Soca (genre)

Soca is a style of music that originated in Trinidad and Tobago in the early 1970s from calypso and influences from soul , funk (music) and Indian instruments ( dholak , tabla , dhantal ).

Musical characteristics

Compared to Calypso, Soca is characterized by a higher tempo and greater emphasis on percussive elements.

history

As the origin of the word “Soca”, the formulation “ So ul of Ca lypso” or (more rarely) the last and first syllable of “ Ca lyp so ” is often given today ; in fact, the original spelling was "Sokah" (a reference to Hindi music) before the current spelling was established in the mid-1970s. The first Soca piece is considered to be “Indrani” (1973) by Lord Shorty (later Ras Shorty I).

distribution

Like Calypso, Soca is closely tied to the Caribbean carnival culture. New music is mainly released seasonally, close to the respective national carnival (for example February in Trinidad & Tobago or July / August for the Cropover Festival in Barbados). Well-known Caribbean soca artists are for example: Alison Hinds , Fay-Ann Lyons , Kerwin Du Bois , Machel Montano , Bunji Garlin , Destra Garcia , Rupee , Kevin Lyttle , Maximus Dan , Peter Ram , Kes , Jamesy P , Skinny Fabulous and Shurwayne Winchester .

Pure Soca DJs and Soca sound systems are still a rarity in German-speaking countries. Barney Millah is considered to be the first DJ to incorporate the first Soca sets into his otherwise reggae-oriented program at the end of the 1990s. Internationally, the Soca Twins in particular achieved great recognition. In 2011 they won the International Soca Award in the “International Soca DJ of the Year” category, for which they were nominated from 2006 to 2010. In 2008 they won the award in the "Best Soca DJ Mix" category.

Styles

Chutney Soca (Fusion of Soca and Chutney )
Rapso (fusion of calypso or soca with rhythmic chanting)
Ragga soca (fusion of soca and Jamaican reggae / dancehall)
Parang Soca (fusion of Soca and Parang )

Web links

Entry in dhmWiki ( Memento from October 14, 2011 in the Internet Archive )
Soca News - UK Soca magazine

Individual evidence

↑ Michael Anthony: Historical Dictionary of Trinidad and Tobago . Scarecrow Press, London 1997, ISBN 0-8108-3173-2 , pp. 532 .
^ Winners of the International Soca Awards 2011 . Trinidad and Tobago Government News. Retrieved December 19, 2011.

[1] Michael Anthony: Historical Dictionary of Trinidad and Tobago . Scarecrow Press, London 1997, ISBN 0-8108-3173-2 , pp. 532 .

[2] Winners of the International Soca Awards 2011 . Trinidad and Tobago Government News. Retrieved December 19, 2011.