Date: Wed 2nd Sept 2009
Location: The Zen Nightclub
Promoters: Xtatik Ltd.
Machel Montano and his HD (High Definition) Band have grown from strength to strength over the years and continue to flourish in several ways. On September 2nd 2009, Club Zen, Port-Of-Spain was the venue for the unveiling of what can be referred to as the next generation of Soca icons and cultural ambassadors.
We at DancehallSoca.com are always happy to bring to the forefront the latest happenings in Caribbean entertainment and thanks to the diligent and strategic efforts by publicist Rhona Fox, our team was able to access a premium media experience complete with interview opportunities with the stars of the evening. This night served to highlight them, Machel’s esteemed band mates, the vocalists, instrumentalists, producers, songwriters and dancers.
The event also sought to emphasize Montano’s vision of uniting the Caribbean through music as the line up included regional Soca stars Biggie Irie (Barbados), Nnika Francis (Grenada), Tian Winter (Antigua) as well as two blasts from Trini musical past Cathy Ella and General Grant. DancehallSoca had a chance to get up close and personal with the night’s featured performers and get their views on the event, their careers and future plans.
Cathy Ella, the woman who gave us the timeless hit “Frenchman Song (Sokie Sokie) was first to be interviewed. The former lead singer of Soca band Taxi expressed her pleasure at being approached by the HD Camp to appear at the event. She also added that despite her long hiatus from the Soca world, she was indeed ready to perform the Zouk-infused classic alongside Patrice Roberts. “It’s been a whirlwind week for me but I firmly believe everything happens in its own time”.
Grenadian songstress Nnika Francis was glad to be in T&T to perform her song “Sugar Stcik” which is on the “Bubble Up Riddim” produced by fellow Grenadian and HD bassist Shawn “Roots” Mitchell. “Roots” himself was pleased to have one of his countrymen on the card and considered this event as a great showing of the band’s growth. He stated that the Bubble Up Riddim has been his most successful compilation and has received tremendous positive feedback, and fans can look out for more Soca, Reggae and Dancehall riddims soon to be released.
The Caribbean was also represented by 2007 International Groovy Soca Monarch Biggie Irie and Antiguan Party/Groovy Soca Monarch Tian Winter. Winter, who was honoured to be a part of the show, has worked with HD keyboardist and producer Dwain “Dwaingerous”Antrobus and has a groovy collaboration with Patrice called “Bump and Grind” which was written by HD drummer and songwriter extraordinaire Kernal Roberts. Tian felt great about his “Trini debut” and looks forward to the masses’ knowing him and his music.
Farmer Nappy, coming off a successful Cropover season with his song,”Go Brave”, shared this, “the event tonight is the crossing of the bridge that Machel built, and I am proud to work with and pass on my knowledge to the younger performers in the band”.
After almost 30 years in the business Farmer is planting seeds of success in the next generation of performers. Farmer, who is currently riding high with his latest track featuring General Grant, “Looking to Wine” further revealed that for 2010 he had new power Soca material to blaze the airwaves.
Patrice Roberts admitted to getting into the Soca game to simply have fun. She added that she was genuinely excited about her success in the industry and about being in the same category as artistes such as Machel and Destra whom she had always admired. Roberts acknowledged that a part of the melody for her latest hit “Wuk It” was inspired by Cathy Ella’s “Frenchman Song” and that she was truly glad to be able to perform alongside an artiste who inspired her in her formative years.
Zan, the man responsible for writing previous hits by Machel, Destra, Patrice, Shal Marshall and H20Phlo claimed that at this point in his career he felt more respected in the industry and equal to his singer/songwriter counterparts. The talented artiste who also designs his own outfits said that he felt very close to his band mates and the decision to package them together as the HD family was an inevitable one. When asked about his 2k10 songs, Zan said, “Last year I said wine for your life, 2k10 I’m saying wine til yuh back break”.
Unfortunately we didn’t get to chat with General Grant; however, his onstage performance spoke for itself, because like Ms. Ella, he brought down the house with undying Trini hits and connected with the crowd on a special musical level.
The performances (both opening acts and headliners) were nothing short of top notch, and the HD set gave ample opportunity for frontliners Patrice, Zan, Farmer and Umi Marcano to display their respective catalogues of music and their strengths as solid solo performers. Also taking spotlight were the incredible HD dancers who were given a special segment to show off their creativity and unmatched dance ability.
The HD Family received a rousing applause from the capacity crowd at Zen after their much appreciated effort. Just when the audience’s intensity was considered to be at its peak, things went into further high gear when the leader of the HD camp Machel Montano appeared to put his stamp of approval on the night’s proceedings. He invited the show’s entire cast onstage for a group rendition of Carnival 2k9’s party favourite “We Won’t Stop”.
Kudos to Xtatik Limited and all associates on an excellently executed event and special thanks to Rhona Fox Inc. for our media access. We at DancehallSoca eagerly anticipate all of the HD Family’s offerings heading into Carnival 2010 and beyond.
