Search | Roy Pascal - A Musician from Trinidad and Tobago living in Århus, Denmark |
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Calypso, Reggae, Shango, Steel Pan and Soul - by our Staff Reporter Nasibu Mwanukuzi in Århus, Denmark. Roy Pascal was born in Boissiere Village, three kilometers away from Trinidad and Tobago's capital city, Port of Spain, and moved to Århus in Denmark in 1989 after meeting his Danish wife in Grenada.Since then, Roy has been changing the musical terrain in Denmark where he has continued to perform and produce music. Kongoi Productions' reporter met Roy in Århus recently while attending the European Seminar on Multicultural Media in Europe. The conference was organised by the Multicultural Media in Scandinavia, NORDSAM. Roy's recent CD is "Believe It". The CD contains music which is a crossover. Calypso is meeting American Soul and Reggae conjoins with Shango with a dash of African fingerpicking guitar. "I have a bassplayer from Ghana and a guitarist from Zambia, so as you can see, the mixture is natural", says Roy. The music, captivating and entertaining, is packaged in quality production. "I had to take my musicians to Trinidad and Tobago for a while to get the feel", Roy told Kongoi Productions. Listening to "Believe it" one can not miss the point! Roy Pascal - Brings Rhythms of the Carribean to Europe by Bryan Fleck - Black Diaspora From the concrete jungles of the United States to the pastoral greens of Africa, the influence of Carribean music can be heard around the world. Reggae, soca and calypso have penetrated nearly every crack and crevice and have had people of all different backgrounds tapping their feet and shaking their bodies to the relentless rhythms. Since moving to Denmark, Pascal has been delivering his own brand of Carribean music to enthusiastic European audiences. It is a brand of music born of his multicultural upbringing in Trinidad. The music that Pascal makes borrows from his native Carribean sound of soca, calypso, steel pan and reggae, while incorporating American soul and African highlife and shango music. Pascal attributes his musical array to an upbringing that was rich in diversity, Afro-Trinidadians, Indo-Trinidadians, whites, Chinese and Syrians of varying economic strata all lived together and went to the same school. That experience cushioned what could have been a growing pain, moving to the predominately white northern European country. "The multicultural system of Trinidad has made me aware of a lot of things in hte outside world," says Pascal. "It hasn't been a shock coming to Europe."It also helps that Pascal now lives in Århus, Denmark's second largest city and its cultural and musical center. Århus boasts a fair amount of diversity itself, with a sizable Asian and African community, according to Pascal. "Denmark is very much involved in music," he says. "They have a lot of respect for the music and the culture. Our soca and calypso is not on the top of the list," he admits, "but you can survive it."Not only survive it, it seems that Pascal's music is very much appreciated, not only in Denmark, but also in neighbouring countries. Pascal and his band has toured Germany, Sweden, France and Iceland promoting his second album, Believe It. He likes to call his music "people's music" because it is made for the people's enjoyment, but also because he shies away from the term world music.The album contains simple music wityh simple messages of hope and understanding. "I like simple music, but music that moves you," says Pascal. "Good lyrics and a good hook line, that's what I go after. "The first track, "Coconut" is about the necessity of water. "Whether you're pink or whether you're blue," sings Pascal, "It's something we are all family to." Another song, "The Message," pays tribute to the late calypso legend Lord Kitchener. Steel band and calypso are indigenous to Pascal's homeland, and Kitchener was one of the music's greates ambassadors. Other songs include "Water is life," written after the birth of his twin daughters and "Too Much Guns," a socially conscious "message to the world super powers and their lobbyists." On the last track, "No Traitors," Pascal sings in Asante, the language of the Akan people of Ghana. Two members of his band are from Africa, including the bass player who is from Ghana. Though Pascal has yet to travel to Africa, it is a journey he is very much looking forward to making.In the meantime, he brought his band to Trinidad "just to give the guys that inside experience." After experiencing the build-up to Trinidad's Carnival, needles to say the band is looking forward to a return visit. "We went for five weeks, so they had a good idea of how people train and how our music is respected, and how we play not just for the money but for the love of it," says Pascal. For more information: Per Hougard In The House Record CompanyAarhus, Denmark Tel: +45 86 16 49 99/ + 45 40 85 92 99 E-mail: NORDSAM NORWAYBooking:Kongoi Productions Related items
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