Spirit Mas ready for Carnival 2024

MUCH like it did to soca stars Machel Montano and Erphaan Alves, the enticing spirit of Carnival called out to local businessman Adrian Scoon. It urged him to create a new experience for masqueraders which fuses modern and authentic mas and is complemented by high energy and artistic excellence. Not just answering but heeding to this call is what led to the creation of Trinidad and Tobago’s newest Carnival band, Spirit Mas, which is ready for the road for Carnival 2024.

The band officially launched its 2024 catalogue – Kingdom of Spirit – on July 31 at Drew Manor, Santa Cruz.

It features seven sections – Akasha, Balos, La Luz, Naiad, Nova, Solana, and Sylph – done by designers Rhion Romany, Douglas John, Sandra Hordatt, Alejandro Gomez and Levi Marcus.

In promotional videos on its social media pages, it urged masqueraders to “enter (their) spirit era.”

The medium-sized band is set to accommodate 2,000-2,500 masqueraders.

It said a new movement birthed “in the heart of the mecca” is here which focuses on inclusivity and creativity.

Scoon, an event organiser and the owner of the Ocean Pelican, told Newsday the idea of creating a mas band had been on his mind for some time as he wanted to see a shift in the current format followed by most bands.

“While some of the masqueraders enjoy it, I feel like the time has come for us to evolve and show our talent in terms of our innovation and our creativity as people,” he said.

Referring to Brazil’s Carnival celebrations and its use of floats, etc, he said, “While we have some great designs, I feel like there’s so many other artists and creatives that are omitted from Carnival.

“We have very talented people here as well (and) I wanted to build a bridge between the art community and the Carnival community to make something new.”

The name Spirit Mas came to be, he said, as he wanted to “bring back the spirit of Carnival and the spirit of mas.”

One of the features this band boasts of is having a procession of traditional Carnival characters on Carnival Monday.

Scoon said, “I believe that the foreigner does not get a chance to really enjoy the traditional characters and understand it and its origin.”

Another feature is Monday brunch, set to run from 10 am-1 pm.

Social media posts from the band said this will be an opportunity for masqueraders to get acquainted with each other and “fuel up for a day full of vibes.

“When we say the road will never be the same again, this is what we mean.”

Scoon assured that fresh food will be prepared on-site, adding that there will be some “really cool, creative chefs.”

The Spirit Mas experience ends on Carnival Tuesday evening with what the band is calling a climax – a grand finale including top soca artistes, food and drinks.

“I believe Carnival should end on a high,” Scoon said. “The ‘las lap’ concept sometimes feels like a cool down...with Spirit, it’s going to be more of a crescendo or climax – a stage, fireworks, a whole production.”

He recalled contacting soca artistes on Ash Wednesday to “tell them they have to be there (with us) for Carnival Tuesday 2024.

“They thought I was crazy,” he recalled, laughing.

He said he did not feel any pressure beginning this new venture as his philosophy is: Work with the best people.

He said he felt “really happy and proud” at how well the launch was received and reiterated the importance of the designers behind each costume.

“Often times at a launch, the designers are kind of ignored (and) their art is so important to the band. So we built a show around their personalities,” he said.

The section Balos is an all-male section, which Scoon said came to be from discussions with Marcus.

“As much as I enjoy the feathers and the art, some guys just want to wear a pants or a hat and don’t necessarily want to pay for all the extra flair. And there’s a market for that and I think that market has been ignored,” he said.

Romany, who designed the sections Akasha and Spirit of Air, agreed with Scoon’s sentiments. He told Newsday he loved the idea of fusing new and old mas, as well as introducing even more artistic expression, so he was happy to be on board.

He previously worked as a designer with Tribe for eight years.

The experience of working with a new band, he said, has been “great and even better than I could have imagined.

“Designing is more than just my career, it’s my passion. So I’m always trying to make the right choices where I see new creative opportunities that could also develop my professional skills or just personal development on a whole.”

He said the idea behind Sylph – Spirit of Air – was to portray a bird and he opted for a hummingbird.

“It keeps everything within the colour palette and it’s just extremely pretty.

“If you think of anything Caribbean, you could also just think of the hummingbird,” he explained.

He said the hummingbird was “made out of love.

“The aesthetic is very modern, timeless, sophisticated, but carnival is woman and colour.”

As for Akasha – Spirit of Aether – which, admittedly, stressed him out, he wanted something “fiery” as opposed to “celestial and fairy.

“I wanted it to be fiery with coral, gold, red, orange and I threw it off with a little emerald green.”

He said he wants women of all shapes and sizes to “feel sexy and very liberated in their own body.”

He sees Spirit Mas as a “modern, luxurious band who is in (tune) with the traditional elements of Carnival.

“(Scoon) is literally collaborating with so many creative designers and you’ll see that on the road.

“You’re not just going to be next to a normal truck. So if you are in the hummingbird section, everything around you will make you feel like a hummingbird.

He applauded Scoon’s vision and added that he knew it was achievable.

“So far, it has been really good and I think I’m even more excited for everyone to see what we have planned for the road.”

Scoon said playing mas with his band is going to be a very different experience and “a story with several moving chapters.

“We are a band that focuses on customer experience and service.

“The quality of the costumes are going to be great and I believe our intentions to innovate Carnival are real and pure.”

So, again, much like the soca stars, Scoon answered the Carnival spirit’s call, responded with his hands up, and showed it discipline.

From next week, the band’s website (spiritmas.com) will be up and running, where further information can be found.

The mas band will be at 6 Nook Avenue, St Ann’s.