Love in the time of a pandemic

IN the midst of a global pandemic, local musical band Freetown Collective and DJ Private Ryan chose to celebrate the spirit of what it means to be Trinbagonian with their music video.

The music video for Feel the Love, which was released on Republic Day (September 24), was directed by award-winning filmmaker Miquel Galofré and done in partnership with Tourism Trinidad. It showcases the rich diversity and natural landscape of TT in a way that seeks to remind us not to take what we have for granted said a media release.

The video, which trended among the top tweets on Twitter for TT on the day of launch, sparked a wave of posts on social media from people expressing their love for TT as well as others who have been suffering from Carnival tabanca.

Feel The Love was released on December 20, 2019 and occupied the number two spot on Apple Music’s Top 100 songs (in TT) list for four weeks in February and March 2020.

The song was written by Freetown Collective lead singer Muhammad Muwakil who said in the release, “In response to some of the most oppressive conditions known to man, our ancestors laid the foundations of the celebration known as Carnival, and created this festival, in all of its richness. It’s only fitting that in a time of hardship and difficulty, when the entire world is struggling to contain a global pandemic, that we should seek to create something beautiful.”

The song’s producer DJ Private Ryan (an old St Mary’s College school-mate of Muwakil) also executive produced the music video and wanted not only to bring people together but to remind everyone of the magical spirit and passion invoked by TT Carnival.