First, I will tell you why I love rivers. I was born by one – the Roseau River when it was a real heavy gloriously flowing spectacle; to me the sound of the river flowing to the sea is music; nature’s chorus line and if you listen carefully you will hear. An island boasting of 365 rivers without an officially recognised Rivers Day is ingratitude to our God.
The river bank was a mud platform when I was a boy and leaving your footprints in the sand was easy in those days except that it was footprints in the mud. Yet from that platform like a desert that springs roses some great music emerged. The river bank was the main home of the fledging steel band and many nights I would lay awake just listening to my musical heroes make the heavens sing. River flows and steel band music made the poverty of the river bank seem like a magical place to be. I was also raised at a time when music made you think deeply and a love song was a gem of truly poetic writings. The artistes who wrote and sang songs in the fifties, sixties and seventies never received the millions that present-day artistes do, but their work lives on. They belong to a class that created stuff to outlive their earthly lives by centuries. Their candles have blown out long before their legend ever will, to borrow a line from Elton John.
Some will tell me that the quality of music has dropped and in today’s world it is mostly chants and rap that stirs the fans, but it was not long ago I felt like a thrillionaire taking in the thrilling persistent and percussive reggae sounds with lyrics that went straight to the heart and mind. When Marley sang, “We refuse to be what they wanted us to be, we are what we are” or “I feel like bombing a church now that I know the preacher was lying, talking blues,” and Peter Tosh sang “ I doh want no peace I want equal rights and justice.” It helped shape our independent thinking as young people. It gave us a sense of our value and a reason why we were here and what we could do to change things. Yes, music is a powerful communicator.
Even to Adolph Hitler, music was the drug that calmed his restlessly evil spirit He confessed that listening to Wagner (Vagner) sent him into a trance. Hitler’s love for Wagner places his musical tastes in common with so many millions, because it is Wagner in one of his 19th century opera pieces who wrote The Wedding March also known as Here comes the Bride. Music serves the good people as well as the horribly bad ones and that is why the market for music is universal and infinitely large.
With such a large market and its universal acceptance I wonder why governments in our region have paid so little attention to exploring the potential of our music. They seek tourism for development but in our case the development authorities are still stuck in the howling first gear of the last century. Are we not at the next level? National budgets do not reflect any serious recognition of our cultural industry, but in a land with few saleable resources our future lies in the power of our natural environment and in the natural resource of our people and what collectively we all can bring to the table. We have the example right under our noses of the financial returns of such an investment. We see what has happened with reggae music from Jamaica and how it caused the name of Marley to be legend. Even Kassav modified our Cadence music to an appealing beat called Zook and became huge.
A Caribbean girl Rihanna just 16 years of age at the time performed an audition before an American producer visiting Barbados and 8 years later she is Forbes magazine’s third highest grossing artiste after Taylor Swift and Justin Beiber with a take in 12 months of US53 million about the same in ECC as our 12 month take in Waitikubuli for VAT. She is Barbados’ biggest single export. When JayZ first heard and saw her he recognized her star quality as well and told her that there were only two ways she would get away from him through the door which he had firmly shut or by jumping the window. The window was 29 floors from the ground. The producer said that though her voice then was somewhat edgy and not the best of the three other Bajan girls auditioning with her, he was impressed by her star quality even when she walked into the room.
Star quality will again be discussed as we move through this series. One successful artiste can do more for promoting Waitikubuli than all this Discover this and Discover that organizations we set up.
Let me acknowledge the effort of the UWP to introduce the World Creole Music Festival with the idea of promoting our music and our land as a premiere music place. Since then in the last few years, the thing has been brought down to a kind of “Let’s hope it works this year,” affair and the organizers are into verbal acrobatics about why reggae artistes have become the big thing skirting around the real truth that this is merely a gate receipts matter.
In my life time I have seen some amazing talent not only onstage but off. I have seen the rise of good prospects and the meltdown of so many who have had the ambition to do well with the God given talent but gave up. In just 5 months the journey to Calypso Finals begins and will end on Final night on February 9th 2013 that is if we get past 12/21/12 the arguable date for the end of days. Year after year wonderful calypsoes are written by incredible talent and with quality performers causing the people to scream and shout. But therein lies the rub according to the bard. Where do we go from there?
Just some short years ago on invitation of the Minister responsible I presented a fully laid out plan for the music industry in Dominica. This was after a two hour long discussion with that Minister at which Michele Henderson, her husband and others were present. The Minister promised warp speed action saying, “I do not like long delays, I am a person of action.”
TO BE CONTINUED
right on De W
and we have our beautiful and melodius FOLK SONGS…composed by our locals…we have to praise them 2 and enjoy the music…..I enjoy reading Mr. Joseph…
I like the peice on the World Creole music festival or what its called today.I too have had the pleasure to dance and prance from year to year in its early inception,and thought we were pionieers and that it would really take us a “notch” up, on “foot” with all other island festivals, but no ” awa” we dont beleive in ourseleve, we had to copy other island festival and make a dame mess out of the thing in the name of gate receipts.
LOL…if you are talking about Bouyoun we are getting nowhere fast.
If Rihanna was singing this gabbage soca music, she would not be on Forbes Magazine.
So if you want our Music to be an export, the beat, diction, lyrics and the culture has to change.
Gabbage writing
I support you 110%. Booyon, mostly generated by electric drum machines is not recognized as music anywhere but in the west Indies.
Another great piece! The article is very rich with historical, socio-economic, cultural and political messages and lessons to those who care to take note. It makes a smooth and reflective transition from the past, to the present–filled with solid proposals for the sustainable development of the nation. In that regard, one hopes that initiatives like the NCCU Cadance-lypso competition could gain momentum and become an annual event on our musical tourism calendar together with initiatives like the Q95 Talent Search (QTS), which has the potential to produce a Dominican Rhan or Rihanna.
The relevant authorities may wish to entertain a broader discussion in an effort to promote Nature Island sports and musical tourism in line with what is supposed to be Dominica’s economic thrust-Nature Island /Eco-tourism. Indeed, the present administration may also wish to take a page from the UWP’s success story with the introduction of the World Creole Music Festival.
Slight correction Mr Joseph. Felix Mendelsohn wrote the “wedding march” and wagner composed ” the bridal chorus” aka here comes the bride.
i thought the wedding march was here come the bride, ok
keep pouring it on Dennis you are one who can stir discussion, and raise the dead memories we have of our lovely Dominica.
Doe matter what, there are some who are not going to like what you are writing,as much as you try to leave politics out of it, it must drizzle like rain. Keep writing my man i am reading.THEY ALSO ARE READING.
Lovely piece Dennis…love the metaphors and imagery in your writing.
Looking forward to the rest of the series.
Thanks for starting this series… it’s a much needed discussion about Dominica’s most abundant natural resource – musical talent.
As a young beat maker some 8 or 10 years ago, I would always lament, “Boy I wish I could get a good voice on my riddim.” At the time I thought that having a sweet sounding voice on one of my beats would equal a jackpot of some sort. Now, as a more experienced music producer, I have worked with some of Dominica’s best talents and we all know better. Unfortunately, in this business (the music industry) a very good song isn’t enough to guarantee anything, not even radio time.
In my opinion, two of the main hurdles are (1) lack of interest on the part of the public sector and (2) lack of real dedication and commitment by musicians, artists, engineers and other players. I would have loved to sit in on that discussion with the Minister, so I could hear his plan. Some might think that your mention of the Minister and the government is a political low blow, but the fact is that no industry (not music, agriculture, tourism, manufacturing, etc.) can develop and realize its full potential without significant support from the public sector. Mind you, this support need not be full sponsorship or financial backing… tax breaks and concessions can be a great help as well. St. Lucia, Grenada and Trinidad & Tobago are examples of countries whose governments lend tremendous support to their music industries.
It will be interesting to see where this discussion goes. Kudos for starting this debate.
I love that piece because its reminds me of the Roseau river bursting its bank on a heavy raining day causing muddy water to flow through River street and River bank. The most beautiful scene on those times was,while the streets were as brown as coco tea,the steel band music of the Invaders was at the corner of River Street and Upper Lane belting out songs such as Diffay Mama Diffay and Salamon Roullee, while the people were jumping while with their grog in hand.It never occured to me at the time,the beauty of muddy river water and steelband music.
A piece of reality from my Roseau Boys’ School teacher. The man is a music Aficionado. A teacher, writer ,band manager musician , mentor and knowledgeable.Enjoying your writing sir. Love the message.
Remember the days when we used to call teachers “Sir”? Like Sir Dennis, and Sir Richards at the Roseau Boys School. Actually it was Mr. Richards, the principal who helped Mr. Dennis Joseph with music in his early days, at the Newtown School. Mr. Richards was a great violinist. He used to lead the morning sessions with renditions on the violin. “Lead Kindly Light” comes to mind.
well said. now thats truth to power. keep writing mr joseph and MAYBE one day….they will learn.
You’ll are killing progress with politics!!!