3canal switches up to 'mother music' – kaiso

For the first time in 30 years, the band 3canal will not be bringing out its J’Ouvert band and, as the mas was such a big part of the band’s identity, its three members have decided to switch things up and try something new: kaiso – TT’s "mother music".

While Wendell Manwarren, Roger Roberts and Stanton Kewley are no strangers to kaiso, and have dipped their toes into the genre several times over the years, rapso has been their mainstay for 28 years.

Speaking to Sunday Newsday at the band’s headquarters, Big Black Box on Murray Street, Woodbrook, Manwarren explained all the music Trinidadians make – calypso, rapso, soca, rapso, parang, chutney, trinibad and zess – evolved from kaiso.

“Sometimes we get very caught up in genre and arguing about what type of music a song is, but if you listen to the history of calypso, and fortunately we can because it’s one of the first recorded music in the world, you can actually hear how it changed yet stayed the same. So that’s one of the ideas we’re exploring.”

He said in Never Ever Worry with the late Lord Pretender, the late Lutalo “Brother Resistance” Masimba declared, “From rapso to kaiso, mix the thing!” They changed the line, saying it was just a question of how the music swings or is mixed.

Roberts added that 3canal performed at the Calypso Spektakula tent for three years, from 1999-2001, and it was a great place to learn how to perform for a calypso audience, to perform with a full band and the importance of style.

Manwarren said performing with D'All Starz, formally known as Roy Cape All Stars, at the Black Stalin legacy concert on October 4, 2024 at the Southern Academy for the Performing Arts, gave them “that feeling” and reinforced the idea of swinging to kaiso.

“We came through the rapso stream but ain’t so far removed to just swing it and find where the kaiso is.”

And so this year, there will be The 3canal Kaiso Show, with the deliberate inclusion of the word “kaiso.”

Not just a concert

In addition to the swing to kaiso, The 3canal Kaiso Show will have several new elements.

Usually, a music production centre, a combination drum machine and sampler, is used in the shows, but not this time. The machine will be removed from play, and the band will be backed by the brand new cut + clear KAISO crew.

Cut + clear’s new drummer Nick Thomas and percussionist Tamba Gwindi will create the rhythm for the band. Instead of one, there will be two guitarists, Dean Williams and Kiwan Landreth-Smith, and there will be an all-new brass section, including Barry Homer on trumpet, Kensa Paul on trombone and Tony Paul on saxophone to give that true kaiso feel. And there will be Simon Mendoza on keyboard and Joanna Husein on bass.

The band also increased the number of backup singers, The Pooyahs (meaning cutlasses or three-canals), from three to six. Kimmy Stoute-Robinson will be the MC, and actors Marvin Dowridge, Arnold Goindhan and Cecilia Salazar will bring the drama, humour and commentary.

To add another element of movement and theatricality, there will be a special appearance by choreographers and dancers, twins Ian and Deon Baptiste as well as a few opening acts which performed and were well-received at the 3canal Big Black Box shows.

Manwarren said one of the acts, Elizabeth "Juss Lizz" Waldron and producer/guitarist Mark Anthony “Emaye” Pierre, is an example of what the future of TT music could be.

“Her commitment to folk music and his rock, that juxtaposition, for me, that’s kaiso in 2025. They are youth and they are going to take us beyond. They’re connecting to the root and they are also innovating.

“That is what we wish to project – that we don’t have to be stuck in a mould.”

Roberts said as all three members come from a theatre background, the shows involve weeks of rehearsals, direction, sound engineering and the members taking care of their bodies and voices. So when people see their shows, the difference from Carnival fetes is marked.

“It’s not just a set of songs one after the other. There’s a lot more attention to detail, production values, a storyline. There’s a story involved, a journey from the time the show starts so that, by the time you leave, you feel as though you were transported somewhere.”

Manwarren agreed, saying fetes have no rehearsals, are less intimate, the audience is usually inebriated and performers have to keep up a constant level of high energy. He said he and his band members had the opportunity to experience both, but they quickly realised fetes were not their scene.

“When we decided to do our show we realised it was more our zone and we could really flex in this zone. And over the years we committed to that, and people saw us less and less in fetes, because that’s not where we think we could have the most impact.”

They also agreed it was good to have different elements in Carnival as variety makes it a better festival.

Band answers the call

Contributing to this year’s festival, 3canal has four new songs.

Answer The Call is the band members’ “kaiso kaiso” song to start them on their new journey.

Sedition, written by 3canal, uses the melody and lyrical structure of the chorus of Norman “King Radio” Span’s 1937 classic Warning to Rich and Poor, also known as Sedition Law.

It was inspired by an article written by Independent Senator Sunity Maharaj titled A Law In Search of a Crime, which was in response to the arrest of Canadian social media influencer Chris Must List on sedition charges in 2024.

The line “Ah saying it in big,” is a nod to the late Debe resident Joyce Pooran, better known as Princess Margaret. She became well known in 2012 for her statements mentioning then Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar, when she opposed the construction of the Solomon Hochoy Highway Extension to Point Fortin because it meant the demolition of her Oropouche Lagoon home.

Roberts said, “I want to make sure and point out we are not ridiculing her. We are actually bigging her up for her courage to come out and say what others were afraid to. Not many people would have the courage to speak to power like she did. We could all learn from her example.”

Manwarren said freedom of speech is a fundamental right, to which there are attached limits and responsibilities, but sedition is a law created to keep people muzzled, limiting the right to question or challenge authority.

He said it was the job of early calypsonians to keep the average person informed and help them understand what was happening around them. Similarly, making it part of the kaiso tradition, 3canal is not going to entertain in an escapist way, but produce cutting lyrics with melodies that make them palatable.

Fightin, said Roberts, has the slowest tempo of the four songs, and is a mix of kaiso and hip hop. But when one listens to the lyrics, one does not feel the tempo.

He said everyone was fighting – schoolchildren at school or in the road, gangs against each other or wars around the world. The question is, what are they fighting for? Because some wars have been going on so long, those involved probably do not remember how it started.

But, he explained it is also about fighting, as a people, for what they want.

Manwarren added that it was also about everyone’s personal fight to get up, go out into the world, “ban yuh belly” and deal with life. He described it as a reflective song that has a life beyond Carnival.

The
fourth song, Where We Going, was composed by Simon Mendoza and written by 3canal.

Roberts recalled Mendoza sending them a piece of music with a note that said it was about the state of the world. He said it was a “soft song,” a contemplative piece that makes people question what’s next.

“If you actually listen to the raw music, you could feel the sense of questioning and turmoil, this sense of longing for answers. It’s all built into the music.”

Manwarren said they used the country’s motto, "Together we aspire, together we achieve," in the song.

He asked, “Does it mean anything any more? Can we make it mean something again? Are we, as a people, so cynical that we can’t see the possibilities of that?”

He said it is also a question for the band members. He said it resonated with them on a personal level, as not producing a J’Ouvert band after 30 years is a difficult change. So the question for them is, what should they do with themselves now?

He said not having J’Ouvert to organise feels nerve-racking but exciting, and he does not know what he will do on J’Ouvert morning. He said they see it as a chance to press pause, feel the strange feelings they are feeling, and figure out where they are going.

He said it was getting too much to manage two large events in the middle of the Carnival season, and the change is forcing the crew and those who played mas with them to imagine new things.

“I don’t think many people appreciate how much work goes into doing the show so they can get a nice, slick, well-oiled production.”

Roberts said, almost every day, people complain about there not being a J’Ouvert band, question whether they are certain and expressed disappointment at their decision.

However he said there is a sense of ease and relief, as there is less to be done for the season so they have more time for themselves.

“It feels good. I don’t know what’s going to happen. Whatever comes will come for a reason, so there’s no need to panic. Somehow this year, it (the Carnival season) feels a lot more sane.”

He said the members can now focus on making the music and music videos, distributing and marketing them and overseeing merchandise.

Manwarren said, “Four songs in and the journey continues. We’re embarking from our comfort zone into the big unknown.

"We started on a journey with Blue. It’s been up and down and around, but we’ve been going and we give thanks for that. And with the grace of God, we’ll keep going.”

The 3Canal Kaiso Show runs from February 22-25 at Queen’s Hall, St Ann’s, starting at 7.30 pm. Tickets are available via Island e-tickets and Queen’s Hall box office.