

Uncle Ellis has an interesting story - he is 58 and was sleeping rough in Port Of Spain for a number of years and became a local celebrity for hanging out and dancing to street-corner soundsystems. He ended up being hired at professional events and releasing records. There is a short interview with him here: https://youtu.be/K8UpG9U91h4

Bunji Garlin - Big Bad Soca

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=050Iie2T6Cg

ILM's 2017 Rolling Soca Thread Spotify Playlist

I've been sleeping on so much soca this year but the parallel riddim is just perfect for the warm weather we're having atm:

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

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jJs5zR3dWCw

I've been listening to these a lot recently:

Dloxx / Machel - Take It Down

https://youtu.be/h3TXBwvf_uU

Lyrikal - Dedicated

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-kBkD6WYvCI

Bass / Trilo G - Take Over The Road

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PALbPaU34FA

Take It Down is amazing.

Feeling this (some great dancing too)

Naphtali - Doh Watch Dat

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dg-i0R9Jg4o

The dancing in the "Take it Down" video is great

this is just delightful:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=heQY8otg6YA

really dig Kaliffa's 'Helt Seriöst", dunno if it's soca exactly but that's what comes to mind when i listen.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5kLTeOk_j7k

great video too
https://vimeo.com/221169867

great interview here. I had no idea Bunji's name was literally from bungee: http://www.afropop.org/39215/interview-bunji-garlin-and-fay-ann-lyons-on-soca-music-today

also if you missed it like me, the Buss Head video is high quality:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=McPMyu5_3TI

that interview goes really deep. scroll down to the bit about "Raze" if you're pressed for time

this gets close to sounding like a song in the post-climax dance sequence in a phoned-in animated film but is actually so much fun:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2s7JKsuZkXk

^Olatunji x System 23, "Bodyline"

and this Ola is just immense:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xVgE9OIxs-o

love Sekon Sta on this afropop-y Folklore riddim:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ujVVzC13iN4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xw7TpFMRD5s

^new and fantastic Nailah Blackman

this is secretly one of the best threads on ilm; "brek down de fence" "Your Time Now" and "take ah bathe" are def best of the year material for me.

For those compiling your year-end lists, this playlist includes all the available tracks on this thread, organized roughly chronologically in order of mention:

ILM's 2017 Rolling Soca-Chutney-Jab Thread Spotify Playlist

The sample in Bodyline definitely reminds me of something... Triplets of Belleville maybe?

rolling soca &c. 2018