Sweet like Brown Sugar

I am not sure whether this lady oils her voice before she sings or whether it is just some natural Trini style honey, but she is indeed the woman with a golden voice. Her songs come straight from her belly, and she is definitely one of the more gifted calypsonians in the Tent in that she has it all: Melody, Lyrics, and boy, Rendition. Her delivery is impeccable- she sings in the style of a true calypsian- rhapsodic but with hard hitting punchlines and emphatic movements and gestures.

Seeing Brown Sugar in action is truly seeing a storyteller, a traditional griot delivering her stories. She is one of over 6 females in the Tent and has won three Calypso Monarch Titles in the last 4 years. She is also a strong groovy contender- she won the title last year and has been consistently in the top three since the competition began four years ago. Brown Sugar is the wife of Rev B, who is another hard hitter in the Tent and their kaiso family unit is based around a bevy of beautiful kids- a few of which will be undoubtedly calypsonians in the future. Her songs are often biting and punchy- last year she admonished Gordon Brown to jail the politicians who got us into this banking crisis, a song which certainly had a stinging resonance with our plight.

Brown Sugar has not revealed to us yet the delight that she has in store for us this year, but certainly what we are sure of is that it will be wonderful. Her tunes, like her name, are sweet.

No Panorama for Notting Hill Carnival?

What the jail!

I have been hearing these rumours rising, surging and falling, ebbing gently but refusing to die away.

I have been reliably informed that there will be no Panorama at Notting Hill Carnival this year at Hyde Park due to a lack of funding. Apparently, no one had the foresight or initiative to check last year whether funding was on track for this year. Quelle surprise! Frankly, this is a crying shame that years after our grandparents fought for Caribbean culture to be showcased in London, and it is our own carelessness and general laziness that have caused us to reach this new abyss! I am trying not to say that I knew it all along- when they decided to take Panorama away from its traditional home into Hyde Park, none of us complained because they brainwashed us into thinking that gentrification of our culture was in its best interests. What we did not see was that pan, the traditional instrument of our Carnival, was essential to its home. When we said nothing about its marginalisation, how can we now complain about its disappearance?

Damn good thing we didn't accept the bait for Carnival to be now in the Park because all of us would have been literally on shit street at the moment, waiting for a saviour and salvation. This is our own doing, and our own fault. We take the small incentives and fail to see the bigger picture. What a crying shame!

I will be trying to attend the next Notting Hill Board meeting for a better idea of what is going on,  so watch this space for further developments.

Alexander is the Greatest

The London Calypso Tent boasts many veteran calypsonians. Of these, few are more lyrically astute than Alexander the Great. Even fewer boast the musical talent that he possesses to make his songs musical masterpieces, elevating the calypso artform from the piccong of the Calypso Tent into renditions that are suitable for any operatic ensemble. In fact, Alexander has been one of the few calypsonians who has successfully crossed the bridge to the mainstream- he has written a folk song opera for Talawa Theatre company.

Alexander is indeed great. A qualified teacher by profession, his songs are punchy and pack powerful weight. Last year's song "Since Kelso Cochrane died", was so thought provoking he had me doing in-depth research on the legacy of Kelso- who was the victim of racist abuse in England in the 1950's. He questioned, with plaintive pathos- what have we achieved since his death?

Alexander's seminal album SocaBlues is a heady mix of  kaiso with a tinge of rhythm and blue. His songs boast a wide variety of themes- Last them Lara, is a  tribute to Brian Lara's dominance over the cricket game, Amandla Mandela is his tribute to our most well known freedom fighter, Rationalisation focussed on the efffect of mad cow disease, and Wake up Africa was a plea for peace.

Alexander is also extremely community minded. He runs a variety of workshops for young singers, and he pens winning compositions for a number of calypsonians. He is also the BBC Calypsonian in Residence.

Alexander can be seen on Opening Night at the London Calypso Tent on 30 July.

Cocoyea Confusion

Cocoyea used to be one of the hard hitting players in Notting Hill Carnival. The Cocoyea brand produced massive parties in Camden Palais and the biggest outdoor fetes in the 90's and 2000's.  Cocoyea was a power player. Those who remember Carnival in the early 1980's all through the early 2000s remember Cocoyea as a threat that was not to be rivalled with at all. Dexter Khan was the Samurai sword bearer and all his subjects were bona fide soca warriors.

I played with Cocoyea last year and I was a little bit disappointed at the paucity of costumes and the proliferation of Tshirt mas. Mas cannot be played in a t-shirt! I will not apologise for this and I am awaiting the day when Notting Hill Carnival Board will ban all forms of Tshirt mas at Carnival. Where is the splendour, where is the craftsmanship, where is the splendour, where is the magic? I digress- this is another post. Cocoyea was a shadow of its former self. The 50 of us playing in costumes were outnumbered by the Tshirt brigrade. Although drinks flowed and the vibes was nice, it would be great to see Cocoyea torpedoed back to the top with better management, deeper investment and more forward planning.

This year the theme is Confusion. The costumes themselves do not appear to have any specific names- we are advised to let it be what we want them to be. They are black and gold, purple and multicoloured. The purple is the best. I would not attempt to describe them any further as this would be overinterpreting and overreaching to find meaning. I tell, you, part of mass is lost.

I am told that the costumes range from 60 quid upwards, which, all things considered, is a bargain.

London Calypso Tent for 2010

I promised that this blog won't be all about mas because Carnival is definitely more than mas in my opinion. One aspect that has been neglected to date is Kaiso. Kaiso in the UK has been thriving under the aegis of the Association of British Calypsonians Calypso Tent. Established almost 18 years ago, it has been growing from strength to strength and features calypsonians whose quality could certainly rival that of Trinidad. After the elections this year, we will be sure to be hearing some hard hitting, biting political commentary. The songs usually have a British focus but there is also the Groovy Monarch competition which features sensational energetic artistes like Cleo and the lady with the golden voice- Brown Sugar.

This year the tent opens July 30 and runs every Friday- August 6, August 16 and August 26 (the Calypso Monarch Competition. The kaisonians alternate songs each night so it is best to come see the singers every other weekend. It is a boss lime- the bar downstairs sells Cockspur and there is usually roti and pholouri selling outside.

Tickets this year are on seetickets.com making it easier to show your support.

I will be featuring short features on each of the calypsonians in the Tent from now onwards until 30 July!

De Pepper Dam Buss!

A Busspepper fete in London used to be a classy affair. Like-minded professionals converging together to enjoy themselves in a safe ambience, within the elegant bars of the City's favourite hotspots. Food was provided -Caribbean style, the music was an eclectic mix of soca, reggae, dancehall and rnb but to be honest, all I can say is that as of late, the Pepper Buss!

I took my "good self" and went to Busspepper's anniversary party the weekend before last. I did not deign to post this review before now because what I could have probably said was good to forget. I was also temporarily placated by Mateen and team's apology but since, more than one week later, I have not been offered a refund or any type of consolation measure, I have decided to open my big mouth. As The Guardian say- comment is free!

First of all, I invited over 7 people to this event who had never been to a soca event before, because I believed that it would be value for money and we would have a good, uneventful, enjoyable night out.  We were promised no queuing if we purchased tickets in advance. I therefore spent the grand sum of £105 to ensure that my guests would not be queuing at all, as I am not able with parties where I have to feel like I am begging to get in. In grander clubs like Mahiki and Movida, I do not even pay so at least if I am paying, let me have the privilege of walking in with dignity. In a complete breach of pre contractual representations, when I arrived, there was a line that was as long as the steups on my mouth, serpenting its way (not even snaking!) around the entrance. I was advised that there was no separate queue. Two of my guests turned back. The rest of us waited for one hour to get in.  I do not like seeing trouble for my money. If there was an issue, I expected the organisers to be there facing the heat, explaining the situation to patrons. Instead Busspepper management were inside (in the warmth) leaving the crowd control to the management of Sway and me, in the cold. No fair. I almost started to cuss then but I remembered that I was a professional woman and the Jamette-Fierce inside me should be restrained.

One hour and a half later, when we finally got in, the venue was packed. The place was hot as a room built for sweating cocoa. The rooms were sweaty and stinking. Not what I expected.  There comes a point at which the organisers need to stop selling tickets to ensure that the venue has the ambience that is desired. Instead the party was very "wash you foot an come" and as long as patrons were paying, money was being accepted.  I am not an elitist and everyone has the right to have a good time but the guestlist should have been closed from the first 800! Instead 700 tickets were sold and monies were being accepted at the door. The result? An overcrowded, packed out venue where no one had a good time.

I always have a problem with Busspepper music and this fete was no different. If you gone to one fete, you gone to all. The DJ mix is that predictable. The soca features only Trinidad soca. The reggae features the same old time tunes. Not when we have such a rich catalogue! Where is the Vincy soca, the Grenada soca? Where is bouyon and zouk? Jamaica had a really good reggae season. Gyptian's Hold Yuh was not played. Neither were hits like Busy Signal's One More Night and Night Shift. These songs are mashing up the Caribbean. Are these DJs really in tune with the music scene? Lazy Lazy Lazy.

I am really disappointed about the experience I had and the lack of redress and unless something is done, I would not be attending their fetes again. Sorry!

Poison Review

If it's one fete I have to go to, is Poison's band launch, and no matter how I cuss them this time, Wendel and he boys seem to have come correct so I give Jack he jacket and give Jean she drawers.

The venue was a 100% improvement over the last time and so was the decision to have it on a Friday although I almost didnt make it as it was such a nice day and I celebrated by having a liquid lunch that continued way until evening. You done know we don't have it nice up here in terms of weather so when the time come, it needs to be abused!

I was waiting to see all the costumes at the launch and after my rich diet of boss looking taster costumes, I must admit that Poison had to come really strong to keep me on my tiptoes and to keep me interested. This time round, they chose the theme That's Amore. Love in ordinary parlance to me and you. I liked the theme, its simple but still sassy.

The first section was Black Magic. I have seen many a silver and black costume this season but I think this one is one of the better designed ones, especially with the white towering headpiece. The belt and bra are a bit ordinary and underwhelming but the combined effect is sexy understatedness. You might be asking, how does Black Magic fit into the theme of love? I guess it must be some kind of Melda-Oh Sparrowesque Obeah Love but they should have just called it that, no?  Model rocked the hell out of the costume.

Desire was next, and I was thrown a bit with this one and this is what happens when people order costumes without deciding on a theme. I do not get the idea of blue with desire unless they talking about some kinda "blueballs" syndrome- this should have been a flaming red or orange costume! The Indian inspired headresses I am not so sure about how it fits in as well. This costume is aight. Just aight. Not enough feathers for a feather whore like me!

First of all apologies for the pics. Wendel why the pics an dem so small? People want to salivate over the costumes. That's when you rely on friends with a camera and they don't have batteries! Anyways me likey this one! Its called Jungle Fever. It has a huge headpiece tick, the green allows it to fit into the theme, the male costume looks like something people would step in, and the overall effect says well embellished. It kind of looks like a Spice bootleg but I am not a Carnival purist so I give it a big pass. My favourite of the lot!

This one was called Erotica. This is probably the least erotic Erotica I have ever seen as there is nothing erotica or teasing on show... this is the most conservative bikini mas costume I have seen in a while. I was making up my mind on whether I liked it- I certainly like the tutu effect, then I had a Eureka moment-  I realised that it is perfect for covering up the effects of non exercise and diet, ie perfect for me. I like white for the road in blistering sunshine and I think the love theme with the backpack and the headpiece is a good attempt at interpretation. Kudos to the designer. However the effect is more a Queen of Hearts than Erotica (unless the corset and tutu are backless?) Not a bad try but much better than last year.

I fell in love with this costume. (Better pics soon come!)  It was called Tempest and for those of us who have not played in pink before this is a good chance to get lucky as the shade is rich and the headpiece is sizeable.

Poison is offering, as usual, an all inclusive experience on the road, with continental breakfast, goodie bags, matching costume jewellery for the costumes, snacks, PAs with soca artists and a whole host of things. So far so good! I am already heating up, getting ready for Wet Fete. Costumes range from 125-150 squid!

Tomorrow review of Busspepper Fete over the weekend.

(All pictures from Poison UK website Their rights are reserved).