Inside the Rhythm: Machel Montano
 Often referred to as the soul of Calypso, Soca music-a fusion of both Calypso and Indian rhythms-has burgeoned over the past decades. Calpyso greats such as Mighty Sparrow, and Lord Kitchener, as well as Soca legends Lord Shorty and Super Blue to name a few, have each put their creative stamp on the genre along with the many others who have followed like Machel Montano. A child prodigy who started his musical career at the age of seven, Machel has literally grown up with the music and Soca has become his passion and driving force in his life. Possessing a wealth of knowledge on the subject, the Trinidadian legend schools us on the evolution of Soca, what it takes to be a Soca artist, and how he himself has evolved with the music.
TEMPO: What exactly does Soca mean?
Machel Montano: A lot of people call it "jump-up music," but it's a hybrid. It started way back from Calypso and they mixed Calypso with Indian rhythms and called it Soca music-the soul of Calypso. It's just about a vibe. Calypso's a music that is [about] interactions between people on stage and the crowds. You have big massive crowds and open-air environments that go crazy. So Soca music is like the fuel for that fire.
TEMPO: As an artist, you've successfully crossed boundaries between young and old, between Jamaica and Trinidad, and between Soca and Dancehall. What drives your passion?
MM: Well, ya know my passion has been music from the get go so I've always been amazed by music and seeing people on stage, the lights… I think the hype of all of it when it all comes together, the energy of the lights going up to you running on stage seeing all those people out there. That vibe and that feeling and that first minute of people seeing you and you seeing them and knowing, Look, we here to have a good time. That's my passion.
TEMPO: How would you describe the journey of Soca music from when you first started to where it is now?
MM: My journey in Soca music has been a quest and a struggle. It's been a map of my life. When I was growing up, Calypso music wasn't yet adapted to the youth. It wasn't really a young, vibrant, exciting thing and I think that has been my journey, a constant evolution of this music. Just constantly trying to fuse it with dancehall, Soca rhythms, Indian rhythms, and classical music, and I always found myself being able to say next year I'm going to be better, next year I'm going to try to come bigger and better and improve and keep the standard high.
TEMPO: A lot of what you and your music symbolizes is directly from Trinidadian culture. How do you see Soca music taking Trinidad and Tobago to a different level?
MM:Soca songs are always about Trinidad. A lot of the topics about flag waving, singing, dancing, and how we act in the Caribbean. Recently, a lot of younger people have been coming into Soca and bringing in their influences like Hip-Hop, R&B, Reggae, and conscious Dancehall. We see people speak about themselves, speak about their crew, which is basically what rap is about, and I think more personal issues are coming into songs and people singing about reality. Soca music is expanding.
TEMPO: Does the response change between audiences as the music reaches other parts of the world?
MM: Audiences vary and change like the weather and they always say the toughest [crowd] is at home. We have a great time at carnival when we make it at home in front of your own people. That's really important. I always remember going out to Germany and wondering what would happen, but I went out to packed houses in Berlin and all over East Germany and really rocked. Sometimes they don't understand English but this is the good thing about Soca music, it's about energy so it's about crowd response and we can sometimes say, "Hey," and they have no idea what we're saying but they respond because it's all about energy.
TEMPO: Being that Soca artists tour more than any genre of music, when do you find time to record and be creative?
MM: It's hard. I'm not going to lie; the Soca business is not easy. We have to tour a lot because we make more money of that than from record sales. Our thing is live. Soca music can't be explained on vinyl or on a CD. You have to come out and see what an artist does live on stage. So most of the times we're performing live around the world. We have to keep our business straight. Then after the all the carnivals, you get back [home] and have two months to get ready for next year. Two months to produce and write another album. Most of my stuff comes [to me] during carnival. So I may be singing this year and already thinking about what I am going to do next year and seeing ideas manifest right in front of me by the way people react and the things that they do.
TEMPO: Are Soca artists respected in other genres?
MM: I think respect for Soca has been growing recently. Especially things like having carnivals in Jamaica. From the size of events, people have to respect the fact that we bring these people out and we get them going. I think the music has had some problems in its growth but it's stepping up and other artists are starting to respect us. Jamaicans never liked the music; sometimes they would say it was too fast. But I think we have seen them come around, we've seen more dancehall artists like Beenie Man and Bounty Killer stepping into Soca music and giving it props. It's becoming friendlier and making them understand and relate. When they come to carnival and actually see what it's like and they can say I understand what this music is for. The more we expose it to the world people are going to see what it's for, what it can do and the potential of it.
TEMPO: What's your connection to the island of Jamaica?
MM: I went to prep school in Jamaica for 2-3 years when my parents studied there. So we know the whole vibe of Jamaica and we listened to a lot of Jamaican music. So Jamaica is a good memory for me and I have always loved Jamaican music. One of my greatest influences has been Bob Marley, his career, his words, and his music. I'm most touched by the quality and the intricacy of beats and songs. I've been paying attention to that and there have been so many artists coming from that point like Buju Banton and Shabba Ranks. I like this excitement, I like this type of music, so I have been putting some of that in my own music. I was fortunate to work with people like Red Rat, Beenie Man and Shaggy, they taught me the ropes.
TEMPO: What are you working on right now?
MM: Right now I'm back in the studio and working on my music again. For many years I've been doing a lot of studio electronic and computer work. I really want to work with live musicians more. I had a live band for over 18 years and we've been fortunate to go into the studio and record live music, something that Soca has lost. It used to be live, then it went into the drill machine era, and now we are trying to get back. I'm trying to work on my music and mix live stuff with electronic stuff.
TEMPO: Your lyrics are known for being very powerful, but sometimes they're happy or serious. What inspires your content?
MM: Usually I write from the music. I'm not the kind of person who sits down and reads the newspaper and says I want to sing about this, I want to sing about that. Sometimes I try to latch on to the sounds in the music and the messages usually come out of the music and when you look around it's something that's happening in your area that's relevant and deep. I love deep, spiritual music and I love blending that with Soca. Soca was always the soul of calypso. I like to poor out my soul in my music and get deep. We love dancing, we love having a good time but I think it's more special when you can get people feeling that you and I have to bring out the best energy. I'm representing who I am and I am doing it consciously and I'm doing it with maximum enthusiasm and that's just how Soca comes to me.
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