A glimpse of Deltones’ Panyard Universe

Ray Funk

PANYARD UNIVERSE, a new documentary film on Siparia Deltones, is the latest in Mark Loquan’s series of films, A Better Tomorrow, which showcases the myriad directions pan is taking in the country.

Previous instalments include a series on Uni Stars and NSSO director Kareem Brown (2021), the ten-part series Women in Pan (2022) and Duvone Stewart: the Man Behind the Music (2023).

The film was directed and produced by Maria Nunes, best known for her Carnival photography.

Collaborating on making this film was Vanessa Headley-Brewster, who recently led Golden Hands to victory at the Pan is More Beautiful Ensemble competition. She collaborated with Nunes to do the interviews for the film.

Their subject, Deltones is a remarkable steelband, one whose leaders believe in their version of the Star Trek motto, “to boldly go where no pan has gone before.”

For them, panyards must be a means of crime reduction and poverty eradication through unique programmes. Children and education are the main focus on events in the panyard, where no alcohol, smoking or gambling are permitted.

As manager Akinola Sennon notes in the film, their model is one “that diversifies that which is pan,” to seek “self-excellence,” with the panyard itself as a place that focuses on young people and constantly goes in new directions.

Akinola’s brother Alpha, the communications director and a passionate player in the band, calls their panyard “the home of innovation” with things like its Railway Pizza in the yard. Indeed, the pizzas are cooked in old oil drums, and Deltones got a grant from the Digicel Foundation and Shell Trinidad and Tobago to develop a solar-energy-powered hydroponic greenhouse to grow high-quality, pesticide-free pizza ingredients.

Meanwhile, Alpha heads another organization, Whyfarm, developing various approaches to getting youth involved in agriculture. Most striking is the creation of the superhero of farming Agriman – in his own comic books, Agriman Agventures.

The band’s captain and driller George Caesar told TTT’s Dike Rostant, “Our role is to find, nuture and display.” Their pallet-furniture initiative developed from thinking if steelpan came from discarded oil drums, what else can be done with discarded items? Hence the pallet-furniture business.

But none of this is to suggest that music is not central to this legendary band from south.

Deltones is not a new steelband. Jeannine Remy got the early history of the band from interviews with founding member Terrance Wallace.

It was founded in the early 1960s, when locals talked pan pioneer and builder Ellis “Lively” Knight (1928-2007) from Laventille to come down and help them realise their dream of starting a steelband. He would direct the band for decades and is memorialised with a statue in Siparia. They have been active ever since, appearing in both Panorama and the Steelband Festival, as well as touring to Guyana, St Vincent, Antigua, Canada and England.

For the first few years the band was called Angel Harps, but changed its name to Deltones after band members saw a movie featuring the great California surf musician Dick Dale and his band the Del-Tones.

Over the years, Deltones have had some of the great arrangers work with them. Boogsie Sharpe arranged for several years, as did Clive Bradley, and then the arranger best known for working with Deltones, Carlton “Zanda” Alexander. Akinola Sennon has led the band as its manager, composer, director since 2012.

In 2016, Deltones Institute of Steel Drums and Music released its pan jazz album, Cousoumeh, with a Boston-based jazz group and then toured with Deltones doing cuts from the album. Meanwhile, a groundbreaking collaboration was in the works. From 2012- 2016, South Africa’s Hugh Masekela, one of the greatest jazz musicians of all time, came to collaborate with Deltones, after hearing them at the San Fernando Jazz Festival. He worked with Deltones and Zanda to produce an album with classic calypsos and new tunes by Alexander and Akinola Sessons, Siparia to Soweto.

Sadly, Masekela’s death in 2018 delayed the release of the album until last year, when Machel Montano sang on the first single, The Meeting Place, which was also the Panorama selection for Deltones that year, with Montano as the flagman for the band, and the album finally came out to strong reviews.

Jazziz magazine raved, “Siparia to Soweto is an album that represents a coming together, an amalgamation of people, experiences and culture…a collection of Caribbean classics with African inspirations.”

Deltones is always looking for partners, sustainability, new music and new directions, and Pan Universe shows how the band and their singular panyard are steadily working towards a “Better Tomorrrow.”

The free screening of Panyard Universe at Deltones’ panyard on Railway Road in Siparia takes place this evening [AUGUST 25] at 7pm and is preceded by activities which start at 4pm, including a live performance by Siparia Deltones.

It will be screened at MovieTowne in Port of Spain and San Fernando from August 29-September 4.