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Music of Trinidad and Tobago

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Musical genres, styles,
eras and events

   Music of Trinidad: Subjects
   Canboulay Calypso
   Chutney Steelpan
   Calypsonian Calypso tent
   Picong Parang
   Soca Rapso
   Pichakaree
   Timeline and samples
   Anglophone Caribbean
   Anguilla - Antigua and Barbuda - Bahamas - Barbados - Bermuda - Caymans
   - Dominica - Grenada - Jamaica - Montserrat - St. Kitts and Nevis - St.
   Lucia - St. Vincent and the Grenadines - Trinidad and Tobago - Turks
   and Caicos - Virgin Islands
   Other Caribbean
   Aruba and the Dutch Antilles - Cuba - Dominican Republic - Haiti -
   Martinique and Guadeloupe - Puerto Rico

   The Caribbean state of Trinidad and Tobago is best known as the
   homeland of calypso music, including 1950s stars Lord Kitchener and
   Mighty Sparrow. Other forms of music include Carnival songs like lavway
   and leggos, as well as bongo music (which originated at wakes). Yoruban
   shango and Dahomean rada are also popular among the descendants of
   indentured servants in Port of Spain.
   The BP Renegades, a steeldrum orchestra
   Enlarge
   The BP Renegades, a steeldrum orchestra

   Calypso was developed on the island of Trinidad, and has since become
   one of the major musical ancestors of diverse styles, including reggae,
   soca and rapso. The musical genre began when African slaves were
   brought to the area to work plantations owned by Europeans, and the
   slaves were forbidden to talk to each other (in any case, they spoken
   dozens of different languages, so communication was inherently
   difficult). A creole culture was formed, combining elements of hundreds
   of African ethnic groups, native inhabitants of the islands, French,
   British and Spanish colonizers. The Spanish originally moved into the
   island in 1532, bringing African slaves. In 1783, the French began to
   immigrate in large numbers due to a Spanish rule encouraging Roman
   Catholics to relocate to the islands. With St. Lucia and Dominica taken
   by the British from the French one year later, in 1784, French
   immigrants came to dominate the island. In 1802, however, the French
   and African/Spanish creole population of the islands became a British
   colony, further muddying the cultural development of Trinidadians and
   Tobagans. Carnival had arrived with the French, and the slaves, who
   could not take part in Carnival, formed their own, parallel celebration
   called canboulay, where calypso music began its existence. In 1834,
   these two celebrations began a merger because the slaves were
   emancipated, while the islands' ethnic mix further diversified by the
   mass migration of Indians beginning in 1845. Most were indentured
   servants and brought their own folk music, primarily from Uttar Pradesh
   and Bihar, to the native mix, resulting in chutney music.
   A parade during Carnival
   Enlarge
   A parade during Carnival

   Stick-fighting and African percussion music were banned in 1880, in
   response to the Canboulay Riots. They were replaced by bamboo sticks
   beaten together, but these too were eventually banned. In 1937,
   however, they reappeared, transformed as an orchestra of frying pans,
   dustbin lids and oil drums. These steel pans are now a major part of
   the Trinidadian music scene and are a popular section of the Canboulay
   music contests. In 1941, the United States Navy arrived on Trinidad,
   and the panmen, who were associated with lawlessness and violence,
   helped to popularize steel pan music among soldiers, which began its
   international popularization.

Calypso

   Calypso, probably derived from a similar West African musical style
   called kaiso, arose as a means of communication among the slaves; kaiso
   is still used today as a synonym for calypso in Trinidad and some other
   islands, often by traditionalists, and is also used as a cry of
   encouragement for a performer, similar to bravo or olé. Highly rhythmic
   and harmonic vocals characterized the music, which was most often sung
   in a French creole and led by a griot. As calypso developed, the role
   of the griot (originally a similar traveling musician in West Africa)
   became known as a chantuelle and eventually, calypsonian. Calypso was
   popularized after the abolition of slavery and the ensuing growth of
   the Carnival festivals in the 1830s.

Early performers

   Early chantwells like Hannibal, Norman Le Blanc, Mighty Panther and
   Boadicea made names for themselves by criticizing the colonial
   government. In 1914 (see 1914 in music), calypso was recorded for the
   first time and the following decade saw the arrival of calypso tents,
   where calypsonians practiced and, eventually, new musics for Carnival
   were exhibited (including lavway and leggos). During Carnival,
   calypsonians competed for awards like the Road March, National Calypso
   Monarch, Queen Calypso, Junior Monarch and Extempo Monarch in contests
   called picong, when two performers trade bawdy and irreverent jibes at
   each other and the day's events. Soon, stars like Lord Invader and The
   Roaring Lion grew in stature (the 1930s Golden Age of Calypso) and
   became more closely aligned with the independence movement. Some songs
   were banned or censored by the British colonial government, and calypso
   became a method of underground communication and spreading anti-British
   information. The style thus developed was called oratorical calypso.

   These early popular performers led the way for calypso's mainstreaming
   with artists like Lord Kitchener, Harry Belafonte and Mighty Sparrow.
   Belafonte, a Jamaican-American singing in American English, was by far
   the most popular internationally during this wave (his Calypso album,
   Belafonte was the first artist to sell a million copies), but his music
   was also extensively criticized for watering down the sound of calypso.

   1947 saw Lord Kitchener and Killer forming the renegade calypso tent
   Young Brigade. The term Young Brigade soon came to refer to a specific
   group of calypsonians that used fictional narratives and humor with
   new, more dance-able rhythms. Kitchener was by far the most popular of
   the Young Brigade calypsonians, and he helped popularize calypso in the
   United Kingdom and elsewhere. Mighty Sparrow's first hit was Jean and
   Dinah, celebrating the departure of American military forces from
   Trinidad; the song launched a new generation of politically active
   calypso music, which soon became associated with the People's National
   Movement. Roaring Lion was also a major part of this vanguard in
   calypso music, and he became known for a traditionalist style that he
   maintained throughout his career.

   During the 1970s, calypso's popularity waned throughout the world,
   including the Caribbean. Derivatives include an uptempo version mixed
   with musical styles from the large Indian minority in Trinidad and
   Tobago and American soul, called soca, and a hip hop and dub-influenced
   style called rapso both became popular in Trinidad and other islands.
   Soca was by the most influential in terms of international sales, since
   rapso's crossover appeal to mainstream tastes has been extremely
   limited. Old-time calypsonians and purists, however, preferred rapso's
   continuation of the lyrical ambidexterity that helped make calypso the
   world-famous, innovative art form it has become; many criticized soca's
   perceived watering-down of calypso, including veteran calypsonians like
   Chalkdust, who asked "Are we to put water in the brandy, singing just
   two or three words [that mainstream audiences] can understand and dance
   to?" Indo-Trinidadians began popularising chutney music during the same
   time period. In the mid-1970s, artists like Sundar Popo made the music
   mainstream.

Soca

   Soca is said to have been invented in 1963 (see 1963 in music) by Lord
   Shorty's "Clock and Dagger". Shorty added Indian instruments, including
   the dholak, tabla and dhantal and soon rivaled reggae as the most
   popular form of Caribbean music. Soca reached its modern form by the
   early 1970s under the influence of American soul, disco and funk music,
   which reached Trinidadian artists when they began recording in New York
   City; by this time, most of the Indian-derived elements had been
   removed from the genre. Shorty's 1974 Endless Vibrations and Soul of
   Calypso brought soca to its peak of international fame. Less lyrically
   revolutionary than traditional calypso, soca has remained mostly
   focused on good times throughout its history, though artists like Gypsy
   (whose 1986 "The Sinking Ship" helped remove the People's National
   Movement from the Trinidadian government) continued calypso's
   socially-aware traditions. Soca's popularity grew through the 70s and
   early 1980s, finally becoming an international chart-topper after "Hot!
   Hot! Hot!", a 1983 release by Arrow, who hailed from Montserrat and not
   Trinidad. Arrow soon proved himself to be one of the most innovative
   soca artists of the 80s, incorporating zouk and other influences into a
   series of best-selling singles. Other artists of the 80s put new
   islands on the soca map, especially Shadow and Tobago, as well as
   Anguilla ( Swallow) and Barbados ( Square One), and added influences
   from African spirituals ( Superblue), gospel (Lord Shorty, under his
   new name Ras Shorty I), reggae ( Byron Lee), Indian music ( Mungal
   Patasar) and funk ( Lord Nelson). The most important fusion was
   ragga-soca, which combined Jamaican ragga with soca. Bunji Garlin, KMC,
   Magadan and Machel Montano & Xtatic were the most popular of the
   ragga-soca bands of the 1990s.

Rapso

   Rapso has become the most influential of these two main descendants of
   calypso; it arose as Black Power and Pan-Africanist thought spread in
   Trinidad. Lancelot Layne is said to have invented the genre with his
   1971 hit "Blow Away", while Cheryl Byron brought rapso to calypso tents
   in 1976. The term rapso first appeared in 1980 on Busting Out, an album
   by Brother Resistance and his Network Riddum Band. Rapso has currently
   become one of the most prevalent expressions of music on Trinidad
   itself, but is largely absorbed into calypso during Carnival
   celebrations and contests. The 1990s saw a more politically and
   spiritually-conscious form of rapso, which has been infused with soul
   and reggae music, as well as native J'ouvert, an early introduction to
   Carnival which consists of percussionists using makeshift materials to
   hammer out a beat.

Extempo

   Extempo, or extempo calypso, or calypso war, is a lyrically improvised
   form of calypso. An annual competition takes place at the Trinidad
   Carnival for the title of Extempo Monarch.

Brass bands

   Since 1986 saw the rise of David Rudder, brass bands have begun to
   dominate the Carnival competitions. Brass bands had long been a part of
   Trinidad's cultural heritage, but Rudder popularized the genre and
   helped inspire the founding of the Caribbean Brass Festival in 1991.

Chutney music

   At the same time, chutney became a massive force in Trinidadian music,
   arising from the island's Indian population. It has now become
   mainstream across the islands and elsewhere in the Caribbean, and has
   spawned its own subgenres, including ragga chutney, chutney-hip hop,
   soca-bhangra, bhangra-wine and chutney-bhangra.

Steelband and Parang

   Steelband and pan music have achieved great popularity in Trinidad.
   Latin American-derived seasonal Christmas music called parang
   traditionally involves serenaders moving throughout homes or districts
   playing staple instruments, such as the cuatro (a four-stringed
   guitar), the maracas (indigenously known as chac-chacs), and the
   guitar. Chutney-soca and chut-kai-pang (chutney, parang and calypso,
   mixed with Venezuelan-derived rhythms) have also achieved some
   popularity.

Rock music

   Trinidad and Tobago has an underground rock and heavy metal scene with
   many small shows being held throughout the year. The largest of such
   shows is the annual Pop Music Awards held at the Tsunami nightclub in
   Chaguaramas and the Samaan Tree Rock Festival in Aranguez.

   The band that has had the most international success thus far is
   probably The Orange Sky, led by Nigel Rojas they have sold over 10,000
   records in the caribbean alone. jointpop, led by Gary Hector, has a
   strong local following and has won significant acclaim from Trinidadian
   critics. Other active bands include Tripped and Falling who has
   experienced quite significant success in Trinidad, and are now doing
   well in England., Tremor, Kryl'ja, Skid' Nevely, Abaddon, Flying
   Crapaud, Anti-Everything, Incert Coin, Vox Deus, Modulus Eigenvalue,
   Spectral Vibes, Enlibra, Blood Red Clover and Inebriate.

                           Lesser Antillean music

    Anguilla - Antigua and Barbuda - Aruba and the Netherlands Antilles -
                        Barbados - Dominica - Grenada
    Guadeloupe - Martinique - Montserrat - Saint Kitts and Nevis - Saint
   Lucia - Saint Vincent and the Grenadines - Trinidad and Tobago - Virgin
                                   Islands

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