Randal Alexander answers call to make music

Randal Alexander is the founder and principal producer at PengCo Music – a music recording lab based in Bon Air, east Trinidad.

Alexander is the music producer behind many songs delivered by well-known artistes, including Gyptian, Queen Omega and Jah Melody. However, a chain of events that first unravelled his life before reconstructing it, has brought him to a place of great content and humility, said a media release.

He is changing lives and knows he was "called" to do just what he has been doing for the past six months, the release said.

A new riddim which was released last week, and which features singer Orlando Octave, along with young, up-and-coming vocalists like Incline, Frequency, Roy Simmons and Blacka, reminded Alexander of what moved him to be of service to more people, than he ever could’ve been before.

“I had taken some time away from the studio and made the move into agriculture,” he said in the release. He invested in a crop of tomatoes and was expecting a lucrative payout. “One day, I was in the field and I heard a voice as clear as day. God had spoken to me,” he attested. He said God told him to return to music, but he ignored the directive. Sometime after that, he lost his entire crop and all that he had invested when a parasite attacked the field.

Still, he did not heed the call. Alexander was not convinced that the music industry was entirely where he wanted to be. He saw the potential in the agriculture sector but as he pointed out, that was not where God needed him to be.

“After I lost the crop, my grandmother, who I was very close to, suddenly passed away,” he said, highlighting that ultimately, he was again told to return to music when this happened. This time, he listened. The house he had grown up in at Bon Air was turned into his new recording studio, and guided by that voice that he believed was God’s, Alexander decided to offer his studio services – recording, mixing and mastering– to anyone, anywhere, at the most economical cost by industry standards, the release said.

“I knew my mission was all about changing lives. I know that records are very expensive to produce and I decided to put the same effort into something that would cost the artist way less, offering the service even to people who otherwise wouldn’t ordinarily be able to afford it,” he explained. In the past six months Alexander and PengCo Music has recorded over 100 songs for people from all walks of life, all ages and all backgrounds.

He also joined forces with people in public relations, graphic and video support. His efforts to reduce cost and focus on serving others, essentially led to him meeting a lot of talented people, while touching their lives in a unique way, the release said.

“Often time, we don’t understand how effective a simple act can be in making the dreams of someone else, come true. I’m glad I listened to that voice and now, more than I ever, I know that my mission is clear. I don’t have faith, I know!”