The Addictive Sound Of Soca Music

Have you ever danced to soca music? If you haven’t then you haven’t lived, my friend. Even if you don’t consider yourself a dancer in any way shape or form, sweet soca music is guaranteed to turn you into a booty shaking monster for hours upon end. It’s addictive, fun and just a little bit different from your average party music. Drop a fine soca tune into a set at a house party and people go wild or just plain silly.

So, where does soca music come from and who brought it into existence? Well, we have the Caribbean and a fine fellow called Lord Shorty to thank for this. For the record, he was not a real Lord, and at a towering 6ft three he was definitely not short. What he was however, was a musical pioneer. Born Garfield Blackman in Trinidad in October 1941, he later changed his name for the stage name Lord Shorty and eventually to Ras Shorty I.

Lord Shorty, who became popular on the calypso scene in the Caribbean, took traditional calypso music and combined it with Trinidadian chutney music to create a new sound that was to flourish and survive even after his death in 2000. The Trinidad Indian population descend from the British colonisers, when they brought Indian slaves to the island. When Lord Shorty drew on the essence of the Indian music by using dholak, table and dhantal as heard first in his song ‘Indrani’ released in 1973, soca was born. However, it was his 1974 album Endless Vibration that really caused a stir and soca music went international with Calypso stars such as Mighty Sparrow embracing the new genre.

There is some debate where the name ‘soca’ derives from. Some believe that it was a mixture of American soul music and Calypso. Others thought it could be named after the song he composed in 1973 called ‘Soul Calypo Music’. However, it has been reported that it was Shorty explained that the ‘So’ came from Calypso and the ‘ca’ actually was related to the sound of the Indian percussion used in the tracks. The jury is still out so I guess you can believe what you like on this.

Over his career, Lord Shorty’s writing caused many a stir and for a variety of different reasons. He was known for being a bit of a Caribbean Casanova and for the early single "Lesson in Love" he was criticised for his obscene lyrics. He was also criticised for incorporated Hindu chanting in his track ‘Om Shanti Om’ and a few years later the track ‘Money Eh No Problem’ released in 1979 was a political dig at the Trinidadian Prime Minister of the time, Eric Williams. Interestingly, in 2000 the same song was used in a political advertising campaign for the United National Congress.

Over the last few decades soca has been blended with many musical styles such as rap, hip-hop, disco, reggae and house music and has become popular all over the world. Machel Montano  is a well-known mainstream soca performer who has filled out venues world-wide including Madison Square Garden in New York with his infectious and vibrant music. Whilst the Caribbean has embraced more international music styles and hosts such internationally acclaimed festivals such as The St Lucia Jazz festival, soca music is still very much celebrated across the islands to this day. It is the ultimate carnival sound that has spread across the globe and united  people from all cultural backgrounds. So if you haven’t already, open your musical mind, crack open the rum, buff your booty and prepare to party to the sweet sound of soca. Life may never be the same again.