CALO Festival

On Friday 29th July, 2011 @ 9pm sharp 3canal & the cut + clear crew, brought down “the Power of the the Word in the Power of the Rhythm” aka the Rapso Vibration @ the Harbourfront Centre, Toronto Canada (In collaboration with the Trinidad & Tobago Entertainment Company.)

as the headline act that night, at the Island Soul Festival. 3canal thrilled an audience estimated at 5,000 strong to their very own brand of Roots, Resistance, Rhythms and conscious lyrics and had them singing and dancing and calling for more. Following is a brief note from Sophia Isajiw, Artistic Associate @ The Harbourfront centre “Dear Roger... I want to personally thank you and Wendell and Stanton and the Cut+Clear Crew for a fabulous, solid 2 hour evening in Toronto! It was memorable...

My 2 personal highlights were the blue devils getting up on stage with you (heh, heh that's what it's all about in spite of our rules) and watching a very old gray haired Japanese grandmother jump up, wave her hands and SING YOUR LYRICS! It's a small world and only one language is needed when we are all united by a good vibration, ain't it? ... So, thank you from the bottom of my heart for your message and for your energies, and for helping to connect those histories in the diaspora....”

A couple days prior to leaving for Toronto, 3canal also presented the sixth edition of their annual Emancipation Concert entitled Freedom.com6 @ the Little Carib Theatre, Woodbrook on Tuesday 26th July, to a packed house of enthusiastic patrons; Wayne Bowman of the Trinidad Express newspaper had this to say...

“3Canal took the stage singing, "Over Me" and the audience immediately began to sing along. While the patrons up in the balcony were bouncing in their seats those downstairs were dancing up a storm seemingly in bliss as Wendell Manwarren, Roger Roberts and Stanton Kewley chanted and harmonised...

To be honest, this sixth edition of the Freedom.com series was not as elaborate as previous editions as the guys simply sang accompanied by their Cut+Clear Crew band without much frills or any impacting theatrics...”

3canal declares, it is with eager anticipation that we look forward (once again with the support of the Trinidad and Tobago Entertainment Company) to “Bringing Down the Power of Love and The Spirit of Music” and represent the Rapso Vibration, inside the inaugural CALO Festival on Saturday 20th August @ The Alexandra Palace, London.

3canal Bio:

3canal are recording artists from Trinidad & Tobago whose style of music is called Rapso. Rapso is conscious music and is more of a philosophy and stance than an identifiable musical signature. It has been termed “The Power of the Word in the Rhythm of the Word,” “The Poetry of Calypso” and “The Consciousness of Soca.”

They began their musical journey in 1997, with the song “Blue,” a song which marked a turning point for the music industry of TnT. It became a benchmark for the new sound of the music of Trinidad’s Carnival. Two years later they recorded “Talk yuh Talk” [1999] a hard hitting response to all “mocking pretenders of society.” This went on to become an anthem for the dispossessed and voiceless. In 2004 they created “The 3canal Show,” a multi-media performance event, which has since become an annual event in Trinidad’s carnival calendar. For the Trinidad Carnival they have also presented a Jouvay Band since 1994.  A significant part of their work involves working with young people in workshop labs using the carnival arts as a means of expression and empowerment.

Born July 29, 1973, on the Spice Island of Grenada, Wilt Cambridge, popularly known as Tallpree, has become a favorite of "old women" and young alike. Although his 1999 hit "Old Woman Alone" has brought him a new recognition with its phenomenal success, Tallpree has been on the music scene since 1989.

Formerly known as Mr. Evilus, Tallpree began performing as a dancehall artist in Grenada, getting his start by hitching rides from his home in St. Georges to anywhere he could get a chance to perform and be heard on the microphone.

For years he performed as the opening dancehall act for many of the big name artists that visited Grenada such as Super Cat, Maxi Priest, Barrington Levy , Beenie Man, Bounty Killer and Buju Banton.

Well received by his Jamaican peers, he has even participated in clashes with Merciless and Sean Paul in Grenada. Tallpree has great admiration for Bounty Killer because his lyrics have a political message that reaches out to the poorer classes, and that is something that he feels relates to his own life and style of song writing. While remaining the #1 Dancehall artist in Grenada, Tallpree made the switch to soca.

In 1997 he began with his soca career with "Ram-e-Deh". His 1998 song, “Pound-a-Rice” paved the way for the 1999 international hit "Old Woman Alone". It hit the music scene by storm from the introductions infamous line “where de jab jab posse de”. Tallpree following the success of SpiceMas 1999 went on to compete in Trinidad and place third. The Old Woman tune was accompanied by an elbow swinging dance that mashed up the soca scene across the Caribbean and enjoyed the same success in Miami, NY, Toronto and London. In 2000, "The Grave, The Jail and The Hospital" won him the Road March title in Grenada. But it was in 2003 Tallpree was finally crowned soca monarch in Grenada for smash hit "Carnival Maddness". He has continued to put out big tunes such as "Jennifer", "Invasion on the Rags", and more recently "From de Heart" and "Miss Antisocial".

Tallpree can be found making appearances all over the Caribbean, and North America and continues to bring originality and creativity to the craft. Look for Tallpree to continue to bring a unique sound to soca year after year.

One of the biggest hits of Trinidad and Tobago's (T&T) Carnival 2008 was Machel Montano's irresistibly upbeat "Blazin D Trail." The song's lyrics capture the effervescence of carnival's climactic street parade, while its title provides an accurate summation of Machel's exhaustive musical pursuits.

Over the past 26 years, the single constant in Machel's ever-changing, stellar career has been his trailblazing approach to T&T's indigenous soca music. Through his various fusions, which include everything from performing with marching bands to collaborating with Grammy-winning reggae artists, Machel has worked tirelessly to establish soca, calypso's energetic offshoot, as a viable entity that can impact beyond T&T's internationally renowned carnival celebrations .Born in Port of Spain, the capital of the oil rich island of Trinidad, on November 24, 1974, Machel has already made great strides in moving soca towards the mainstream. The former child star made history in March 2007 as the first soca artist to sell out two back-to-back shows at New York City's Madison Square Garden and he returned to the Garden on March 28, 2008 for another sold out affair. The MSG shows, which earned rave reviews for their innovative use of carnival's elaborate masquerade tradition and seamless incorporation of T&T's various musical strains, including calypso, Indian chutney, and the country's national instrument the steel pan, also solidified Machel's reputation as a consummate showman who can dazzle any crowd, anywhere, not just in a carnival setting

"Performing at Madison Square Garden is a goal that I always had," says the soca superstar. "But we didn't just come and sing; we brought the culture of T&T to one of the most prestigious venues in the world."

Now with the release of his 2008 album Wining Season, Machel continues to blaze the trail, this time with an even hotter fire. The CD's retro flavored title track, produced by Dwain "Dwaingerous" Antrobus, celebrates carnival's unofficial dance, the seductive, pelvic-gyrating movement referred to as "wining." A remix featuring Shaggy made the song one of the biggest hits of the carnival.

"Defense (The Anthem)" is a remix of Cuban-American rapper Pitbull's hit "The Anthem" featuring Machel, Pitbull and Atlanta-based "crunk" sensation Lil Jon; enhanced by Machel's distinctly Trinidadian flavor, the song is already making inroads into crossover markets.
While Machel's diversified musical partnerships have helped to broaden soca's appeal, he also consistently celebrates T&T's musical roots. Machel wrote all of the CDs thirteen tracks, with eight co-written by Kernal Roberts, the son of calypso icon, the late Lord Kitchener, including the carnival 2008 hits "Unconditional Love," "Rollin" featuring rising female singer Patrice Roberts, and "Make Love," which boasts Buju Banton on its smashing remix.
Soca was created in the mid-70s, when the late Ras Shorty I blended the musical expressions of Trinidad's dominant African and Indian populations and called that fusion the soul of calypso, or soca. Some twenty years later, Machel and his band Xtatik modernized soca, injected it with hip-hop beats and dancehall rhythms, and made it palatable to a younger generation. "Before that, young people in Trinidad couldn't relate to anything local," says Machel who became the youngest finalist in the history of carnival's Calypso Monarch competition back in 1986, performing the aptly title "Too Young to Soca." "So I started adding slang, and we started producing our own music and saw a big change in the crowds reaction."
Because Wining Season is Machel's most versatile album to date, he hopes to conquer the musical mainstream as skillfully as he has commanded the carnival/soca circuit since the 1990s. To facilitate this mission, Machel will base himself outside of T&T for several months and focus on recording songs that will solidify soca's presence in the crossover market. "We want to use our experience to take soca international," he says.
"We have had the chart success of Kevin Lyttle with "Turn Me On" and Rupee's "Tempted to Touch" (both songs entered the Billboard Hot 100 in 2004) but we need more than that. I have been trying to revolutionize soca, trying to improve its quality. It is very difficult to bring soca to the mainstream and stay grounded at home, but we have created a sound that we believe is palatable to all markets and can play on the radio in rotation with other popular songs. That is a dream I have always had and something I look forward to achieving."

Jai's 1988 debut single Sumintra told the tale of an Indo-Trinidadian woman from Debe who informed her boyfriend of her preference for Soca over the music of Indian artist Lata Mangeshkar. Jai returned the following year with Pumping, then Bolo and Show Me Yuh Motion. His 1993 song Wine on a Bumsee signalled Jai's exit from the Soca world, opting for the "chutney Soca" arena, in which he continues to perform. Jai released Chutney Vibrations, a compilation with Soca chutney rhythms and his re-reading of the Juma.

His most commercially successful release is "Mor Tor" fetauring fellow Trini Soca star Machel Montano. In 2007 he released songs such as Aj Bhi Jeen and Bodekidal, followed by Barman. Jai has won Chutney Soca Monarch a record breaking 6 times. In 2011, he won his 6th title with the song White Oak and Water.In 2001 he tied for first place (with Bunji Garlin) for the "Young King" title and placed second in 2010's "Chutney Soca Monarch".

He was crowned champion at the 2011 Chutney Soca Monarch, and walked away with $2 million in prize money.

Jai's 1988 debut single Sumintra told the tale of an Indo-Trinidadian woman from Debe who informed her boyfriend of her preference for Soca over the music of Indian artist Lata Mangeshkar. Jai returned the following year with Pumping, then Bolo and Show Me Yuh Motion. His 1993 song Wine on a Bumsee signalled Jai's exit from the Soca world, opting for the "chutney Soca" arena, in which he continues to perform. Jai released Chutney Vibrations, a compilation with Soca chutney rhythms and his re-reading of the Juma.

His most commercially successful release is "Mor Tor" fetauring fellow Trini Soca star Machel Montano. In 2007 he released songs such as Aj Bhi Jeen and Bodekidal, followed by Barman. Jai has won Chutney Soca Monarch a record breaking 6 times. In 2011, he won his 6th title with the song White Oak and Water.In 2001 he tied for first place (with Bunji Garlin) for the "Young King" title and placed second in 2010's "Chutney Soca Monarch".

He was crowned champion at the 2011 Chutney Soca Monarch, and walked away with $2 million in prize money.

Gamal Doyle is the unmistakeably energetic Soca artiste from St. Vincent & the Grenadines, better known as Skinny Fabulous. This talented and versatile artist demonstrates his quick wit and the capacity to mesmerise the crowd while he is on stage. Always willing to push the boundaries of Caribbean music, Skinny Fabulous has a style that falls somewhere between soca and dancehall.

As a singer/songwriter, Skinny Fabulous approaches every project intuitively and takes on the challenge to deliver potent lyrics over danceable tracks. He started out as a chanter but made the transition to the soca scene almost a decade ago. Always a crowd favourite, there is no mistaking him when you hear the booming baritone voice echoing in dj-style through the sound system with songs like 'Misbehavin.

It was in 2008 however, that he made a major impact in the Soca arena. The release of "Head Bad" for Vincy Mas that year, led to him winning the St. Vincent Soca Monarch title but this was just the beginning.

Since winning the title, Skinny Fabulous has gone on to collaborate with some of the region’s top Soca acts including Jamesy P, Kevin Lyttle, Bunji Garlin, Fay-Ann Lyons, Peter Ram, Fireman Hooper, Kimberly Inniss and many more. He has toured the region, Venezuela, Columbia, USA, Canada, Germany and England; exciting crowds wherever he goes.

Skinny Fabulous' success continued in 2009 when he was awarded St. Vincent & the Grenadines' Entertainer of the Year, was the first runner up in the OECS Soca Monarch competition and adjudged Best New Male Artist at the Soca Music Awards. He was invited to take part in the 2009 International Soca Monarch competition in Trinidad where he placed fifth. However, he received the award for the Best Presentation at that competition. To top it all off, he successfully defended his Vincy soca monarch title with the release of 'De Beast Leh Go' and he again secured a spot to compete in the 2010 International Soca Monarch competition.

In preparation for that competition, he released three tunes for Carnival in Trinidad; 'Summer Body', 'Badder Than Everybody' and a collaboration with Machel Montano called 'Fetting On'.

Easily inspired Skinny Fabulous is an artist on the look out for new material and when on stage he doesn't disappoint as he is always ready to deliver a high energy, impactful performance from his repertoire. BOOM!

Soca Johnny has established himself as a pioneer in the UK Soca industry! With an authoritative voice, love and raw passion, he can’t help but make good music! His accomplished skill in lyricism plus his natural musical ability combine to make him the unique artist that he is. Welcome to the world of SOCA JOHNNY!

Our headline act for the CALO Festival, reigning 2011 Soca Monarch and Road March King Machel Montano is also scheduled to perform at the White House in Washington DC this afternoon as part of National Caribbean-American Heritage Month, but like most events of a political nature, Montano declined to comment directly on the details beforehand. Late last week, information on the ground-breaking event was leaked to members of the media, but all attempts to confirm Montano's attendance were met with a mute wall of strategic silence.

His mother, Elizabeth Montano said Machel and the HD Team were advised to keep quiet about the event until after it was over due to security concerns and added that they were "trying to avoid saying anything which might jeopardise the opportunity, or inspire external parties to make offensive or negative comments".

"We are going to make history," she said, "but not everyone will appreciate the opportunity and celebrate the moment with us. Unfortunately, there are some people who may want to say things out-of-timing and we'd rather not invite any negativity on this grand occasion."

Passed in the US Senate on February 14, 2006, the resolution which instituted Caribbean-American Heritage Month was sponsored by Congresswoman Barbara Lee in June 2005 and recognises "the significance of Caribbean people and their descendants in the history and culture of the United States". Since the declaration, the White House has issued an annual proclamation recognising June as Caribbean-American Heritage Month. This year marks the sixth anniversary of the occasion and official recognition by the US Government that "since the 16th Century, the destinies of the peoples of the Caribbean and the American continent have been inextricably linked".

In a Presidential Proclamation dated May 31, 2011, the Obama Administration states:

"The fabric of our Nation has been woven together and enriched by the diversity of our people. Our legacy as a Nation of immigrants is part of what makes America strong, and during National Caribbean American Heritage Month, we celebrate the rich history and vibrant cultures Caribbean-Americans have brought to our shores".

Another section adds:

"Caribbean Americans have prospered in every sector of our society and enhanced our national character while maintaining the multiethnic and multicultural traditions of their homelands. They are doctors and lawyers, public servants and scientists, athletes and service members. Their successes inspire individuals in the United States and abroad, and we take pride in the contributions Caribbean-Americans continue to make to the narrative of our Nation's progress. Their achievements are borne of hard work and ambition, and my Administration is committed to creating pathways to prosperity that ensure future generations of Caribbean-Americans, along with all Americans, are able to pursue and realise the American dream".

Undoubtedly, this declaration has given Caribbean nationals across the globe more reason to proudly celebrate our heritage and as part of this celebration, Reigning Soca Monarch and Road March King, Machel Montano is scheduled to perform at the White House today, Friday June 24 from 11 a.m. - 12.30 p.m. Later this evening, Montano is also scheduled to perform at the DC Star Nightclub as The Commission presents "Eyes Wide Shut Carnivale" as part of ongoing festivities for the annual Washington DC carnival weekend.