Soca music
Soca music is a genre of music defined by Lord Shorty, its inventor, as the "Soul of Calypso", which has influences of African and East Indian rhythms. It was originally spelled "sokah" by its inventor but through an error in a local newspaper when reporting on the new music it was erroneously spelled "soca"; Lord Shorty confirmed the error but chose to leave it that way to avoid confusion. It is a genre of music that originated in Trinidad and Tobago in the early 1970s and developed into a range of styles during the 1980s and after. Soca was initially developed by Lord Shorty[1] in an effort to revive traditional calypso, the popularity of which had been flagging amongst younger generations in Trinidad due to the rise in popularity of reggae from Jamaica and soul and funk from the United States. Soca is an offshoot of calypso/kaiso, with influences from East Indian rhythms and hooks.
Soca music
Early 1970s, Afro-Caribbean, Indo-Caribbean, Trinidad and Tobago
French Creole impact on soca[edit]
The main source of soca is calypso developed in Trinidad in the 18th and 19th centuries from the West African kaiso and canboulay music brought by enslaved Africans and Immigrants from the French Antilles to Trinidad to work on sugar plantations after the Cedula of Population of 1783.[7] The Africans brought to toil on sugar plantations, were stripped of many connections to their homeland and family. They used calypso to mock the slave masters and to communicate with each other. Many early calypsos were sung in French Creole by an individual called a griot. As calypso developed, the role of the griot became known as a chantuelle and eventually, calypsonian.
Modern calypso, however, began in the 19th century, a fusion of disparate elements ranging from the masquerade song lavway, French Creole belair and the calinda stick-fighting chantwell. Calypso's early rise was closely connected with the adoption of Carnival by Trinidadian slaves, including canboulay drumming and the music masquerade processions. The French brought Carnival to Trinidad, and calypso competitions at Carnival grew in popularity, especially after the abolition of slavery in 1834.
Cadence-lypso is a fusion of cadence rampa from Haiti and calypso from Trinidad & Tobago that has also spread to other English speaking countries of the Caribbean. Originated in the 1970s by the Dominican band Exile One on the island of Guadeloupe, it spread and became popular in the dance clubs around the Creole world and Africa as well as the French Antilles.[8][9][10]
In the French Antilles, cadence-lypso evolved into zouk as popularized by Kassav in the 1980s. Kassav' was formed in 1979 by Pierre-Edouard Décimus (former musicians from the Les Vikings de Guadeloupe) and Paris studio musician Jacob Desvarieux. Together and under the influence of well-known Dominican, Haitian and Guadeloupean kadans or compas bands like Experience 7, Grammacks, Exile One, Les Aiglons, Tabou Combo, Les Freres Dejean, etc., they decided to make Guadeloupean carnival music recording it in a more fully orchestrated yet modern and polished style. This style of music had an impact on a certain style of soca known as "zouk soca", mostly produced in St. Lucia.
The nineties in Dominica was dominated by a new musical form called bouyon music. The best-known band in the genre is Windward Caribbean Kulture (WCK), who originated the style in 1988 by experimenting with a fusion of cadence-lypso and jing ping. They began using native drum rhythms such as lapo kabwit and elements of the music of jing ping bands, as well as ragga-style vocals.
Bouyon influenced a certain style of soca known as bouyon soca. Bouyon soca typically blends old bouyon music rhythms from the '90s and soca music creating a unique style soca sound. The style of music was made more popular to the Caribbean region by the likes of the producer Dada and artists ASA from Dominica with collaborations from Trinidadian and St. Vincentian artists such as Skinny Fabulous, Bunji Garlin, Iwer George and Machel Montano. Hit songs featuring bouyon flavored rhythms and sounds and familiar soca attributes include "Famalay" and "Conch Shell".
Terminology[edit]
Soca simply means the " (So)ul of (Ca)lypso", however the name has nothing to do with American soul music, as soca is rhythmically a fusion of African/calypso and East Indian rhythms. Soca's history is multi-faceted. Lord Shorty initially spelled his musical hybrid "sokah" and in a 1979 interview with Carnival Magazine stated that he "came up with the name soca. I invented soca. And I never spelt it s-o-c-a. It was s-o-k-a-h to reflect the East Indian influence."[11] The s-o-c-a spelling quickly became the popular spelling after a journalist, Ivor Ferreira,[12] interviewed Shorty for an article that was published during the 1976 Trinidad Carnival season. The article was titled "Shorty Is Doing Soca" and so s-o-c-a quickly became the popular spelling for this new modern style of calypso music.
Instrumentation[edit]
Soca music is based on a strong rhythmic section that is often recorded using synthesized drum sounds and then sequenced using computers; however, for live shows, the live human drummer emulates the recorded version, often using electronic drums to trigger drum samples. The drum and percussion are often loud in this genre of music and are sometimes the only instruments to back up the vocal. Soca is indeed defined by its loud, fast percussive beats. Synthesizers are used often in modern soca and have replaced the once typical horn section at 'smaller' shows. Electric and bass guitars are typical components of a live soca bands. A horn section is found occasionally in live soca bands mostly for the 'bigger' shows. It usually consists of two trumpets and a trombone, with saxophones being part of the section from time to time. Other metal instruments may include cowbell or automobile brake drums.
Brooklyn soca[edit]
From the mid-1970s through the early 1990s, Brooklyn, NY, in the United States, became a center for soca music production. The borough, home to a large and diverse West Indian population, boasted three important Caribbean immigrant-owned record companies: Straker's Records (owned by Granville Straker), Charlie's Records (owned by Rawlston Charles), and B's Records (owned by Michael Gould). Nearly every important calypsonian/soca singer of the era recorded on one or more of these Brooklyn labels, resulting in a significant expansion of the music's international reach. Taking advantage of New York's advanced recording and mixing facilities, several top calypsonians turned soca singers, including the Mighty Sparrow, Calypso Rose, and the Mighty Duke, relocated to the city. Others, including Chalkdust, Lord Kitchener, Explainer, Swallow, and Shadow, cycled between the Caribbean and Brooklyn to record and perform.[21]
In media[edit]
Soca music videos are played on several television channels including CaribVision, Centric, Synergy TV, and Tempo TV. The theme tune to the UK comedy show Desmond's was in a soca style.
In 2014 the Apple's iTunes Store became the largest online store to recognize calypso and soca as two of its formal catalog genres.[22]