Friday, December 05, 2008Internationally Known and Home Grown

Sachkia BarnesBVI Entertainers Crash on to the International Scene

The British Virgin Islands is home to many very talented musicians, the earlier generations of which were influenced by the culture of the islands, hand groomed in the traditional music of fungi. Later generations have also adopted and developed a distinct variety of northern Caribbean calypso.

Such groups as Ecstasy Band and the Lashing Dogs have travelled the world as musical ambassadors of Nature’s Little Secrets. During the late 80’s and early 90’s Ecstasy Band gained fame in the surrounding Caribbean islands as well as the United States. The newly exported sound of the British Virgin Islands caught on quickly and the band was in high demand with its international fans evoking an almost cult like following of transplanted Caribbean folk, with hits such as Ecstasy in Control, Fat Man Jam and Push Pipe.

While these bands capitalised on the cultural music of the islands, newer musicians are venturing out into different genres of music and are finding international success. Of these new artists, 28-year-old Kamau Georges and his protégé, 25 year old Alton Bertie are finding success in main stream music and with it, exposing listeners to the talents of our islands.

The Mentor

Business BVI had the opportunity to speak with Georges just a few days before he took the stage at the Caribbean’s largest festival outside of the region; the acclaimed Caribana Festival in Toronto, Canada this past August. A gifted musician, and an accomplished music producer, Georges; the versatile artist was now in Toronto to perform his latest hit, the soca single ‘Network’. When asked how he stumbled upon music, Georges had a surprising response. “It was my older sister Noni [Georges]. Whatever she did I wanted to do. She started playing music so I decided, that’s what I would do too.”

Georges went on to develop his love for music through the programme at the former British Virgin Islands High School, now Elmore Stoutt High. The school’s music programme has produced accomplished musicians throughout the Territory leading the islands bands, choirs and most importantly, teaching the next generation of BVI musical artists. “I thought that we were really blessed to have such a programme where a student could easily progress because of the quality of the programme and the attention teachers paid to their students” Georges fondly reminisces. Adding that the programme did not only teach students about music, but also discipline and the necessary work ethic to be the best you can be Georges said, “It is a beautiful thing when young people can use a tool to develop themselves the way we were able to use music.”

While at the high school, Georges had the opportunity to dabble in a variety of musical genres, learning the fundamentals of music that has served him well as a producer, artist and musician. The high school bands exposed a young Georges to classical, contemporary, big band and one of his loves, jazz music. Though he specialises in the tenor saxophone, those fundamentals learned at an early age, now allow him to pick up virtually any instrument and move on to mastering it.

The following year Georges went on to study music at the esteemed Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts. With alumni such as producer, Quincy Jones, saxophonist, Walter Beasley, pianist, Scott Kinsey, guitarist, Kevin Eubanks and contemporary vocal artists Melissa Etheridge and John Mayer; Berklee is considered the studying ground for young musicians from all around the world.

“Berklee was a great experience.” Said Georges, “It allowed me to be totally immersed in music; it was an opportunity to study and experiment with all different types of music.” Upon graduating from college, Georges returned to the BVI where he taught music at his alma mater, and began playing at various community events. He was soon labelled the premier saxophonist in the territory.

In the summer of 2005, Georges relocated to Boston where he connected with an up-and-coming radio disc jockey and producer, Clinton Sparks. The partnership exposed Georges to contemporary hip hop, rhythm and blues and other alternative current music and most importantly, artists looking for their next big hit.

Georges soon started writing music and producing beats with Sparks’ company that shortly landed him his first major job; producing the first released track of the 2005 platinum selling album, Biggie Duets: The Final Chapter. The album was a long awaited collection of newly remixed songs from the late hip hop artist, Notorious B.I.G. The single, ‘Hold Your Head’ allowed Georges to mix the music of one of his favourite artist, Bob Marley, with the great American hip hop artist. The album featured contemporaries such as Eminen, Snoop, Nas, Nelly and Mary J. Blige.

Since then, through Sparks’ company, Georges has gone on to work with platinum selling artists such as Jay Z, Ludacris, Beyonce, Akon as well as a host of other well known artists in the industry. His recently produced track, ‘Don’t Turn Back’ sang by Colby Odanis was a late 2008 summer hit. The success of his work has allowed Georges’ talents to be recognised in the United States in an arena that is crowded with producers claiming to have the next big sound. In this field, Georges is proving he really has what it takes to hold his own.

“Every day I have to work to make sure I can produce the best product. In today’s world, anyone is just a few clicks away from discovering something new, so I have to make sure the music I am working on is what my clients want and is always on the cutting edge.” said Georges.

Though Georges is not doing badly on his own, he is mindful of his goal to bring even greater success to the BVI through music. “I believe that we have the talent in the British Virgin Islands to bring home a Grammy Award,” Georges says enthusiastically, “Right now I have the opportunity to write and produce for artists like Akon, Beyonce and Ludacris on albums that are winning Grammy awards. This tells me that winning a Grammy is attainable.”

Admittedly, Georges recognises what he is doing is no small feat. “In the BVI it is sometimes hard to see beyond what we have. There is a lot of fear and doubt. For someone like me, a boy from the Caribbean to be working on platinum selling hiphop and not reggae or calypso albums sounds like a long shot, so keeping myself motivated is something I have to work on every day.” Georges went on to say, “The success I have achieved, I see it as success not for me, but for my community. I want other musicians and artists in the BVI to realise that they can accomplish anything they would like.”

We asked Georges if he felt he had to leave the Territory to have the success that he has had. “I actually don’t feel as though I ever really left the BVI. Tortola is home to me, I am there very often. With technology today, when I am there, I can still work on music and simply email clients. To me I have not at all left the BVI.”

To ensure more BVI artists have the information and tools necessary to launch their music internationally, when in the Territory, Georges makes himself available to young artists and producers, organising workshops to teach up and coming artists important tools for success in the industry. His latest workshop with such artisits was titled World Class Music. Georges shared key networking tips as well as a book he began writing which elaborates on the process of producing internationally recognised music. Still in its early stages, Georges titled the manuscript, The Process: 7 Essential Steps for Developing Natural Talent to Achieve World Class Results.

“I feel very fortunate to have the success that I have right now and I would like to share my knowledge with other young artists so that even though they might not have the exact route as I have, they will at least have the tools to plan and attain their own success,” Georges said.

The Protege

While spending college breaks at home in the British Virgin Islands, Georges discovered younger musicians at his former high school who had already developed a passion for music and his instrument. Of these students, he became friend and mentor to tenor saxophonist, Alton Bertie.

Like his mentor, Bertie also attended Berklee College of Music. “Before Berklee I never knew that there were that many people out there like me, who just wanted to practice their instrument at every opportunity. At Berklee I was totally wrapped up in music which helped me find where I wanted to be as an artist.” Bertie recalls. While at Berklee, the young talent studied song writing and film scoring. There he was also able to build on the fundamentals he learned in high school and from his mentor.

Arriving at Berklee, the freshman Bertie came with an above average understanding of jazz and improvisation, at college he worked on different techniques to further improve his skills on the saxophone and gained knowledge that allowed him to understand the intricate language of music. “I liked studying jazz. There is a complicated nature to jazz; sometimes it sounds simple but when you listen again, you find chord formations and so many layers of music in one song. I was challenged to be more creative and add my own spin to the music I was listening to” recalls Bertie.

We asked Bertie if he could ever see himself in another profession. With a noticeably surprised look, that such a question could be asked, and after short consideration, the young producer smiled and quickly responded, “No, there is nothing I would rather do than create good music.” Elaborating even more, he said, “I want to create unquestionably good music. I am inspired by all sorts of music, country, hiphop, reggae, any type of music. There are some songs that are so good, no matter what genre of music it is, anyone listening to it, has to admit that it is just good music. That is the type of music I plan to make.”

Though still young in his career, Bertie has had a good start to making the timeless music he plans to produce. A three-year collaboration that started in 2005 came to fruition in February 2008 when Bertie’s talents were recognised by the soca Mecca of the world, Trinidad’s Socca Groovy Awards. There, a wide-eyed Bertie received confirmation that he was on the right track in the soca world when with award winning soca singer Shurwayne Winchester, they received the award for International Groovy Soca of the Year for the single ‘Carnival Please Stay.’

Bertie will tell you that there is no great story behind how he first met the famous soca artist, “I was in Puerto Rico awaiting a flight home to Tortola,” he casually recalls. “I knew who Shurwayne Winchester was and that he was someone that I wanted to work with. I thought, ‘it can’t be worse than asking a girl out right? The worse thing he could say is no’ so I went up to him, introduced myself and we exchanged contact information.” Once back home, Bertie immediately emailed Winchester a musical track that he’d produced a year and a half earlier. The artist quickly responded to Bertie, sending him recorded lyrics to his music. With no previous work experience with Bertie, Winchester also left it up to the young musician to mix the final song. The marvel that is technology in the twenty-first century allowed the two musicians to finalise the song that would keep the elder on top of the calypso charts, while allowing the younger to taste his inevitable success.

In September, Winchester broke the news of his amicable break up with his long-standing band, Traffic Jam. Trying to create a new band with the right mix and sound for even greater calypso music, Winchester tapped Bertie to be the lead synthesizer for his new band. Bertie will now be performing and travelling with Winchester.

“The success I have had so far, really tells me that this - music - is what I want to do for the rest of my life.” admits Bertie. He admits that he has had to learn the hard way through a few bad experiences with other artists. For example, the convenience of the internet allows artists and producers to relay musical ideas readily. However, Bertie has had to overcome the chagrin of established professional artists using his work without giving him his deserved credit. “When you have experiences like that, it is disappointing, but you learn from the experience and you let the next opportunity come your way.”

The young BVIslander has left such a marked impression with his work, that he is now slated to work with other internationally known soca artists such as Marchel Montano. When he is not busy making beats for these artists, Bertie is helping to bring recognition to the BVI’s brand of Calypso music. He is lead instrumentalist in the leading calypso and soca band Showtime, the 2007 and 2008 Road March Champions for the Territory’s August Festival. He also works with young artists and producers to help them create quality music that people from all around the world can appreciate.

Oyster Publications Inc, PO box 3369, Road Town Tortola, British Virgin Islands, VG1110