Soca...anyone here an expert?
Birdman9
5,417 Posts
So I may be DJing a friend's BBQ this summer. The only problem...I am Soca-defecient, and the vast majority of folks will be West Indian, specifically Trinidadian. Now I am slowly getting my weight up on Dancehall, but I confess an ignorance (outside of old calypso-Lord Kitchener,Sparrow,etc) of any current Soca coming out of Trinidad. We have some of the yearly Carnival hits, but I don't think my wife has even picked any of those up recently.
So can anyone make some suggestions, both online and in the real world? Some artists to check for, maybe a line of comps cds or vinyl too.
Your expertise is most appreciated!
So can anyone make some suggestions, both online and in the real world? Some artists to check for, maybe a line of comps cds or vinyl too.
Your expertise is most appreciated!
Comments
...if only to make it so DigDug and I don't have to look at them ever again!
- Not A Soca Fan* in NC
*Still, I'm willing to admit that I might be spinning Hindi/Panjabi-sung "chutney" soca in the future. So invest in Marco ZING! futures by copying the above email and staying tuned to Soulstrut over the next few years to see my love for soca develop as my musical tastes, uh, "mature." Don't miss this chance to catch Marco in a reversal of opinion that is sure to happen sooner than later! (see disco, Roy Ayers, crunk, et al)
SOCA
I've come across at least four Babla 12"s recently "in the field." Priced at a minimum of $10/each, I chose not to partake of the full Babla experience.
People that love it (I'm looking in your direction, Trinidad) really, really love it.
People that aren't that into it (I'm looking in the mirror) really, really don't get it. I'll admit that I'm on a slippery slope with some of the dancehall I'll admit to liking these days. The lines between the new wave of hypertempo bashment and straight-up soca are getting blurrier all the time. Just add a whistle and you're there.
For all your reggae, dancehall, and soca needs, look no further than www.ebreggae.com. Ernie B is the largest distributor of reggae music in North America, and I've never had a single problem ordering from him.
I refer about one person per week to his site.
It's actually not that great but for $6.99 it might come in handy soon.
Some current artists you could check for:
-bunji garlin - in the ragga-soca vein. kind of like the bounty killer
of trinidad.
-michael montano/xtatik
-alison hinds
-kevin lyttle and rupee - these guys had big songs long before mtv caught
on. they can definitely be poppy and venture into something that's less
soca and more just kind of generic international dance-pop.
VP puts a comp called Soca Gold each year that's like a roundup of some of
the year's bigger hits. Same as dancehall VP'll also put out the occasional
7" of a big song. These come out on a subsidiary of VP called Waist Line Musik.
Modern Soca (and older?) sometimes follows the dancehall riddim model so if
there's an instrumental you like there's liable to be singers and dj's/rappers.
This is a song I've always liked. If anybody knows of stuff with a similar vibe
please speak up:
Red Plastic Bag - Jouvet Jam
Some of the guys at this party I was at this weekend wre discussing seeing Bunji live, so I have heard of him(but I was too embarrassed at my Soca-ignorance to really ask them about it)...and I know I heard several Kevin Lyttle joints that night.
Thanks so far for all the info...I will indeed follow up on this.
I admit that so far I find myself in Ross' shoes, enjoying Dancehall but feeling a bit reticient about a lot of the Soca. Thankfully, as long as I can pepper the two together I should be ok with the Trini crowd. But they can be a demanding party crowd, that's for sure!
Can't hurt to bring one of these:
If you start blowin' on that thing when you drop a so-so record (pogomaniacal jumping is also encouraged), you might trick them into thinking it's a really hot song.
BTW: T.O.K. does a soca version of Jr. Reid's "Bubbler" that'd probably go over huge. Of all the current dancehall acts, I think they have the best chance of crossing over big into soca. Well, them and Ele.
Speaking of, you should pick up the new "My Swing" riddim for that party. It's really big in JA right now and I think it'd probably work well for a soca crowd.
Word. Their versions of "Live and let die" and "Soul makossa" are BANANAS!!!!!
This has nothing to do with anything, but I wanted to tell you guys about the older West Indian lady at my laundromat who sometimes wears a t-shirt with a pornographic Limonius-style drawing on it that says "small pin jook the hardest"...
as in:
http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:o7dnvwnva9ek~T00
music
more like
soca=
whatever it is, it gets the women bubblin' up something crazy.
This is more like it:
Charlie's was actually out of Brooklyn. And Charlie himself would still be there on Fulton Ave. always in a suit.
I have a lot of fun dancing to soca at my girl's family events, it goes off kind of lovely.