Paula Lindo – Our histories, stories, present, future.

“Waiting on the Stage” by Machel Montano has been the subject of much talk since it was released, with many commenters saying it doesn’t sound like soca. That sound, a fusion of EDM and soca, is the product of Badjohn Republic, a new production group.

“Waiting on the Stage” is the group’s first major outing into the music scene and was written specifically with Montano in mind. The group, composed of Keegan Taylor, Khion de Las and Kyle Phillips, takes its name from the original “Badjohn,” John Edwards. Taylor said the group took the energy of his story and said “we’re going to create a group called Badjohn Republic, which really means a collective of people who’re not afraid to change the game and do things differently.” Badjohn Republic, which is signed to the Precision Global Music Limited label, works as a DJ group, similar to Major Lazer, as well as a production company which works with various types and genres of music. “Head of Precision Productions, Kasey Phillips, is a bit of genius not only in production, but also in terms of how we set ourselves up in the music and entertainment business, and being signed to the Precision label means we have the technical, creative and other support from his organization.”
Taylor said the group will continue experimenting with various types of music, including hip-hop, dancehall, soca, EDM, but will stay rooted in the traditional forms of T&T music. He said this doesn’t only mean calypso, as the group members are also involved in the stickfight and Kalinda scene and know the lavway songs. “Anyone who really does their research into calypso would see that it came from the stickfight lavway in the gayelles in T&T, and look how far it has come, from a song which is a call and response between the crowd and the chantuelle to now being what we call calypso.” He said when they encounter resistance to their new sound(s), they see it as being similar to the complaints Ras Shorty I would have gotten when he was making changes to the original sound.
With reference to the different sound of “Waiting on the Stage,” Taylor explained that “we took out the snare and the drum before and gave you a build-up with drum patterns instead of just the voice, which is basically a pre-chorus. So when the chorus reaches, it is Machel’s vocals and the synth of the music, rather than the vocals only, which is an element that is apparent in what we call EDM music.”
He said Badjohn Republic has no problem being trendsetters, leaders and gamechangers, but not in a disrespectful manner. “We’re not saying that what exists is not good enough. We are saying we’re not afraid to take the music to another place and level. People say soca is supposed to be only one way but we’re free in the studio to make music which is not based on limitations or perceptions.” He said music is a global language and “Waiting on the Stage” is a fantastic tool to get people asking questions about T&T, because when international people hear it, they’ll say “what’s that sound? That sounding real familiar but where that come from?”
“We’re a different generation and we’re influenced by different things, so all I’m saying is, throw those elements in there and watch it bubble and fizz and how we’re going to be different is yet to be seen. Basically our plan is to continue to absorb and innovate and look outside into the world and see what people are doing. Again, the premise is to remain respectful to the traditional roots of our music, so we will not reach a point where we will deform it and still try and call it we ting.”
Badjohn Republic is also currently working on different genres of music to be released throughout the year. This includes hip-hop, African and South American music, including what Taylor called the “Rio Funk” vibe. “Some of my Brazilian friends have seen the way we operate similarly, in terms of our costumes and our music, and seeing that the Olympics will be held in Brazil this year, the opportunities for musical fusions will be greater. Badjohn wants to be on the forefront of what’s happening in the world, so we don’t intend to sit in T&T and wait for Carnival to come around to release our next big track.”
“A part of it is yet to be seen and if you want to journey with us and see how we plan on doing this, if you see what we’ve done and see what we’re looking to do again and you want to journey, come and journey.”