Shipwrecked: The Africa Edition

There have been so many band launches recently that I am officially behind on blogging but bear with me, my next blog will feature the theme of TOO MANY DAM SMALL BANDS and the need for unity within the environs of Notting Hill Carnival. Can you imagine if all these small bands join up what a glorious spectacle it would be to see 5 large sized bands on the road, uniform, bursting with winery on Carnival Day?

Anyway that's another blogpost. I went to Busspepper after I was consoled with a few complimentary tickets and because I wanted to see Shipwrecked. The theme for the first two years have been boss, and last year the Asian spin was so welcome that this year I guess it was imperative to have Shipwrecked in Africa. I was very impressed with the spin on the costuming- the leopard print is hawt hawt hawt and because I truly believe in the half way house of the fun mas as a midway point between full on costume and what I hate- TSHIRT mas- I have to give them their kudos. Patrons can opt for leggings or short shorts and the costumes are complete- hat, gloves, the works!

I jammed with Shipwrecked last year and I must say I think they have a bit of a reputation as some stoosh Trinis but go see for yuhself! They were all cool in the band in my opinion but the circle seems tight, almost impenetrable to be honest. Everybody in de band know everybody either from Convent or Bishops or elsewhere so if you looking to make friends or for a man for de day yuh might be in the wrong place.

Contact the bandleader for details including pricing etc.

Pics to follow.

De Pan Drama

I promised to be back when I had more news- according to the reports from my insider, there are many things which militated against the Panorama competition this year. Allegedly, funding was cut by 10,000 because it was felt that the event was not generating enough revenue! So the Greater London Authority said they would fund it but this cut was imperative.This information was relayed to the pan association by Chris Boothman who told the panmen that this year no appearance fees were to be paid because the amount equated to the figure budgeted for appearance fees.  The Pan Association pushed back and said utter disrespect- we want all our money, thanks! As Paul Keens say... who tell them do that? GLA removed all the funding! A few weeks later, the PanMen decided to backtrack and said they would accept the reduced figure- the GLA said no.

To provide some context to this whole debate, Mas and other entities (Calypso etc). do not really receive appearance fees. Pan was the only association who received appearance fees- and there had been some issues of lack of proper accounting procedures (as there always ultimately is in these kinds of things).

My take on the whole issue is as follows:

First of all, this underlies the need for effective representation for all aspects of our culture. We need a cadre of professionals fighting and battling our corners. We need negotiators and persons versed in procurement and marketing and sponsorship. To do so, we need to move away from the "Association" mentality, and run our industries like businesses.

Secondly, we cannot continue to have issues with accounting and management of funds. Accountability is the new buzz word and post recession, this will increasingly become a criteria to justify slashing budgets. If there are a few crooked people involved, they absolutely NEED to go.

Thirdly, organisations need to get less lazy about their own survival. Lots of other Carnival organisations obtain Lottery funding or Arts Council funding. Was Pan so complacent that it thought it was entitled to GLA funding? Can some of the monies received be used to hire an administrator who would submit application forms in time to ensure that there is no such disaster.

Apparently its back to Kensal Rise this year. Which might not be a bad thing, given that at last it is out of Hyde Park because we all know that the Notting Hill bougies don't like the fact that for two days their streets become West Indian again. My sources also tell me that they are considering moving Carnival to the Olympic Village. Not over we dead body! This is no Brazil velodrome style carnival- we play street marse!

A group of concerned individuals have started a group called SOCA- Save Our Carnival Associations- with a view to increase dialogue and to provide professional and networking services for our carnival associations. Anyone wishing to join should email the Griot and I would put you in contact.

Big Bad Bachanal Mas

All yuh Bachanal Mas is HUGE this year. I have been reliably informed that the band boasts over 500 costumes and there are 80 people in Blue Devils alone.

So all of all yuh who sticking, doh get leff:

Sunday Liquid Gold:


£25.00 for first 100 £30.00 after that

Includes: Tshirt, Bandana, Cup, Body Paint, Full Premium Bar, Soft Drinks, Security and Music Truck
Here is their sold out list so far:

ADULTS

ARAWAK OPTION A - £130.00

ARAWAK OPTION B - £160.00 (SOLD OUT)

ARAWAK MALE - £120.00 (SOLD OUT)

ARAWAK FRONTLINE - £220.00 (SOLD OUT)



FANCY INDIAN OPTION A - £130.00 (SOLD OUT)

FANCY INDIAN OPTION B - £160.00 (SOLD OUT)

FACNY INDIAN MALE - £130.00 (SOLD OUT)

FANCY INDIAN FRONTLINE - £220.00 (SOLD OUT)



MIDNIGHT ROBBER OPTION A - £125.00

MIDNIGHT ROBBER OPTION B - £155.00

MIDNIGHT ROBBER MALE - £115.00

MIDNIGHT ROBBER FRONTLINE - £210.00 (SOLD OUT)



BLUE DEVIL OPTION A - £125.00 (SOLD OUT)

BLUE DEVIL OPTION B - £160.00 (SOLD OUT)

BLUE DEVIL MALE - £120.00 (SOLD OUT)

BLUE DEVIL FRONTLINE - £215.00 (SOLD OUT)



JABMOLASSI OPTION A - £125.00 (SOLD OUT)

JABMOLASSI OPTION B - £160.00 (SOLD OUT)

JABMOLASSI MALE £110.00 (SOLD OUT)

JABMOLASSI FRONTLINE - £225.00 (SOLD OUT)



PIERROT GRENADE OPTION A - £125.00

PIERROT GRENADE OPTION B - £155.00

PIERROT GRENADE FRONTLINE - £210.00 (SOLD OUT)



SOUCOUYANT OPTION A - £130.00 (SOLD OUT)

SOUCOUYANT OPTION B - £160.00 (SOLD OUT)

SOUCOUYANT FRONTLINE - £215.00 (SOLD OUT)



YOUNG PEOPLES COSTUMES 14 TO 17YRS

ALL SECTIONS - £85.00



CHILDREN

IMP MALE AND FEMALE - £60.00

IMP FRONTLINE £100.00



BABY DOLL FEMALE ONLY - £55.00

BABY DOLL FRONTLINE - £100.00 (SOLD OUT)

ALL CHILDREN 5 AND UNDER £30.00

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.