Chutney-soca
| Chutney soca | |
|---|---|
| Stylistic origins | Soca - Chutney music |
| Cultural origins | 1980s, Indian towns of Trinidad and Tobago and the Caribbean |
| Typical instruments | Bulbul Tarang, Dhantal, Dholak, Harmonium, Khartal, Manjira, Tabla, Tassa beats, Bass, Drums, Piano, Guitar, Vocals |
| Other topics | |
| Music of Trinidad and Tobago - Music of Guyana | |
| Music of Trinidad and Tobago | |
|---|---|
| General topics | |
| Related articles | |
| Genres | |
| Media and performance | |
| Music media |
Music television
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| Nationalistic and patriotic songs | |
| National anthem | Forged from the Love of Liberty |
| Regional music | |
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Music television
In Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana, Jamaica, and Suriname, Chutney soca music is a crossover style of music incorporating Soca elements and Hindi-English, Hinglish, Bhojpuri lyrics, Chutney music, with Indian instruments such as the dholak and dhantal.
The term chutney soca was first coined by Drupatee Ramgoonai of Trinidad & Tobago in 1987 in her first album entitled Chutney Soca, with both English and Hindi and/or Bhojpuri versions of the songs. The current style of spelling of the term was not established then and she spelt it as "Chatnee Soca". The following year her mega-hit "Roll up de Tassa" was instrumental in creating a commercial market for this type of music internationally. Drupatee has spoken about the blending of Afro and Indo melodies and rhythms in songs such as "Chatnee Soca" and "Hotter than ah Chulha". Chutney is a melody and soca is a beat. Drupatee used an ancient Indian melody called a lawnee with the soca beat in her rendition of "O Tassawalley" and has released a legacy of Chutney soca music.
Chutney soca is a prime example of how Indo-Trinidadians have established roots in Trinidad and have created an original, syncretic artform. Though this fusion was originally pioneered by Lord Shorty in the 1960s and 1970s, its branding resulted from the intervention of Indo-Trinidadians into Soca music in the 1980s, the addition of chutney soca to the island's musical life signified a consolidation of the East Indian influence on Trinidadian culture and politics, particularly during the 1990s. It was during the 1980s & 1990's that Trinidadian musicians, performing in the popular style of calypso and its offshoot, soca, began to incorporate Indian themes into their lyrics. A significant example of this is the song "Sundar Popo", by Black Stalin. This song, whose whimsical lyrics concern a veteran Indian singer, won Black Stalin the coveted Calypso Monarch Prize in February 1995. Although it was neither in chutney style nor in Hindi, "Sundar Popo" was labelled chutney-soca because of its theme. Similar efforts followed in the wake of 30 May 1995, which marked the anniversary of the first arrival of "indenturees" in Trinidad and was designated by the island's government as Indian Arrival Day.
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Wikipedia