LISTEN AGAIN - TB Joocie joins QT on The Hyper Mix Soca Show - Saturday 9-12

Don’t miss TB Joocie on The Hypa Mix Soca Show on Saturday - 9pm-12 on BANG 103.6FM

Born and raised in Port of Spain, Trinidad, ‘Triniboi Joocie’ also known as Rodell Sorzano, is an up and coming UK Soca artist, songwriter, musician and producer. He is known for his energetic and vibrant performances. The nature of his music is versatile which has allowed him to perform at a variety of different events. These include Got skills talent competition, Leicester Carnival, Manchester Carnival, Bristol Carnival, Poetry in Motion (Embankment) and many more. You can also look out for him this year at Nottinghill Carnival performing at the Soca Monarch competition as well as on the road, competing for the first UK Road March title.

Growing up in Trinidad, Triniboi Joocie was exposed to a lot of culture, a part of this culture was where he found the passion for music. This passion was then natured through his interest for the Steelpan musical instrument, as he found the relationship between melody and phrasing very fascinating.

In 1998, he had his first major breakthrough when performing with Wayne Rodriguez at a concert in Tobago. From this he was given the opportunity to come to London and play with one of the UK’s most well known steel bands Ebony Steel Band. Being an integral part of Ebony Steel Band he has had the opportunity to perform at several venues around the world, including Cannes France.
During the early months of 2006, TB Joocie creeped into the scene, with his first track Easy Fame, a track known and loved locally for its complex yet positive lyrics, preparing the industry for the unique Triniboi Joocie style of soca music. Working with artists such as Olatunji Yearwood and others, TB Joocie started to develop his authentic and sharp writing approach, creating a slick image for himself. The strength in this has proven to have contributed to his success so far.

In 2009, he became more established with his second track It’s Time Recorded with Iron Fist Productions. It was his first to be professionally recorded and was performed alongside his follow up track Beast In Me (produced by Meshek Lockhart Munroe of Shek Productions) which he released during the summer of 2009. Beast In Me set TB Joocie apart from the rest of UK Soca Artists with it being played globally and became season best for 2009/2010.

This gave TB Joocie the motivation to continue to work hard and produce more tracks, which helped him to create his first album Within De Soca Mix in July 2010. The album has a blend of upbeat soca, as well as some groovy tracks to enjoy for all. The album is set to be a big success for 2010.
Music is not the only dream TB Joocie is chasing, in 2008 he was awarded a Performing Arts Scholarship to study at the well known De Montfort University in Leicester.

TB Joocie’s future looks bright and he aspires for his music to be known and recognised internationally for his work within the Soca music industry. He would also like to raise the awareness of Soca throughout Europe, and eventually bring it back to his homeland of Trinidad. He has already started on his next album set for release in 2011, so watch this space! In the words of Triniboi Joocie himself… OGEEED

www.reverbnation.com/triniboijoocie

LISTEN AGAIN - Catch Keety General on The Hypa Mix Soca Show - Saturday 9pm-12

Don’t miss Keety General on The Hypa Mix Soca Show with QT 2Hype, Saturday 9pm-12 on BANG 103.6FM

Keety General is creative, energetic and brimming with exciting talent and has his finger on the pulse as how to make music to make you listen. His sound is popular and creates a buzz. Keety has recorded with a host of contemporary artistes with two tracks produced for Dark Chocolate records by Brian ‘Darkman’ Mitchell, already featured in the movies (Gangster Bone & Yu Dead).
Having orbited with 24ct Golden Touch sound for most of his years around the competitive world of sound systems and radio disc jockeying, Keety impresses with sharp lyrics, precision and delivery. Keety general is a London based all round vocal entertainer be it as a radio D.J. or as a performer, and in 1995 recorded the hit “Saxon Special” in collaboration with Aswad, which was released in Japan and subsequently charted at no1. As a performer he has worked around the world with many artistes backing many many more in “sound system selector” capacity.
Keety has also taken his talents to the big stage and completed two UK tours with the widely acclaimed hit production “ragamuffin”. drifts smoothly between the two genres of Dancehall Reggae and Soca and is equally exciting performing either. Away from the entertainment scene he is a Personal Trainer and as well as training a number of celebs he also Lectures on Sports.
Keety first ventured into Soca music in 1997 with the well-received track “Raga Salsa” alongside Grenadian artist Squeezie, before taking a year out to return to his studies He returned on the soca scene in 1999 to collaborate on the huge hit “Grenada May God Bless You” and then followed it up with “Jamming”.
A succession of releases has ensured that ‘the voice of the people’ can always be heard on the airways. His works include “Ghetto People Tune” and Real Grenadian”, as well as “National Pride” with fellow Grenadian Mr Killa and “Give It Up” with London’s S.W. Storm.
Keety enjoyed massive success with the hits ‘Carnival Story’ and ‘Spice island Story’ which eloquently map the history of London’s nottinghill carnival and the spice island (Grenada) respectively.
After yet more time to study and complete his Sports Science Degree, Keety General is back and is currently recording his latest tunes for 2010 release.
Keety General drifts smoothly between the two genres of Dancehall Reggae and Soca and is equally exciting performing either. Away from the entertainment scene he is a Personal Trainer and as well as training a number of celebs he also Lectures on Sports. Keety first ventured into Soca music in 1997 with the well-received track “Raga Salsa” alongside Grenadian artist Squeezie, before taking a year out to return to his studies He returned on the soca scene in 1999 to collaborate on the huge hit “Grenada May God Bless You” and then followed it up with “Jamming”. A succession of releases has ensured that ‘the voice of the people’ can always be heard on the airways. His works include “Ghetto People Tune” and Real Grenadian”, as well as “National Pride” with fellow Grenadian Mr Killa and “Give It Up” with London’s S.W. Storm. Keety enjoyed massive success with the hits ‘Carnival Story’ and ‘Spice island Story’ which eloquently map the history of London’s nottinghill carnival and the spice island (Grenada) respectively. After yet more time to study and complete his Sports Science Degree, Keety General is back and is currently recording his latest tunes for 2010 release.

Scrappy joins QT 2 Hype on The Hypa Mix Soca Show - Saturday 9pm-12

Don’t miss Scrappy on the Hypa Mix Soca Show, Saturday 9pm til 12 on BANG 103.6FM

Scrappy’s passion for music is astounding, particularly his love for Soca. It is this same passion that is his driving force for working towards goals and reaching milestones in his life including the release of successful and promising solo Soca albums. The title of “Montserrat Soca Monarch and Road March title 2005-2006” was one his major achievements on his debut in 2005. At age 5, Scrappy began exploring his musical talent by always singing along with his mother, as she listened to her favorite artists ranging from Bob Marley, to Peter Tosh to Gregory Isaac to Sparrow, Gypsy and the list goes on. All of these artists have influenced his musical style. Growing up, there were several musical competitions that Scrappy participated in. His first exposure to the Montserrat public as a musician was when he entered the local highly recognized local talent show in Montserrat, Star Search, and later made history by becoming the first ever Jr. Calypso Monarch at age 11 after entering the competition for the first time. Scrappy is currently becoming a household name for soca music in a lot of territories including the European market especially after being nominated for awards in both the Soca Music Awards (U.K) and the UK’s prestige Calabash Music Awards. Scrappy has been persistent every year from his debut in 2005 and has been contributing and sharing the stage with the likes of EL A Kru, Fyahman Hooper, Lutha, Mr.Vybe, Nadia Batson, Edwin Yearwood and Krosfyah and the list goes on. Scrappy’s list of achievements range from:

1992, 1993 - Juniour Calypso Monarch
2005 - Soca Monarch
2005 - Road March King
2005 - 1st Runner Up Calypso Monarch
2006 – 1st Runner Up Soca Monarch
2006 – 2nd Runner Up Calypso Monarch
2008 - Soca Music Award Nominated (Best UK Male Artist)
2008 - Calabash AwardsNominated (Best UK Soca Artist)
2009 – Soca Music Awards – Best UK Male Artist
2009 – Soca Music Awards – Best UK Soca Song (Jouvert Mornin)

For more info on Scrappy:
www.scrappyonline.net

LISTEN AGAIN: Chardanai joins QT 2 Hype on Saturday’s Hypa Mix Soca Show 8pm-10

Born and raised in London by parents of Nigerian, Bajan & Lucian, heritage, Chardanai always had a keen interest in music composing and singing. Musical influences that were on constant rotation within the household ranged from Fela Kuti, Zairian Music, Disco, Rare Groove, Calypso, Old Dancehall, Lovers Rock, Reggae to James Brown (Funk).

In 1991 her musical career began, with her first taste of violin, then the piano. She also got a feel with the steel pan and it wasn’t long before she began rearranging hymns and making short songs.

While at primary school as confident as she was, Chardanai had the skills to teach her classmates songs to play together on various instruments, composing and arranging all the elements of the song from the bass to the melodies, she would also go on to perform in assemblies and church festivals for the school.

During secondary school, Chardanai put a little group together. Just before celebrating her 13th birthday, she was given a golden opportunity to record a song for the first time called It’s Freaky. Things rolled further when one of her group members managed to get them a spot on a show at the well known Hackney Empire, which was to be televised on Channel 4. At age 14 she was setting herself high standards and goals by enrolling herself on various music technology courses. Due to the fact that these were usually adult courses, they regularly turned her down but her mother was willing to see her daughter make something of herself and paid for them in full. She studied and received her first certificate in Music Technology. This was the turning point in Chardanai’s musical career where she learnt computer production, using programs such as Logic, Cubase and Reason. She was later asked to perform a hymn at a school assembly, where she teamed up with another group formed of four girls, and decided to add her own flavour by taking the hymn lyrics home and re-arranging the melody and style. She came up with something paying close attention to intricacy and precision. Being quite the perfectionist the performance was a success. Two months later she attended a gospel work shop run by LCGC, a large UK gospel choir, she showed them the reworked hymn. The choir loved what they heard and put the group in a show held at the prestigious Hammersmith Town Hall.

In 2001 Chardanai decided to enter her new group into a London competition for soloists and groups. They didn’t have a proper group name so they just called themselves “AZILE” which was one of band member’s name spelt backwards. They entered the West London heat and won, and went on to win the final. Chardanai recalls that night by saying: “I thought we were HOT!!! I think what I enjoyed the most was that all the songs were produced and arranged by us, and were all R’n’B gospel, we got the crowd going!”.

By the time she had finished secondary school, Chardanai had been chosen to attend a Summer School of Excellence at the Royal College of Music. This was a fundamental experience that introduced to her to a wider variety of genres, instrumentation and compositional styles, including Gamelan (Far Eastern music) and music from South America and West Africa. She went on to gain a National Diploma in Music Technology (Distinction) and then a Higher National Diploma in Music Technology Production.

Chardanai has a huge passion for Soca, Calypso & Zouk music, and had been writing raw material and creating rhythms throughout the years. Her first release was the infectious Spread Love’ in 2007. Promoters and Radio DJs soon caught on to it and Chardanai quickly found support from the likes of Martin ‘Soca Prince’ Jay (Choice FM), D.Tee (BBC 1xtra), Alex Jordan, and QT2Hype (Bang Radio). She then went on to win the coveted ‘Best UK Soca Artist’ in 2008 at the Calabash Awards, and was nominated for ‘Best Female Soca Artist’ at the Soca News Annual Soca Music Awards 2008-2009. She was also nominated for ‘Best New Female Soca Artist’ at the 7th Annual International Soca Awards in 2009 – the first UK female to do so.
Having had a successful 2009, performing across Europe and the Caribbean Chardanai has definitely set a new benchmark for other young upcoming UK Soca artists. With various projects scheduled for 2010, including an EP and album, Chardanai is a singer, songwriter and producer likely to be in your ears for a long time to come.

At age 14 she was setting herself high standards and goals by enrolling herself on various music technology courses. Due to the fact that these were usually adult courses, they regularly turned her down but her mother was willing to see her daughter make something of herself and paid for them in full. She studied and received her first certificate in Music Technology. This was the turning point in Chardanai’s musical career where she learnt computer production, using programs such as Logic, Cubase and Reason.
She was later asked to perform a hymn at a school assembly, where she teamed up with another
group formed of four girls, and decided to add her own flavour by taking the hymn lyrics home and re-arranging the melody and style. She came up with something paying close attention to intricacy and precision.

Being quite the perfectionist the performance was a success. Two months later she attended a gospel work shop run by LCGC, a large UK gospel choir, she showed them the reworked hymn. The choir loved what they heard and put the group in a show held at the prestigious Hammersmith Town Hall.

In 2001 Chardanai decided to enter her new group into a London competition for soloists and groups. They didn’t have a proper group name so they just called themselves “AZILE” which was one of band member’s name spelt backwards. They entered the West London heat and won, and went on to win the final. Chardanai recalls that night by saying: “I thought we were HOT!!! I think what I enjoyed the most was that all the songs were produced and arranged by us, and were all R’n’B gospel, we got the crowd going!”.

By the time she had finished secondary school, Chardanai had been chosen to attend a Summer School of Excellence at the Royal College of Music. This was a fundamental experience that introduced to her to a wider variety of genres, instrumentation and compositional styles, including Gamelan (Far Eastern music) and music from South America and West Africa. She went on to gain a National Diploma in Music Technology (Distinction) and then a Higher National Diploma in Music Technology Production.

Chardanai has a huge passion for Soca, Calypso & Zouk music, and had been writing raw material and creating rhythms throughout the years. Her first release was the infectious Spread Love’ in 2007. Promoters and Radio DJs soon caught on to it and Chardanai quickly found support from the likes of Martin ‘Soca Prince’ Jay (Choice FM), D.Tee (BBC 1xtra), Alex Jordan, and QT2Hype (Bang Radio).
She then went on to win the coveted ‘Best UK Soca Artist’ in 2008 at the Calabash Awards, and was nominated for ‘Best Female Soca Artist’ at the Soca News Annual Soca Music Awards 2008-2009. She was also nominated for ‘Best New Female Soca Artist’ at the 7th Annual International Soca Awards in 2009 – the first UK female to do so.
Having had a successful 2009, performing across Europe and the Caribbean Chardanai has definitely set a new benchmark for other young upcoming UK Soca artists. With various projects scheduled for 2010, including an EP and album, Chardanai is a singer, songwriter and producer likely to be in your ears for a long time to come.
the likes of Martin ‘Soca Prince’ Jay (Choice FM), D.Tee (BBC 1xtra), Alex Jordan, and QT 2hype (Bang Radio).
She then went on to win the coveted ‘Best UK Soca Artist’ in 2008 at the Calabash Awards, and was nominated for ‘Best Female Soca Artist’ at the Soca News Annual Soca Music Awards 2008-2009. She was also nominated for ‘Best New Female Soca Artist’ at the 7th Annual International Soca Awards in 2009 – the first UK female to do so.
Having had a successful 2009, performing across Europe and the Caribbean Chardanai has definitely set a new benchmark for other young upcoming UK Soca artists. With various projects scheduled for 2010, including an EP and album, Chardanai is a singer, songwriter and producer likely to be in your ears for a long time to come.

www.chardanaimusic.com

Missed the show? Why not listen again:

Ms Desire joins QT on the Hypa Mix show this Saturday

Don’t miss Ms Desire on this weeks Hypa Mix show with QT 2hype, Saturday 8pm-10 on BANG 103.6FM

Just as Alison Hinds this Double Award Winning Bajan Beauty was born in England, to a Bajan mother and Jamaican father. Ms desire (Born Louise Sterling-Jackman) has been singing from the tender age of 7 and therefore no stranger to the stage. Although she was born in England the beautiful Island of Barbados is far from foreign to her. Her love for Soca music has been with her throughout her life, but it was not until she was found in Barbados by two top producers that she realised her potential to dominate the Soca industry.

Her career in the music industry has given her so far the fundamental skills and confidence she needs.
Her unique sound and versatility on hit records “Control it’ and Move’ sparked interest and caused the songs popularity on the airwaves to blow up; thus marking Ms Desire’s entry into the Soca industry. Now at the young age of 21 she is ready to take the Soca scene by STORM!
Over a short period of time Ms Desire is now in high demand and has been branded as a Soca Songstress by many. THIS IS ONLY THE BEGINNING!!

Find out more about Ms Desire

www.myspace.com/msdesiremusic
www.twitter.com/msdesireartist
www.ms-desire.blogspot.com

Soca Johnny joins QT on this Saturday’s Hypa Mix Soca Show - 8-10pm

Don’t miss Soca Johnny on the Hypa Mix Soca Show with QT 2-Hype this Saturday 8pm-10pm on BANG 103.6FM

The award winning Soca Johnny is making big moves on the UK Soca circuit right now and after the success of his smash “Drunk Tonight” he’s looking for bigger and better things in 2010.

Soca Johnny migrated to the Caribbean at a very early age. It was his Dominican village (Giraudel) upbringing that had the biggest influence on him, subtle references to which can be heard in his music to this day.

As a youngster, Johnny always displayed a passionate interest in music which was evident to anyone who new him. After earning a basic understanding of how to play a keyboard, he would spend hours everyday playing along to live cds. At the tender age of 11 he started learning to play the guitar. It wasn’t long after that that he realised his true musical instrument was the bass guitar. He then started taking lessons. Before long he was invited to be the bass guitarist in a small band (Radiation).

In his younger years, his main influences were local Dominican bands WCK, First Serenade & Jamaican dancehall artist Buju Banton. His Buju Banton influence was so strong that during his high school days, his nick name was ‘Buju’. To this day, his vocals still have a slight dancehall feel.

At the age of 17, Johnny migrated back to the UK to continue his education. He then attended the Hammersmith & West London college where he earned a BTEC National Diploma in Electronic Engineering. He went on to study at Westminster University where he acheived a Bsc Mobile Communications degree.
On arrival in the UK, Johnny struggled for a few months to find an oulet for his musical abilities. He was then introduced to the Mangrove Steel Orchestra of West London. This was the beginning of the next phase of his musical journey. So evident was his passion, love and dedication to caribbean music/culture that within a few weeks John David was christened ‘Soca Johnny’ - yes he owes his name to the (then) members of Mangrove. Mangrove literally opened up a world of opportunities for Johnny. As a part of Mangrove, Johnny travelled to Africa (Tanzania & Malawi), Srilanka, Maurituas, Thailand (Bankok & Chang Mai), Belgium, Poland, Paris, Holland & even Antigua. As Johnny grew in muturity, so did his senior status in the band. Eventually he achieved the most senior post in the band and was named captain. This meant that he took responsibility for running band rehearsals and co-ordinating the bands preparations for its participation in the annual Notting Hill Carnival festival. As personal responsibilities grew, Johnny departed Mangrove in pursuit of his own ambitions. He then took the first step in realising one of his dreams and started promoting Caribbean events. The local Caribbean community responded well to Johnny’s efforts and he received a good level of support. To date, Johnny’s promotional brand, ‘The Caribbean Lime’ has become known as a household name and is one of the premier Caribbean promoters in West London.

Throughout his life Johnny has always shown a strong love for music. However, it was at the tender age of 12, when he was dared to come up with lyrics to ‘defend himself’ in a playground lyrical battle, that Johnny realised he was capable of writing songs. It was at this point that he became dedicated to song writting. Before long he literally had note books full of lyrics. He would repeatedly sing his songs over random beats and his style would flutuate between dancehall and bouyon/soca.
Eventually Johnny entered a recording studio and took the first steps to becoming a recording artist. At this point he mainly sang dancehall music but maintained his passion for bouyon/soca. He received a good reception for his dancehall music and was encouraged to ‘keep it up’. At this point having lived in London for a few years, his love for soca music started to grow. It wasn’t long before raw passion forced him to start writing and recording soca music. Again he received a good reception from the soca community. In 2004 he recorded his first soca track called ‘Me & the girls’, however it was with his 2005 recordings, ‘We Jump’ & ‘I there’ that people started noticing Soca Johnny. In 2006 he recorded and officially released a tune called ‘Ready to fete’. Ready to Fete is the tune that really established Soca Johnny as a credible soca artist receiving widespread airplay and earning him respect as an artist.

In 2008 he released his most succesfull track to date. ‘Drunk tonight’ was an instant hit and was received by DJs with great applause. This tune received regular airplay on most soca shows and events. It also made it to the soca top ten charts. To date ‘Drunk Tonight’ is still a local hit.

In 2009, Johnny released the popular tracks ‘Party Started’ and ‘Spin’, currently doing very well.
Johnny naturally has a talent for music and this is only complemented by his deep love and passion for it. In a comfortable environment, he can hardly stop himself singing along to his favourite tunes (whether he knows them or not). He describes his music as an expression of his deepest feelings and experiences. You can usually visualise the lyrics as you hear them. Although he now considers himself a soca artist, his writting skills are very much influenced by his love for reggae/dancehall music. He thus prides himself on his ability to write strong, focused, authoritative reggae/dancehall themed lyrics/rhymes which he has adapted to suit soca/bouyon. He has also written many ‘vocal’ tunes which can usually be heard during his live sets. Johnny is also establishing himself as a songwriter. Having written songs for a range of artists.

You will be well advised to keep an eye on this talented artist as it is only a matter of time until he releases a worldwide hit!

Find out more about Soca Johnny:
www.myspace.com/socajohnny

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