Deciphering Midnite

"Open Jah door and enter"

-Vaughn Benjamin 

Is it possible to be one of the most celebrated and simultaneously one of the most underrated? Recently, we began a stretch of taking a look back at several albums within the well stocked catalog of, arguably, the fervently supported entity in Reggae music today, the legendary Vaughn Benjamin & Midnite. And, of so many different things that have been revealed to and have stuck with me, it is this interesting and somewhat clashing duality to their music which has lingered. On one side, obviously, I would suggest that you simply COULD NOT find someone in modern Reggae music whose fans are clearly more passionate for their artist. That person/persons does not exist. But it is in that large amount of reverence where I think the possibility of them also being underappreciated is born.

'Mongst I & I'

It's become almost a cliché, when referring to Benjamin to attach to his name "genius", "brilliant" and other like words which, in his case, are most fitting. He writes songs unlike anyone I have ever heard and he makes so many of them that these words and any other you can think of, which maybe even greater actually, fit him completely comfortably. However, if you put yourself in the mindset of a newer fan who has just began to discover the music of Midnite, you can kind of see how so much of this is already 'built-in' for you. So much of the even semi-formal material available on Midnite are of this type (and as someone who has written about them significantly in recent times, I am not at all absolving myself from providing it), so when you begin your studies, it is what you will find - already neatly composed and presented to you - and without very much at all in the negative. This happens before you have a chance to make up your own mind and I think that it has become this kind of floating identification of Benjamin which may inhibit others from taking a deeper look. Now, that can be a good thing. I wouldn't mind if people just regarded me as this unquestionable genius (even though it would be… I don't even have the vocabulary to tell you how wrong that would be), but in this case when you leap to that conclusion, or accept the one which has been provided for you without hearing it for yourself, you miss out on one spectacular musical journey.

Specifically from Vaughn Benjamin, the attraction is his lyrics. You'll probably find hundreds of more melodically gifted Reggae artists (literally, hundreds), that isn’t what he is best at, but when it comes to what he says and how he is capable of delivering it, he has no peers. That was something which really stood out for me in going back and taking a reviewer's ear to some of his older work - just how wonderful some of these songs are, even when you don't necessarily want to sit there and hear a particular piece, because it isn't something which is immediately gratifying to your ears (it isn't terribly entertaining), he has something to offer and THAT is what is brilliant about his music. I'd heard some of those songs several times completely through, but when you go back and really ingest what he actually says, it's like buying a new album (that you've had for a few years). And, again, when you take the presupposed 'role', that's a level on which you may never really arrive. And generally speaking, I don't think that Benjamin gets credit for how amazing he is lyrically. And I think part of that is because listening to his work can be somewhat tedious. He mumbles sometimes. He isn't always fond of staying on the track behind him and you can listen to quite a few Midnite tunes before hearing a single thing even remotely resembling a chorus. It can be work! As someone who likes a musical challenge, I've well enjoyed the looks back and look forward to doing more and it was surprising at times. When did 'Ever Was So' get THAT good??! It couldn't have been always! There, is where you (and I, specifically), begin to unwrap this HUGE designation of intelligence and ask the very answerable question of, 'why is this man so well regarded?' Because he is amazing and you can hear it for yourself.

'Children Of Jah'

And taking the next step: While Vaughn Benjamin is seemingly so lauded and respected for his words (yet underrated for the same trait), when you think of Midnite, what else comes to mind? You won't get too far before you mention a word like 'prolific' or 'active'. 'They' make albums, as Mutabaruka says, “every week"… but I don't think that 'they' get enough credit for that either. There're currently forty-six of them. There will (reportedly) be forty-nine of them in a minute or so and with the first having reached in 1997 - that's an average (according to my almost humourously atrocious calculations) of more than three a year, every year, in that time. If you recall from a few years ago, the likes of Sizzla Kalonji, Turbulence, Anthony B and Luciano were keeping similar schedules - they've all stopped that for the most part (and I'm not complaining, though if Luciano and Sizzla wanted to re-start the trend, I don't think that would be horrible), but Benjamin has not only persisted, he's thrived. He's continued to push quality material constantly, which has certainly made it difficult to keep up, which is why I find myself mentioning so many times that a particular album went overlooked in its time. I don't know that we'll ever see something like this again as Reggae fans in our lifetime and, although it well requires perhaps most of your musical patience. It is worth it. It is so worth it!

So, while Vaughn Benjamin & Midnite are certainly amongst the most popular of acts this genre has ever seen, and likely ever will see, I think if more people actually paid a greater amount of attention to what made them reach that point - it would hit and even higher level of respect. You can take what you hear and regard them as "brilliant" and "genius". Or you can go deeper and see that, although well lofty, words like that only scratch the surface of just how powerful the music of Midnite really is. 

"Genius": The Music of Ras Batch

"Know Thyself"

So I got some of the best news I could possibly get this morning when Bredz (biggup Bredz) linked me and told me that he had stumbled across a forthcoming new album from one of our absolute favourite artists and someone who I suspected we'd be hearing from in 2012, the most incomparable Ras Batch. "Know Thyself" is apparently set to drop next month (quite possibly on the worst day of the year) and it will instantly become, at least for me, one of the most anticipated sets of the year. It's also worth mentioning that this album will also be the long rumoured debut of the Virgin Islands Reggae wizard on the region's leading label, the always dependable I Grade Records. It's hard to give an album such a distinction prior to hearing ANYTHING from it, but whatever Batch was going to do next was destined to be very big and I wouldn't at all be surprised if "Know Thyself" ran in the company of the truly elite releases of the year by its end. We do still have quite awhile to wait for that, but I was inspired to go back and listen to a great deal of Batch's music for much of today and I thought that I'd take you with me. Today we take a quick glance back at the brilliance of one of Reggae music's most sagacious lights, Ras Batch.

The music of Ras Batch

"Who You Are" [Sound V.I.Zion Records - 2003]

If I recall correctly, Batch's debut set, "Who You Are", was either the second or third of his releases that I'd actually picked up. What I remember most about the background of this album was just how strong it became in the eyes of many. There was such a great deal of discussion surrounding this album and it, at least in part, would become the foundation of the 'word-of-mouth' reputation that Batch would initially have. It was an underground hit (and I hate that word). "Who You Are" is very much a record that I was unable to appreciate when I was younger so if I would have come across it in 2003-04 (when I was just . . . A mess!) it probably wouldn't have made much an impact on me, but all of these years later, it stands a project which I can completely lose myself in examining. The standouts remain what they probably always were for me in 'Ah Rulah' and 'Green Gold' (both were brilliant), but they're encircled by material which is arguably just as strong on many levels such as 'Lift Up', 'Selassie Way', 'Chant Dem Down' and the crucial title track.  

"Keep The Faith" [Sound V.I.Zion Records - 2004]

His second long playing release, "Keep The Faith" which, just like its predecessor, was self-produced by Batch was very similar to the first album. Surely you wouldn't expect such a large difference between the two given their origins and the fact that they were just a year apart from one another. To me, however, it's a bit more 'delicate' of an album in terms of its sound. On Batch's own scale, "Who You Are" is somewhat flashy actually. It's nearly dynamic. "Keep The Faith", like its successor, is a more streamlined piece and that's something which comes through listening to it even now. Look through the tracklist of this album these days the first thing that hits me (besides noticing how many tracks it shares with the next album you're going to read about) are tunes like the title track, of course 'Sane Cry', 'Good Virtues', 'Jah Run Things' and a few others. It's not very odd that I'll still go to this album and listen to it in great detail because, still after all of these years, I kind of feel like I'm missing something in it.  

"Jah Guidance" [Carrion Brookes Productions - 2005]

Me and the "Jah Guidance" album have been through SO much over the years. It's a release which I originally lauded for its INCREDIBLE music (biggup our new friend who sent a message and called me the "king of the uppercase adverbs) (who is the king of the uppercase adjectives!) - and it is spectacular throughout - but pretty much held regarded as an average set besides that. And if you go up to last year, the album had so terrifically grown on me that it became #30 in our series of 'Modern Classics' (and I was so happy with and proud of myself for having written that, definitely one of my own favourite posts on this blog). I've experienced so many things with it and I still find myself working on it occasionally these days. Musically we look at the heights with tunes like 'High Chant', 'Zion Kingdom Come', 'Fya Blaze', the downright dominant title track and 'Fighting Still'.  The final of those mentioned is a tune very much not only encompasses Batch's message for this album and perhaps even beyond, but also really how his music has go through this fight to be appreciated ["eyes wide open, still blind"] and just how clearly ahead of his time this man is. 

"To The Root" [Sound V.I.Zion Records - 2007]

The sound of Batch's fourth album, "To The Root", went back in the direction of his first in its sound, retrospectively. I jumped on this album for the first time in awhile for the sake of this post and I was slightly surprised at how vibrant it was. It also stands out in that track #4, 'Wha Wrang Wid Dem' actually features someone with whom we would later become acquainted, the impressive Ambush. Ras Attitude, Ahfyah (who really should have had an album by now!), Nazarite and even Ima who, I believe, is Ras Batch's Empress make appearances. This album also contains a song which may just be the finest in all of his catalog to my ears, the sterling 'Hail The King', which leads a fine cache of songs which also include 'Centripetal Smoke', 'Carry Beyond', 'Conquer Them', 'Liberation', 'We Stay' [with Attitude] and a gorgeous song like 'Generation'. Like a pretty much every other album you'll read about hear, I keep thinking that one time I'll vibe "To The Root" and a kingdom of words and sounds and ideas which had never before entered my mind in reference to it will be revealed. Hope to see you there! 

"I-Ver Strong" [Green Sphere Records - 2007]

Despite the fact that it had an inherent difference in it at the time of its release  (every album that I've told you about up to now was completely cared for, in every way, by Batch himself), I think that the "I-Ver Strong" set is very much an album which has gone on to become somewhat overlooked and underappreciated and, in a vault such as Batch's where such a statement may be obvious, that I felt the need to point it out in this instance is surely remarkable (DUH!). The album came via Green Sphere Records and was worked through by Batch alongside our friend Blaak Lung and, outside of it being arguably the most dynamic of this entire lot, I don't think that it was a stretch of the chanter's sound in anyway. Because of all of that, again, I think what we see in "I-Ver Strong" is an album which was a 'time-delayed' piece and so many people, be it tomorrow or twenty years from now, will wake up and declare the classic it likely was - and I'll probably be one of them (old and totally insane at the time, but one of them nevertheless) Ahfyah, Ras Attitude, Lung and Messenjah Selah all joined Batch on this journey, but the standout guest was definitely Malika Madremana who besides featuring on the excellent social commentary, 'No Love For the Poor', also sang a fine backup throughout. 

 "Vizionary" [Itation Records - 2008]

'We Nah Lose'

And lastly we end up in 2008 when Batch pushed up his most recently currently available disc, "Vizionary". It can well be said that, at least for another month or so, that this is his most high profile release to date and while I don't think that the music from it, in terms of individual tunes, have really gotten the opportunities to shine consistently, it does stand as a very well respected set and deservedly so. Two songs here are going to stick up probably into perpetuity - there was 'Wicked World', which was a combination featuring Batch alongside both Pressure Busspipe and Ras Attitude and there was also 'We Nah Lose' which I believe was the starring tune in the very first video of Batch's career at the time. But the presence of those tracks doesn't begin to diminish the excellence of creations such as 'Savage' (which gets bigger and bigger every time you listen to it still), 'Troddin' Out', 'Come Whatever', 'Righteously Striving' from the Show Love Riddim, 'Joyful To Be' and 'Jah Blessin' featuring Ahfyah once again. I don't have to tell what I think shall eventually become of this album at all (or at least I shouldn't at this point), but I listen to it now and struggle not to enjoy each and every selection on "Vizionary". 

Ras Batch

Have I mentioned that I'm now experiencing a great difficult in waiting for "Know Thyself"? I probably haven't, but until then Ras Batch has already given us a great deal to work with for the next month or so. So be sure to pick up all of his prior albums and enjoy one of the most all around skilled champions in all of Reggae music today. 

A Familiar Stranger: The Year of Sara Lugo

As someone with a really large head (biggup Bredz) (biggup my poor, poor and WONDERFUL Mother-In-Law) pointed out to me a few weeks ago: As we're now in our third calendar year, each of those years we've unintentionally, as a whole (intentionally, specifically), managed to spotlight three different wonderful artists - thus, linking every year with a different name and I found this an amazing coincidence.

Two years ago I went about feverishly writing about a big big chanter by the name of Messenjah Selah. To the annoyance of some of my readers, we featured lyrics from his entire album and wrote a very well received article using his music as the foundation of it. Well done.

2010 definitely was the year of Naptali The Great and, unlike its predecessor, it was much more planned out and less rushed. Of course that had to do with the fact that Naptali dropped the finest thing to be found last year, as far as I'm concerned, "Long Journey" - that year's best album.

"What About Love"

2011 has just as surely belonged to the most delightful Ms. Sara Lugo whose rise to prominence around here has been somewhat of a mixture of the complete randomness of Selah and the more planned out attention given to Naptali. In her case, also, it was at least a bit predictable as she figured to have a very large year (and you knew that last year) and her 2011 proved to be everything we could've hoped it would be and a bit more. Not only did she continue her ubiquitous ways - we ran into her music in some really interesting moments - Lugo also put out her very well received and much anticipated debut album, "What About Love" back in May and you should now begin to see that album pop up on "Album of The Year" type of lists, right about now.

This isn't actually "locked away" from you. You can buy it right now.

More recently, Sara Lugo would take her an album in a more traditional direction (which is, unfortunately, not a very typical Reggae-direction) - Releasing an official single, 'Locked Away', which would lead to her very first video and a get a stellar single/EP releasing as well (which includes a dubbed out version of the tune as well as other mixes).

On top of all of that technical stuff, from a personal point of view, we didn't just pick her name out of a hat. As I've said in the past, Lugo makes an intoxicating brand of Reggae music and, when at her absolute best, she organically blends Jazz and more traditional R&B into Reggae without sounding mechanical or gimmicky. That makes her range both hard to define in terms of what she could do potentially and what she is capable of right now. It also bleeds into her music making it, as I said, it a big fucking struggle to turn off the tune when she's singing. It also made it quite difficult not to tell our wonderful readers about it and we did that, every chance we got.

'Locked Away'

So, while 2011 will be known as many different things to many different people. Around the jam packed pages of this truly ridiculous place you're currently dealing with - It will be known as "The Year of Sara Lugo".

Zanmi Kreyol

So! In about a week, the first half of 2011 will be over. You’ll be six months older than you were at the beginning of the year (I'll be about 7 weeks away from thirty) and hopefully, six months smarter. In Reggae, coming up in the second half of the year, you're undoubtedly (and hopefully), looking forward to big and brand new albums from the likes of Jah Cure, Perfect, Sizzla Kalonji, Elijah Prophet and others (like Bambú Station???). Yeah! And all of that is great, but you know I like to dig a little deeper and in doing so, I have my own eyes and ears pointed firmly in the direction of and tuning into the area of Reggae and Dancehall from out of Guadeloupe, Martinique and Guyane - These areas pushing BIG talents in Kreyol and French.

This year, we’ve already seen BIG releases come through from the likes of Tiwony ["Cité Soleil"], Paille ["Inflammable"], X-Man ["Atypique"], Sista Majesty ["Ouvrir Les Portes"], Colonel Reyel ["Au Rapport"], Guy Al MC ["Sé Love Sélman"], Little Guerrier ["I & I"] and I’m sure a few others as well. This has all followed a 2010 which saw albums from Admiral T, Lieutenant, Kalash, Krys, Sam-X, Damaniak, E.Sy Kennenga, Young Chang MC, Blenda and Yeahman'C. Of course there is the top of the top notch (and I’m about to tell you about one of those), but ALL of these, in some respects, are big names and would be the equivalent to . . . A seriously STACKED line of Jamaican artists (predominately Dancehall) releasing albums in about eighteen months - Something which probably has not happened (specifically in regards to Dancehall) in nearly a decade.

'Turn Around' featuring Lady Sweety & Natty Bwoy by Sista Majesty

And there's more! The final half of 2011 tentatively is scheduled to offer up three more big release from a trio of big named and very talented performers. One of which is someone who has suddenly become much improved in my eyes, another is a DJ specializes in FURY and the other is someone who is . . . Wildly talented beyond his time and is almost GUARANTEED to have the best Dancehall album of 2011 and maybe even THE best album altogether. Let's take a look.

"Dalycious" by Daly [Hit Maker Mizik]

'Rèspèkté-w'

I haven't exactly been shy in expressing the fact that I am, by no means, the biggest fan of Gwada Dancehall veteran, Daly, but I think it says something that I know enough even to formulate an opinion - I have been paying an attention (not a great amount, but attention still). SO! Because of that, I wasn't at all apprehensive to check what he was up to as of late and it has subsequently turned out to be probably my favourite piece of work from the DJ to date. Not too long ago, Daly returned with the first single for his forthcoming album, "Dalycious" (his third, by my count, and his first from 2007's "Mista Dal"), the VERY strong 'Rèspèkté-w'. Either I just wasn't giving Daly the credit he was due previously or the tune is a significant step-up from a great deal of his previous work. And I should add that it wasn’t that said "previous work" was bad ('Konstriksyon' is a HUGE tune and always will be) (alongside Admiral T), it just never grabbed in this way. "Dalycious" will likely be his best album to date, and I'm WELL looking forward to hearing the entire thing.

“K-Rakter” by Mighty Ki La

'Régine'

How do I describe what Mighty Ki La does??? At his absolute best, MKL has a skill of blending an undeniable talent with such a strange level of intensity that you kind of wonder which, exactly, is his base. Did someone happen to stumble upon a crazy guy who learned how to rhyme from Martinique? If not, was he just a REALLY skilled lyricist who just . . . I don’t know, bumped his head one day and LOST it! In either case, he’s really become one of my favourites over the years (I "lost it" a long time ago) (I'm not even entirely sure that I ever had "it") and it would seem that 2011 would be a very good year for him to return. "K-Rakter" [see note again] is set to be his third album to date and his first from 2008 and if you know what to expect from MKL (and I just told you), then you know that there is almost NO WAY that this project could even be remotely close to substandard work.

Saïk [Don’s Music]

'You & Me'

I don’t even know what to say about this one. A few years back we learned about a youth from Guadeloupe by the name of Saïk, on the strength of his debut album (and material from), "Face à la Réalité". That album showed young Saïk to be, already at that point, amongst the very best lyricists that the Dancehall had to offer, potentially surpassing, ALREADY, his good friend, the very respected Admiral T. Saïk was basically off the registers and the album proved to be one of the greatest Dancehall albums since the turn of the century in my opinion. I've been a fan from then and now is the greatest time to jump up because Saïk, now older and more mature is set to bring his sophomore release later this year. To get things rolling he pushed what is likely the second best video I've seen at all this year (biggup Tarrus Riley) for the album's increasingly excellent first single, 'You & Me'. There is no way that this album isn’t going to be GREAT! And the only thing that keeps me from pronouncing it the best Dancehall album of 2011 (besides the fact that I haven't heard it yet) is that Assassin also figures to be in play later in the year. But make no mistake: this will be a MAMMOTH album.

Oh! And I suppose that there maybe an outside chance that we might FINALLY get the next album from Achis Reggae and Earth favourite, Lady Sweety - But I'm not holding my breath on it.

{Note: As always, check out Antilles-Mizik and the SSBStore for FWI releases}

{Note 2: Releases, titles and pretty much any other thing I may've said in here which proves to be completely wrong and/or DUMB are, of course, tentatively scheduled}

Rewind!: A Second Look & Listen to "What About Love" by Sara Lugo

Surely you didn't think we were done!

"What About Love" by Sara Lugo

When last we left 4'9 German Reggae superhero, Sara Lugo, she was busy releasing her lovely and extremely well received debut album, "What About Love", about a month ago. Anyone who is reading this has already purchased that album and are currently listening to it as they read this (including me - "them a bombing and controlling and abusing. No, they know not love"), so I don't need to tell you to do that. Instead, I thought that we'd briefly rewind time, go back around 744 hours or so and, having had a bit more time to digest and reflect, have another listen to and re-enjoy the splendour of Sara Lugo and "What About Love" . . . While my Wife's dog looks at me with great genuine and natural disdain.

1. 'What Happened'

Not trying to over think this song (yet) - My impressions of this one haven't changed too much, but I've definitely begun to appreciate, more and more, the vocal performance here and, subsequently, the entire sonic appeal of it. Somewhere in the back of my mind (very near, actually, to where I keep the Bouyon) I can see a video for this song with Sara Lugo playing a piano and singing while moving through various pieces of a fucked up society and once she leaves them, they're much better than when she arrived. The significance in that, of course, is that the song is beautiful, along with making its lyrical point. Also (and here is the over-thinking) I'm now noticing the absence of a '?' in the title for this track as well as the album's title also (and this is, basically, the title track), which may suggest a bit more aggressive stance from Lugo - Not asking when it may arrive or an explanation of the absence of love, but more making a suggestion and a statement to include it.

2. 'Maybe'

Again, I’m drawn towards 'Maybe' from such a detailed audio aspect, because it does sound so nice and this song, perhaps even more so than any other on the album, literally seems to revel in that fact. Checking in at 4:22 long, the final ~ minute of the tune is straight instrumentals and STRONG work. There's a guitar and horns and it’s all just very good and had they wanted to let it play on for another hour or so, I wouldn’t have complained at all.

3. 'Soul Chaos'

When I did the review of the album I called the Jazzified 'Soul Chaos' the second best tune on the album and it still is in my opinion (although 'Maybe' is probably gaining on it) and I've found myself focusing more and more on the lyrics of this intentionally chaotic track. So, first of all - Who the hell is Lucy and where did she get so many damn diamonds? Secondly is this:

“Questions over questions
And tears over tears
Life has so much to teach us -
Through the years
There’s a reason for everything
Don’t rush, everything takes time
There’s a season for everything
For every word, there’s a rhyme”

(except 'orange')

. . . "everything is mixed up in your mind"

The single most impressive line in this song comes later on, but this particular passage now sticks out more and more because you can actually see Lugo attempting to create chaos and attempting to, ultimately, place it into perspective. The final four lines of the first part [beginning with "There’s a reason for everything"] are most attractive because it seems like a person taking in so much advice from different sources and then she next goes "everything is mixed up in your mind" - The same person is STILL unsure of their own place in the world. Healthy, healthy writing.

4. 'Nothing To Worry'

This BLARING song is one which is pretty much demanding that you pay attention to it in some way and following a relatively laid-back opening, it forces its way into the spotlight. What now stands out in this case is the riddim itself - It may be the best on the entire album. It's either attempting to overpower you at moments, or it’s this cool little infectious one-drop and it changes instantly and sometimes it's a little bit of both at the same time. There was obviously quite a bit of work spent on the construction of it and Lugo doesn’t let it all go to waste as she serves up another big tune.

5. 'They Know Not Love' featuring Lutan Fyah

Unsurprisingly, as far as songs on this album with which we weren't familiar prior to the album's release, 'They Know Not Love' has become THE most played by me. It's not THE best tune on the album, but it’s very good and, for some reason, I hear this tune and I picture people running . . . Yeah. My peculiarities notwithstanding, the song is an excellent display of both artists stepping in fine directions and I’m now trying to take this tune, with its title, and connect it to both the album’s title as well as that of the opener.

6. 'Part of My Life'

And then there's the boom. I've written about this song several million times if I've written about it once and you know you have something special when, even after that, you can still come up with something 'new' in reference to it and it isn't just because of my big and shiny vocabulary. Two things stand out here: Missing at the beginning of the album version is the cool adlibbed intro from the 'original' version (which you can find on her self-titled EP, which they are apparently still selling, so check that out). Also the best part of this song is when she starts with "I believe in me and you . . . " at what is likely the emotional pinnacle of the track. And that's just the finest of dozens of excellent small things which makes this tune beautiful and, at least in my opinion, the best on the album and the gold-standard of Sara Lugo's entire catalog.

Intermission

Note the very serious nature of this interviewer while asking Berbice about his song which was absolutely ridiculous. And I say that most respectfully, because his song, 'Traffic', was, rather easily, one of the greatest songs of all time


let it go . . .

End of Intermission

7. 'Rock Steady'

My Wife's favourite tune on the album (and my Wife hates pretty much everything) (including feeding her fucking dog apparently) is 'Rock Steady' and I've managed to get an exclusive interview with her as to what she likes so much about it and here it is:

Achis: So why do you so enjoy ‘Rock Steady’ from ”What About Love”, my most wonderful and loving and beautifulest love of life?

Mrs. Achis: “Because it sounds the best”

There you are ladies and gentlemen! Breakdowns and musical analysis simply get no more in-depth than that!

8. 'Familiar Stranger' [Acoustic Version]

I didn't mention this the first time around but the acoustic version of 'Familiar Stranger' really has a very OPEN sound to it and, at least to my ears, it doesn’t seem like they tried to actually recreate the original piece (the Soul Riddim) on the song, or at the very least, if they did, they did so very loosely. The result is something which I don’t necessarily want to call 'better' (you need to REALLY pay attention to the Soul Riddim which is now infinitely better to me than it was initially and should probably be regarded as one of the best 4-5 riddims of 2010), but its definitely DIFFERENT which is a very good thing to pull off with the same song.

9. 'Locked Away'

I think that I basically alluded (I didn't) to the fact that this one might 'catch me' at some point in the future and it well has. 'Locked Away' is a much better tune than I gave it credit for and I’m damn interested to see what might happen if that song is given a chance in more traditional R&B circles. In general, Lugo's music is very accessible and this is, by far, the most accessible of the lot.

10. 'One of These Days'

This tune is one which I don't even think you can take in, in an initial sitting (unless you're a lot smarter than I am) (and you probably are) because there's just so much going on, it's very active and I think that’s well intentional. These days I’m not prepared to call 'One of These Days' a SAD song which is where I may end up thinking, someday, in regard to it and the reason why I'm not is that it’s also very introspective and inward thinking.

“Sometimes I feel like screaming [in my head]
Sometimes I feel like dreaming [about peace]
Sometimes I feel like breaking down -
When all I want is safe and sound”

Now you can call that, and the prevailing mood of the tune, somewhat sad or "gloomy", as I referred to it as being in the review (the distinction I would make there is that 'sad[ness]' is a harsher form of 'gloom[y]'), but what keeps me from making that final jump is that it all seems to be a part of someone really DEEP in their thoughts and as someone who (is about to tell you entirely too much of his damn business) has battled mental illness, it isn’t always sad and 'staring' at it from that perspective it becomes vividly relatable, but perhaps not for the intended purpose. Yes - This one I could spend days on.

11. 'And They Cry' featuring Naptali

I got sidetracked listening to this one because it caused me to dig up a most excellent favourite - "Long Journey" is STILL the single best Reggae album of 2010 .

12. 'If Tears'

And lastly we get a most breezy and retrospectively quite sagacious tribute tune from Sara Lugo to her Grandfather who has passed on. Hopefully I'll NEVER come around to the point of labeling this one 'merely' a sad song. It just isn’t and, it’s also not as "gloomy" as 'One of Those Days' to my opinion.

What resonates now listening to it is just how well put together 'If Tears' is. The subjectry and maybe even the actual SOUND of the tune here is what drowns anything else around it, but if you really tune it in, clearly it's one of the best and most complete tunes on the album, which is what you’d hope for someone who obviously made a great impact on Sara Lugo.

This is just cool!

There're still quite a few different directions in which I could get at this album (and if I stick around long enough, I probably will), but here's just a glance at what we’re thinking now through a second look at the wonderful debut album of the delightful Sara Lugo, "What About Love".

{Note: I call it "brief" and it’s 1800 words}
{Note 2: Biggup Markus from Da Ville}
{Note 3: Biggup Bredz for his magic . . . YouTube code/encryption . . . stuff. The man simply will not allow us to have boring silver and white borders}
{Note 4: No Behaviour!
{Note 5: NONE!}

The Visual Side of A Kreyol Folk Trip

Stevy Mahy

Okay so, when I started writing this I was doing it as “Video Drop #21.5”, in order to feature the latest video from Stevy Mahy, for the tune ‘San Vou’, but as usual with my posts, it began to take on a very different and grander idea and here we have a brief look at all of the singer’s videos - All of which I’ve covered in some regard, but all of which are still LOVELY to watch again.

‘San Vou’ by Stevy Mahy [Directed by Ivan Herrera]

Obviously on a mission to do a video for EVERY song on her outstanding release, ”The Beautiful Side of A Kreyol Folk Trip”, Achis Reggae favourite, Stevy Mahy, has returned with the fourth video from that great album (and, from my research, I can see that #5 is loaded and ready to go), ‘San Vou’. When I first heard this tune I thought that it was a big song but, I kind of thought that it was the type which would ultimately go unnoticed in the face of some of the bigger sounding and more ‘complexly’ vibed efforts on the album - But I thought that, from a purely sonic point of view, it ranked favourably to almost any of them and while I was sure surprised to see it come as one of the videos, I was well happy. And the video has now given me an even greater appreciation for this wonderful record.

As for the video, I think that the most immediately striking characteristic of it is Stevy Mahy’s hair. I wasn’t sure what was going on (certainly I’ve seen enough recent pictures of her which would make it impossible for her to have grown that much hair), but eventually it does play out and explain itself quite well as she begins to shed (literally) and let go of the past. You’ll also pay a special attention to the paintings, which is part of the story, and I don’t know if Mahy paints (I do know that another Achis Reggae favourite, Lady Sweety, does paint), but I thought the entire story around that - From going to the shop and buying brushes from the old man (who seems like a very nice person) and then the one shot of her sitting on the floor just kind of brainstorming with paint - It was all just awesome and it reasons out near the end.

And I simply must comment about her sitting on the stairs . . . I mean . . . Yeah I’d . . . climb those stairs and do what must be done in the name of all things even remotely natural!

And finally, I just like the feel of the video, in general. Her first video for the album, ‘Beautiful’, had such a nice and organic vibes to it and while this one predominately takes place not only indoors, but is almost completely an indoors project, I still get that feel here - It’s very natural and relatable. Also, while Mahy typically is either smiling or has this coolest look of ‘curious indifference’ on her face (it’s almost like she seems to be saying ‘I wonder what’s going on over there . . . But not really’) I think this is one of her more emotional videos and by its end, it is GORGEOUS.

'Fame Is Gone' [Directed by Pasquale Pagano]


'Something About You' [Directed by Ivan Herrera]

'Beautiful' [Directed by Pasquale Pagano]

In looking through all of Stevy Mahy’s videos, definitely the one descriptor which seems to be prevailingly applicable and present is by calling them ORGANIC, which is also a great way to describe her music. One can say that her entire genre of Traditional Kreyol music or Zouk or whatever you’d like to call it, is naturally occurring and just kind of ‘free’ sounding and you could make that point very strongly, however, I’d say that it’s even more the case with her. She makes this brand of music which seems almost inherently visual to some degree to the point where, when you look at the clip of ‘Fame Is Gone’ and it has certain visual effects applied to it, you STILL see Mahy doing things like sitting on the steps of her building and going to a barber to get her hair cut and going to a strip club and just doing kind of these very basic and very everyday type of things, under the scope of being a music video. And that piece, in particular, is that way despite the fact that she spends the entire show traveling from place to place.

"The Beautiful Side of A Kreyol Folk Trip"

And because I must go there (and you know it because you’ve also gone there in your collective heads), Stevy Mahy, seriously, is . . . positively breath taking. She isn’t what you might call “BEAUTIFUL” in the more traditional sense (not what YOU might call it, I WOULD, on the other hand), but her very interesting look and POWERFUL sex-appeal comes blaring through at points in all of her videos. I’ve already mentioned the stair scene in ‘San Vou’, but can also look at her laying around with the blind guitar player in ‘Something About You’ (CLEARLY he must’ve been blind because had he not been visually impaired, he would’ve put down that fucking guitar and played with she, who was curled up right next to him at the time) In ‘Fame Is Gone’ there’s this shot with her on the stairs and she looks great there also, but what sticks out is this shot of her leaning against in rail in New York (I THINK) with this very inorganic white dress and it is obviously meant to be sexy and it is - It’s very sexy.

And then there’s ‘Beautiful’. I cannot think of a more aptly titled song/video, at all, in recent memory. The entire thing is beautiful and it goes from waking up next to a probably completely naked Stevy Mahy to just relaxing and spending the day with her. It’s one of the best videos you’ll ever see and this song, a year later, is still very healthy on my players an I’m not the only one.

In closing, undoubtedly Mahy and Joel Jaccoulet and company who has handles for this album and this project have directly and intentionally taken this very active visual course to promote the album and, in keeping with theme (and the title) of this ‘trip’, it just works so well! And it’s because of that, and the fact that the album, itself, was such a wonderful piece of work, that I’m saying, in terms of overall arrangement and production, you may not find, anywhere, a better presented project than ”The Beautiful Side of A Kreyol Folk Trip” by the angelic and enchanting Ms. Stevy Mahy.

Stevy Mahy @ Twitter
Stevy Mahy @ Facebook
Album Review

"Digital Madness!": A Look at The Absence of Soca Music In The Digital Age

"Don't tell me 'it's coming'. Don't tell me 'hold on'"
'Open The Gate' by Shurwayne Winchester

I find it so interesting that almost every time I read articles in regards to CD sales, the numbers are becoming bleaker and bleaker, but it certainly doesn’t appear that the music industry as we know it is going anywhere. In terms of Reggae music, specifically, I remember last year all the talk about some of our biggest and brightest names such as Mavado, Tanya Stephens, Lady Saw and others had gotten to the point where actual physical CD sales were in digits of the very low thousands and, more usually, the high hundreds and nothing more and everything I’ve heard from 2010 thus far, with names like Capleton, Busy Signal, Buju Banton and Luciano, seems to suggest that the trend has continued. But again, it certainly doesn’t seem like Reggae music as we know it is headed anywhere either. Quite the contrary - Each and every week I see more and more labels popping up and more and more music being made in different corners of the world.

What these labels seem to have in common (amongst other things) is that - Being that I pay a TON of attention to the area - They all seem to be quite good and consistent with making their materials available worldwide through the digital medium and I don’t even think I need to tell my readers just how wonderful and convenient the ability to be able to not only buy pretty much whatever you want with just a few clicks is, but also to be able to pick and choose on a particular album with what you want and don’t want. When you were a child, you DREAMED of such a day and while mankind is seemingly still working on perfecting that ‘flying car’ thing, the age of ‘press button music’ is here and it is amazing, isn’t it? Almost every genre has thrived within the new arena and I’m sure it will continue to grow, even with Reggae as there’re not only more and more music making companies popping up constantly, but more and more companies who are lining up to distribute the work of these labels (and specifically these labels) digitally throughout the world (biggup Zojak).

Of course, I also pay attention to a few other genres such as Zouk (generally included in that ridiculous “World Music” category) and Zouk has definitely flourished on the digital scene as well. I always think that I underestimate the genre, as a whole, and I still think that I do because every remotely interesting Zouk album that I’ve come across is digitally available and, in some cases, is available in multiple editions. But I try to remind myself that not only is the music popular in the Caribbean, but seemingly in various other places such as, of course, France, portions of Afrika and even Portugal and the States which are all hotbeds for the music and stops along the tours of the genre’s biggest names (and apparently Japan loves Goldee as well).

So, with Reggae covered and Zouk covered, what’s left??? Soca. Soca, Soca, Soca . . . I have a number of theories as to exactly why one of my favourite genres of music has yet to develop into the digital market and seemingly isn’t on the fast track to doing so. The first and most prevalent, in my opinion, is the fact that the music itself, although less so these days, is ‘seasonal’. Soca music accompanies Carnival and most unfortunately Carnival isn’t technically year-round, so what happens (or at least the assumed perception of what happens) is that you get the REALLY big songs from almost every relevant artist at the same time of the year which probably isn’t going to be too attractive to a label - Having to, essentially, compete with itself if it locks up more than one artist (while competition is apart of the basis for the music and the season). And also there is the issue of the songs being released timely, but at this point if you grab them in the same year, I don’t think that’s much of an issue at all. What most likely is a concern, on the other hand, is the growth of the music. Soca music, as a whole, has yet to make the same consistent progress as Reggae has and, in retrospect, neither did/has Calypso and it seemingly exists as more of ‘underground’ genre.

Destra Garcia - They call her Bacchanal

But that’s SHIT! If Soca actually is ‘underground’ (and it is in the global sense), then it is BY FAR the most developed of underground genres that we have today - Oh and it is fucking wonderful! Not only that but with names such as Machel Montano, Alison Hinds, Bunji Garlin, Iwer George, Destra [pictured] and Fay-Ann Lyons, just in Trinidad, it has STARS with star qualities and star appeal which is routinely exhibited and not only in the physical, but within the music as well. And the music! I am a Dancehall head at heart and hopefully when they bury me (or do whatever they’re going to do with me after I die) I will still be so, but I have to admit that there is not a single greater adrenaline rush of SOUND than that which is found in Soca music. The music also has a future and the one thing which does seem to grow within it is the talent level of its artists as you find names, younger and younger who seem to that start potential within the music.

But with all of that being said Soca has been all but invisible on this growing digital scene. Okay - There’re problems today, but if I can get a most random and obscure Sizzla album from a decade ago when this ‘whole digital thing’ was still in the “damn wouldn’t that be so nice” stage, then why can’t I get one from just a few years ago from someone like Destra. And not only that but let’s look in the current:

By my own (hopefully reliable, but certainly passionate) research, just taking a look at Road March Winners (hopefully you know what that is) over the past decade - of the last ten Trinidad Carnival Road March champions, only three of them [Fay-Ann’s ‘Get On’ (2008), ‘Display’ also by Fay-Ann (2003) and ‘Trinidad’ by Naya George] are widely available digitally and ALL of those come via VP Records’ ”Soca Gold” series. Of course that also means that only one Road March winning song from the past seven years on the biggest stage the genre has to offer, TnT Carnival, is widely available and that (even if I’m off with my count) is WRONG! Similar searches for all of the Soca hotspots (with the exception of Barbados) reveals similar results and usually worse (far far worse). Just this year we had a breakout winner, ‘Palance’ from JW & Blaze which is/was wildly popular and, in my opinion, that is the basis for the being able to go into the ‘pick and choose’ type of shopping offered by the digital medium - Getting these REALLY BIG songs and it is nowhere to be found - Neither are ‘Meet Super Blue’, the jewel of Fay-Ann’s magical 2009 season, any of Machel Montano’s nor Shurwayne Winchester’s mid 2000’s work.


Montano’s case is really interesting because, as I alluded to, he is one of the genuine stars of the genre and his lengthy career has seen him make collaborations with international stars such as Wyclef Jean, Lil’ Jon and Pitbull from the Hip-Hop world and many others as well. Still, the only widely available material of his ended in the Xtatik years with the albums ”Heavy Duty”, ”Footsteps” and ”Any Minute Now” from VP Records more than a decade ago. The same label is behind the only two available from Bunji Garlin, ”Revelation” from 2002 and the relatively recent ”Global” from five years later. And in both cases, their digital absences aren’t from a lack of available material as Bunji has now eight albums to his credit (having released one every year from 2001-’08) and Machel’s activity can be best summed up with the title of his most recent release, ”Album 34”. Shurwayne Winchester does have one album available of his several ”Under My Spell” which originated in 2002 and the Tobago native has since had at least six releases with his last three being fairly high profile. My beloved Destra? None of her four are anywhere to be found, none of Iwer’s (I don’t know how many he has) are either and Fay-Ann Lyons has yet to even bless us with a collection of her work.

I would, in contrast, like to speak of the good things to be found in the digital world of Soca (as tiny and shriveled as it is) because there have been a few artists and occurrences relatively recently which have made rather shocking appearances. Most recently, of course, there was rising Tortola star, Jalena, who kind of turned into an entrepreneur and put out her own album, ”The Jam Sessions”. The move was similar to those made by the likes of Nadia Batson with her album ”Caribbean Girl”, former Vincy Road March King, Bomani with ”Deep” and the "Method to The Madness” from the big Antiguan band, Taxik, as well. Furthermore, there have been label releases for the likes of Berbice from out of Grenada, Lil’ Rick and most recently (and probably most surprisingly too) Trini lyrics machines, Ms. Alysha. Alysha’s case is interesting because her album came via Da Mastamind who is EXTREMELY active with multiple digital releases each and every year. There’s also Alison Hinds who has both of her albums, ”Soca Queen" [pictured] and 2010’s ”Caribbean Queen” available now and have been available from since they were both released, and a bit of other material as well (like three singles). What I don’t like about that, at least in theory, is that it is so random that it’s almost a matter of LUCK and being in the ‘right place at the right time’ which brings these about. Certainly FAR more people know of Alison Hinds than ant of these other artists that I’ve named but, as I just said, the artists on her level haven’t had the same success (and neither has her former group, Square One).


Perhaps the most active and successful Soca act in terms of making their material digitally available has been Bajan Soca super group, Krosfyah. The band has managed to make the vast majority of its large discography instantly available across the globe and, to my knowledge they did so with one of the very few entities (and maybe the only) which exist to take Soca music into the ‘new world’, Faluma. The German based (I THINK) label will always have my respect (despite the fact that they absolutely refuse to give the world the "Rocket Launcher") for what they’ve done with just a small portion of the music. Besides dealing with Krosfyah, they’ve done similar things for one of my favourite acts, Tizzy and the boys of El-A-Kru, the legendary Mighty Sparrow and former Montserrat Soca Monarch, Scrappy. They also have a shop where you can buy their releases and although it isn’t the finest, they do distribute the music readily and it is available on iTunes, Amazon, Juno etc and, at least in my opinion, they managed to release arguably the most important digital release in Soca in 2010 in ”Carnival 2010” which was an obviously just thrown together compilation which featured absolutely nothing but MAGIC from both Bunji Garlin’s and Fay-Ann Lyons’ 2010 singles (including both of their biggest hits, ‘Brave’ and ‘True Lies’, respectively, which would have both been lost to the digital world otherwise, without a doubt).


In terms of online shops specializing (or merely dealing with) Soca music, if you’re REALLY looking one can definitely find some great material and do so at three places in particular. The first is, Trinidadtunes.com. As far as I know, it is the digital site of one which has been one of my favourites for years to research, Trinidadmusicstore.com. Trinidad Tunes is THE place to go if you want brand new Soca and you want it RIGHT NOW. They have other things as well (even a pretty nice Reggae section), but to make the point - If you wanted a copy of ‘Palance’, ‘Meet Super Blue’, Machel’s and Patrice’s ‘Band of De Year’ (and the album named after it), it is ALL available at Trinidad Tunes as are quite a few of Bunji Garlin’s albums AND others from the likes of Winchester, Dawg E. Slaughter and even Destra’s two most recent albums ”Hott” and ”Soca Or Die”. That is the place to go. There is also a relatively new site, Iribbeantunes.com, which has different things, but still very new and fresh. For example, Krosfyah released two albums just this year, ”The Experience”, which is their new album and the greatest hits compilation, ”20th Anniversary Special Edition”, both of which are available on the site (and maybe exclusively) right now. They’re far more in the norm in terms of commercial sites, as opposed to Trinidad Tunes (which is completely legit as far as I know) who kind of puts together very attractive purchases whether or not they exist in any pre-planned sense. And the third site to check is NuMusicZone.com (which I think has some type of ties to Dominica for some reason), which isn’t even a Soca specific site (and neither is Iribbean Tunes, for that matter) but does have various nice and exclusive pieces such as the 2010 album from reigning two time Antigua Soca monarch, Tian Winter (and it also may be the only site in the world to offer an Aima Moses album digitally as well).

Going forth, the best possible thing would be a project which takes the best of all three of these sites: The musical accessibilities of Trinidad Tunes and Nu Music Zone and the ‘commerciality’ of Iribbean Tunes (and the wide reach of Faluma, as well) - Which would be the absolute best for the genre and perhaps the mere fact that they all do exist and have for quite some time (seemingly successfully) is a great thing. But, with as far as the music has developed ‘on its own’ and with the great deal of BEAUTY and EMOTION and PAGEANTRY it possesses, you can’t help but think that it should have already passed where it is. Or maybe that’s just me, but there’s just something about this . . . Momentous vibes that make millions and millions of people jump for no earthly fucking purpose other than just because it seems like the thing to do. There’s something so special about that and I wonder if people can imagine just how helpful it might be to the music if someday someone from the UK and someone from the States can logon to the “Soca” pages of iTunes or Amazon and the faces of Machel Montano, Destra Garcia and Bunji Garlin plastered up with their discographies on sale.

What a beautiful day that will be. But for now, it still seems far off.