Marley switches from soca parang to soca

LOCAL VOCALIST Marley Palmer is making the transition from soca parang to soca. For the 2019 Christmas season, Palmer released a track called Christmas Vibes, a collaboration he did with the legendary Edwin "Crazy" Ayoung.

And, for the 2020 Carnival, he has released a tune called One Up. Palmer is no stranger to the local music industry, having carved a niche in the reggae genre. Now he is showing his versatility to TT.

"I don’t find that artistes should be limited, so to speak,” Palmer told Sunday Newsday.

“As a musician, I always have songs for all seasons. I have a soca (track). The producer is Black Star (Arnold Noel). The name of the song is One Up. The public can look out for that, with a video as well.

“When Carnival (is) done, reggae songs are coming. I’m even thinking of doing a chutney too, but (I’ll) play that one by ear,” he said.

About his 2019 parang song Christmas Vibes, Palmer said, “It (was) on the La Trinity rhythm, done by LA Studios, that’s (owned by) Lyndon Andrews.”

Other artistes on that rhythm were the extempo king Brian London (Gift Exchange), Taurean Estrada (It’s a Celebration) and Kevin Bertrand (We Come).

This was Palmer’s third soca parang release.

“The first parang soca I did was with Master Mike (called) We Paranging Already,” he said.

“With LA Records, this is the second parang soca, but the third parang soca for me. (In 2018), I did Trini Christmas Sweet.”

So how was the feedback for Christmas Vibes?

“I (got) a real nice response from the public. People loved the music, the video, the vibes. People (saw) the video and when they meet me in public, (they say) ‘Marley keep doing your thing, keep doing the music.’”

Asked about the songs that he has in the works, Palmer said, “The reggae song done record already. I’m embarking on this vibe now (that) every time I’m releasing a song, I’m releasing a video as well. We’re in the age of technology where the people want to see. It’s Instagram and Facebook.

“Long time was vinyl and records, in parties, people (would hear) the songs and it’s a nice vibe. I find artistes should do a video, to put a face to the voice. The parang video was done by Myron B.”

He also touched on Crazy’s role.

“Crazy’s involvement was since I did the first parang with LA Records, Trini Christmas Sweet. Crazy (and Dr Winsford Devine) wrote that song as well. I will say big respect to Uncle Crazy, he’s a real legend.”

He hailed the support given by his fellow Matura residents, as well as his parents Johnny "Sax" Homeward and Salome Palmer.

For further info visit Facebook at Marley Palmer or on Instagram at @palmermarley