This month’s listening picks from the Caribbean — featuring Nigel Campbell’s review of new music from Nataki Render. Chromatic; Godwin Lewis. And Just Now
Nataki Rendall
Till All Here (self-released)
Gospel music, praise and worship, revelation and testimony are best experienced live. This new live album from powerful vocalist Nataki Render captures the thrill of being blessed with a great voice and the message that precedes the song. They share Render’s faith and deliverance with listeners. In a way, life imitates art, as she previously starred as Mahalia Jackson in a musical based on the life of the gospel legend. The audio work on this album shines in its clarity and advances the argument that contemporary gospel music in the Caribbean, whatever its message, is not supported by a broader audience for the music. . With tracks that include Caribbean rhythms (“Good Good”), the album also celebrates great musical arrangements and performances, especially background harmonies. This is effective as a solace for unsatisfied souls.
chromatic
Hammer & Chisel (independent release)
The beauty of Caribbean hip-hop/rap is the color of the language. After eight years in the making, Trinidad’s leading hip-hop pioneers Chromatics have released a new album covering life in 10 songs and audio interludes. In his limited autobiography, he recalls the rivalry. He celebrates the joy of fatherhood and the longevity of his marriage. Maternal loss details. A simple beat places Caribbean life firmly at the center, creating space for words that move from emotion to emotion, from “heartbreak” to joy to melancholy, pretentious words. . A few phrases stand out as chunks of sublime wordplay with an insular attitude. we don’t study beef [grievance]make curry;and Karma is Jammet, she will definitely give you the wine back. Bombast and confidence move from the general to the specific (You’re about to win a Grammy / I should be a Nobel Prize winner), reinforcing the optimistic Caribbean reality. The innovative rhymes and story make this album a winner.
godwin lewis
Psalms and Proverbs (Blue Room Music)
For centuries, music was an adjunct to prayer and liturgy. When European settlers came to the “New World” with the mission of converting the populations they encountered (and conquered) to Christianity, hymns and psalms were ritualized. In the modern Caribbean, music inspired by ancient words of faith and control has taken on new dimensions. Haitian-American saxophonist Godwin Lewis is a world traveler who has used his Caribbean perspective to reinterpret and remake this collection of sacred texts, music, and traditional hymns. Musicians from Haiti, Cuba, and Trinidad all join in to transform music for your soul into relatable idioms. The madness of hard bop blends perfectly with Afro-Caribbean rhythms. Jazz “with a West Indian accent” imbues the album with a new aura responsible for positioning Caribbean creativity and ideas beyond old totems. a kreol jazz A celebration for every soul.
Jus Now
Danger Zone (Road Music)
Modern Caribbean carnival music has always followed global trends, imitating or improvising on what was popular, but never abandoning indigenous genres for the next big thing. Drum and bass, riddim and bass and dubstep music form part of the EDM aesthetic that permeated Roadmarch’s material a decade ago and propelled Caribbean music to festivals like Glastonbury. Caribbean-British duo Jus Now continue to blend modern electronic beats with the rhythm and energy of soca music, both in clubs and on the streets. The title track of this short five-song EP is sung to perfection by musical innovators Mad Head City, but they don’t wince when it comes to exposing embarrassing truths, officially sanctioned or not. It delves into the complex, dark side of island life with no-nonsense, rapid-fire honesty. Because we grow hard and know better/Real talent is pushed out of this garden… It’s not where you live, it’s when you live in the danger zone It’s a place where you can be given. Do a dangerous dance.
