Shiiloh brings that Caribbean touch with her music

Shavsha "Shiiloh" Speedwell-Callum was born and raised in St Vincent and the Grenadines but considers herself a Caribbean baby.

And it is this "Caribbean-ness" that she wants to share with her latest single called Touch. The song was released on January 7 and she said the song is about finding that special dance, that dance that makes you say, "'Wow.'"

"We are coming out of the pandemic, I would like to hope, and everybody knows what it is like to go to a party and find someone you dance with and it is like, 'wow.'

"They understand the movement of your body. You get lost in the music and you literally drown out everyone else and it is just you and the person in the vibe. That is what Touch is describing.

"It is describing connection on the dance floor. The connection is not lasting. It is just for the night but that is okay. That is the experience of a fete," she said.

Touch is Shiiloh's first single although she has been on many stages before.

Her bio said she was raised in Roseau, Sion Hill, St Vincent, and grew up in a musical home, "where her father spent most of his time writing and performing records as a local calypsonian on the island."

It said in 2002 she entered the Vincy Mas Junior Calypso Monarch and that was where she fell in love with the stage before being discovered by Trinidadian producer, musician and songwriter Kevin "Stadic" Charles.

Her musical style has been birthed from her different experiences on different Caribbean islands.

She said while she was raised in St Vincent, Jamaica was where she developed, musically, while studying and Trinidad and Tobago was where her "seeds are blossoming."

TT is where her music is being released and where she is now rooted, she added.

The 27-year-old-artiste first met Stadic in 2014 at a fellow producer's studio in St Vincent.

"Years later, while I was in Jamaica, I worked on radio for a while. He came to do an interview with Shenseea for a song he did with her and Azaryah, and we met there."

She then sang him some songs and that was how the relationship developed. The two have been working together ever since.

Although there aren't many opportunities for Shiiloh to perform, she and her team are seeking to create their own and tap into virtual opportunities that are out there.

Shiiloh wants to introduce herself and her music not only to a wider TT audience but the region.

"I think sometimes as Caribbean people we are kind of locked into where we are from, without realising we are a region and we are not just Trinidad, St Vincent or Barbados. We are a region."

She added that there are "great songs" coming from her for the rest of the year and there is also an EP she is working on.

She and her team are looking at producing a solid body of work this year and doing songs that are going to get people "grooving and singing along."

She said her team has taken the time to curate songs that would appeal to the global market.

"I think the time is right. We have not had a Caribbean star shine as bright as Rihanna in decades. It is only natural that people are looking to the region to see what's next and we have taken the time, Stadic and our entire team, to really create a product and a brand that can connect with people.

"I am definitely ready with putting in the work and I am bringing it to the fore now," she said.

It was Shiiloh's versatility that caught Stadic's ear and her ability to know the audience she wants to appeal to.

He said it was more than her beautiful voice and having the "look."

"It is the fact that when we sit down and we work, it is magic. I leave that room feeling completely fulfilled, completely inspired," he said.

Shiiloh is so versatile she does not have to be defined and does not fit into one specific box, he said.

He described her music as pop records with Caribbean undertones but with it being designed in such a way it can be accepted by anyone.

"We are going for music that is referred to as world music that everybody can fall in love with," he said.

Bringing Shiiloh as a new artiste to the market at this time is ideal for Stadic. He said now, more than any other time, everyone's ear is tuned to look for what is next. He said the reality is that if there had been a regular Carnival period, people might not have been as tuned in to what's next.

"I feel like there is a level playing field now," he said. "Anybody can make it right now. It is not like you have these artistes and these artistes are the big ones and these are the only people we want to hear. They are not out there being seen on stages and moving crowds anymore.

"So for any young artiste, now is actually the perfect time to start releasing music and start building an audience," he said.

Any show where Shiiloh fits, the team will take that opportunity, Stadic said when asked if she'd be at any of the Taste of Carnival shows.

He said the idea is for people to see Shiiloh and experience her.

Although she came from a very religious background and it was an upward fight to get this point, Shiiloh has always loved the stage.

"I was always trying to be heard and be seen. I always gravitated toward those opportunities. Whatever stage I could get on, I went on...," she said.

She is looking forward to coming to a TT stage and giving the audience something to remember.

She said people often do not honour how hard it is to really move a crowd and she'd look at performers like Fay Ann Lyons-Alvarez, Destra, Patrice Roberts and their performances would captivate her.

"They get on stage; they are moving and grooving and the crowd is moving with them. And that is what I want to do on any stage," she said.

New songs will be released from Shiiloh in a short space of time and she has several upcoming collaborations with artistes like Konshens.

Her bio added, "Considered a musical chameleon, Shiiloh's style is reflective of her musical inspiration and reminiscent of legendary female artistes such as Anita Baker, Whitney Houston, Tanya Stephens and Patra.

"Her signature sound is one that screams 'comfortable familiarity' – modern pop, heavily laced with dancehall, reggae and soca influences."