Tano sets sights on global hit

Carnival 2023 was the first time local producer Michael "Tano" Montano heard one of his soca tracks blasting from a big truck on the road. It's a feeling he thinks will never get old.

Now thriving in the profession and working with major names locally, regionally and internationally, he is happy he did not give up on his dream.

Montano was born and raised in San Fernando and still lives there.

He always loved music. At his home studio, he has some of the musicians who inspired him such as Black Stalin, Lord Kitchener, The Mighty Sparrow, Quincy Jones and Michael Jackson, on display.

"I used to listen everything, from 50 Cent to Backstreet Boys to Boyz II Men...My taste in music was all over the place," he told Sunday Newsday.

He and hip-hop artiste and producer Kanye West both share the experience of dropping out of university to follow a music career and moving on to producing music for major artistes.

But at first, he was unsure what aspect of the music industry he wanted to get into. He often asked himself, "Artiste? Songwriter?"

In the third year of his four-year marketing management programme, he dropped out of the University of Guelph in Canada.

He recalled this decision being met with some scepticism by those close to him, but he understood that.

"It's not your typical career.

"In Trinidad and Tobago, if you tell someone, 'Hey, I'm dropping out of school to do music,' you're not going to get a pat on the back. It's more like, 'You sure?'"

But he persisted.

Under the artiste name Michael Allan, he wrote and released a few soca tracks between 2013 and 2015. These include songs like On the Road featuring Kes the Band, Feeling Nice, Carnival Baby and Wine Like You.

But after some time exploring and learning in the industry, he realised music production was the route he wanted to go down, as it fascinated him.

"I saw them doing all these cool things in the studio and I was like, 'I want to learn this.'" So he did.

Before this, he said, he thought being an artiste was the only way to truly get into and thrive in the music industry.

But still being what he described as "very green," he was still uncertain whether he had made the right call after switching to production.

It took some "pips" from a fellow Montano, soca star Machel Montano, which helped instil some more confidence in him.

"I sent a demo to him, and I didn't even think he would respond, but he called (me). Obviously that song never came out, but the fact that he called and said, 'Aye, I like this,' made me feel like, 'Aye, maybe I have a future in this.'

"(Just before that) I was kind of on the verge of saying, 'Okay, maybe music is not for me.'"

So he persisted.

He now boasts of having worked with and produced for artistes including Montano, Jamaica's Shenseea and Nigerian afrobeats star Rema, and regularly works with Jamaican producer Rvssian. He has also worked with Latin artistes including Myke Towers and Blessd.

His music has also been featured in the 2021 FIFA videogame soundtrack.

But recently, he said, he began to focus more on "exploring" the production side of soca.

"I really wanted to build my name in TT, because home is very important to me," he said.

He produced songs including Shake the Place by Machel and Destra Garcia, Jub Jub by Kes the Band, and Mas by Freetown Collective and Mical Teja.

For 2024 Carnival, his offerings so far include DNA and Runaway by Teja, Tack Back and Banga by Kes the Band, Junction by Coutain and Soca Party by Jimmy October.

"I think soca, every genre, is so unique. There's so many similarities between soca, calypso, afrobeats, dancehall, but they all have their own unique grooves and ways of saying things.

"With soca, I feel like I'm constantly learning, and I have a lot to learn still."

Shake the Place was the first power soca he ever produced. He said he learnt a lot from Machel, who also produces, while working on that track, which included a 19-hour-long studio session.

"It was a very eye-opening experience.

"I had an understanding of what it (power soca) was, but through that session, it showed me a lot more – the grooves of the drum, the way the bass goes with the drum...There's so much to it!"

He created the shell for this beat at his home studio, and had no idea it would become something this major.

"That's the cool part about doing music. You literally just start an idea here (in studio), then three months later, you in a music video next to Machel, or you just make a beat on your laptop and then see a video of people singing the song word for word..."

He also helped write it, along with Teja, Machel, Destra, Travis "Travis World" Hosein and Kernal Roberts. Teja, Hosein and Machel are also credited as producers.

"I feel like art from me just comes from a very genuine place. I'm not thinking about how much money I make, it's what I want to do, it's my happiness in all of this.

"Making people love a song is the best feeling, I think, out of all of this."

He said he loves hearing music from other creative minds because "you kind of get to be a fan of (just) music again.

"With this job, sometimes you forget what it's like to just say, 'Oh, I love this song,' without focusing too much on all the elements."

But even with these successes, he remains hungry for more. In fact, his next goal is to try getting a "global hit."

"You could have an ability and be talented, but if you don't put the work in, you're not going to get the rewards of it. It's easy to get comfortable, and I don't want to just remain comfortable."