Soca soars in germany
Wayne Bowman wbowman@trinidadexpress.comSunday, June 1st 2008
SPREADING THE MUSIC: Soca's first couple, Fayann Lyons and Bunji Garlin.
When Bunji Garlin and Fayann Lyons set off on their recent promotional tour of Europe they were not seeking to conquer new territories solely for their benefit. The artistes, who are these days referred to as the royal couple of soca, desired to open doors for all up and coming artistes out of Trinidad and Tobago.
Judging from the response of the thousands of Europeans who flocked to the concerts to see Garlin and Lyons in action, we can safely say that local artistes will have good ground to tread upon on that continent.
The tour ended in Berlin on May 12 when Garlin and Lyons performed in that city's carnival, which is not fashioned after Trinidad's Carnival, but in fact brings elements of cultures from around the world together.
Huge floats depicting facets of culture from places like China, India, USA and the Caribbean parade on the streets. The Caribbean region was represented by two floats with Garlin and Lyons performed on one of these. They were in fact highlights of the carnival as on the morning of the parade Berlin television aired a feature focusing on Garlin and Lyons's appearance at the parade.
"We were having breakfast when the news came on and they were talking about Bunji and Fayann being at the parade. It was in German and we had to get one of the guys to interpret for us. The report spoke of soca as well as Bunji's music. There was an after-party later that night and over 1,500 people, all Germans, filled the hall. The people who introduced the music trucks and large king-sized costumes featuring the steelpan to the Berlin carnival were Germans that lived in Tobago and Trinidad," Garlin's manager, Ian Pantin, told the Express.
The promotional tour took Garlin and Lyons to five German cities, Cologne, Manheim, Munich, Gutersloh and Berlin. They also did shows in Stockholm, Sweden, and Copenhagen in Denmark. Everywhere they went people rushed to get into the shows and in one show at a hotel ballroom in Sweden the doors had to be locked by 1 a.m. as people were still trying to get into the already crammed venue. Pantin spoke of a man in Gutersloh who was running through the place waving large German and Trinidad and Tobago flags intertwined.
"The pace was quick. For example, we landed in Cologne one day to fly out to Sweden right after the show. In Germany we did the road tour thing and would spend up to six hours driving from one place to the next through the countryside. The driver would point out significant places to us and although we were on business, we did get in some sightseeing that was not just a pleasure, but opened our eyes to quite a lot that Bunji and Fayann can share with you," Pantin said.
Garlin said that one of the things that touched him deeply was walking through Hitler's Airport, which is supposed to be closed down by year's end. Garlin said one feels as though the Holocaust took place just yesterday as one passes through the place and it leaves you with the unsettling feeling that the whole thing can happen again at any time. He added that seeing the relics of the Holocaust makes one have a greater appreciation for the freedom we enjoy that was hard fought for by our elders.
"When walking through the old Hitler Airport you still get this eerie feeling that the way these monuments are still standing the entire thing can happen again.
We saw from a distance the largest concentration camp from the Holocaust and it was so far away we did not have the time to go to it, but even from that distance we could see how ominous it is.
Even the portion of the Berlin Wall that still stands leaves you with a sense of great loss when you go there," Garlin said.
As for the music, while in Germany, Garlin and Lyons worked with a number of producers, including popular Swedish producer Million Style, who after seeing Garlin on stage travelled to Germany to record two tracks, "Long Time" and "Free Up The Vibes" with him. Garlin and Lyons also recorded a duet entitled "No Gangsters" with producer Junior Blender from the top German sound system, Supersonic. Garlin and Lyons also each recorded three solo tracks with Blender.
This was Garlin's second European promotional tour and Lyons's first, but she ripped the place apart and established herself solidly.
Lyons said the tour opened her eyes to new realities about how much Trinidadians hold themselves back from achieving their full potential. The remnants of the Holocaust also affected Lyons and she spoke of the calming lifestyle the people of Europe, especially Germany, lead as compared to what life has become for us in the Caribbean.
"I realised that when people go through struggles such as the Holocaust they have a perspective that we in the Caribbean don't. They are more open to other people's cultures and the way they think and live. We speak of our diversity of races, but still look down and thump our noses at those who are different. These people may not even have so many different cultures within their community, but they accept others more easily. You can't have a pie with only one slice, it takes several slices to make one," Lyons said.
Lyons also mentioned that she saw how much Trinidadians tend to jump to conclusions and make assumptions without first looking into the facts or seeking out the right information.
She cited the relevant authorities not taking Garlin to the 2006 FIFA World Cup because they thought the "Bomb Song" would be offensive to Americans in light of 9-11. Lyons said she saw people of all nationalities jumping to the song. She also said that she saw something that proved Trinidadians sometimes truly fail to appreciate things everyone else in the world will gladly embrace.
"We disrespect our artistes and throw them aside, failing to appreciate them and what they do for us as a nation. I saw with my own eyes that Maximus Dan's "Soca Warriors" is the biggest song in Europe. Whenever that song comes on people just go crazy and start to jump and sing even though they don't even understand English.
I also saw a woman going crazy for KMC's music. We went there for a promotional tour to plant a seed for the upcoming artistes and I think we have done so," Lyons said.
