An overview of the history and music of Calypso and Soca. More info can be found at www.stefanwalcott.com or on my YouTube channel, Stefan Walcott.

1. CALYPSO AND SOCA
WWW.STEFANWALCOTT.COM
Modern and Popular

2. The Soundtrack
 During the nineteenth century, songs in Trinidad
called cariso or caliso are said to have been
performed to the accompaniment of the goatskin
drum, shac-shacs and scraper.
 Black Creoles had also adopted woodwind and
string instruments influenced by Venezuelan
string bands.
 They were also Carnival songs called ‘calendas’
or lavways sung in French Creole by negre
jardin stickmen and their followers.

3. Calypso in the 1950’s
 By the 1950’s
Calypso had evolved
into a standardised
instrumental form.
 The sound consisted
of brass and rhythm
section.
 Set of standardised
lyrical material had
also emerged.

4. Lyrical Themes of Calypsos
 Social Commentary.
 ‘Fun’
 Battle
 Dance

5. Social Commentary
 Social commentary - Lyrics usually focus on
recent socio-economic issues, regional or local
political events, important international
historical events/personalities, regional
personalities, cricket.
 Perspective is from Afro worldview.

6. Fun Calypso
 Calypso used to derive humour.
 Uses double entendre where one word has
more than one meaning. This is manipulated
through dialect devices.
 Frequently sexual (hetero) in nature.

7. Battle Calypso
 B.C – Used for self-aggrandizement and to
challenge and demean other artists.
 Other calypsos can have B.C components
especially in a live setting as part of an
improvised or ‘picong’ verse.
 Picong songs are entirely devoted to battling.
Sung in competition.

8. Present Function
 Calypso is mostly now
a seasonal music
usually created for the
sake of competitions
that occur at
festivals/carnivals.
 It is mostly performed
in standard form.

9. Artists
 TnT - The Mighty
Sparrow, Lord
Kitchener, Roaring
Lion, Executor,
Chalkdust, Lord
Invader, Houdini,
Duke, Calypso Rose.
 Barbados – Red
Plastic Bag, Gabby,
Bumba, Serenader,
Kid Site.
 St. Vincent – Beckett.
 Antigua – Short Shirt

10. Soca
 In the 1970s under the influence of soul music,
Calypso underwent a change.
 The electric bass and the way it functioned
within soul ensembles were introduced to
Calypso.
 Resultant musical change led to creation of
Soca.
 Early innovator Garfield Blackman whose first
influence was Indian music.
 Soca is pre-dominantly a dance music.

11. Soca instrumentation
 No standard line up with exception of rhythm
section
 Keys, Bass, Drums with frequent presence of
drum machine instead of live percussionist.

12. Soca Construction
 Soca choruses are repetitive and verses are
short.
 It is comparatively quicker than Calypso.

13. Lyrical themes
 Frequently features dance lyrics or movement
words e.g. Jump, Wine, Wave.
 ‘Fun calypso’ double-entendre also found.

14. Soca- The Sound
 Since the 1970s, Soca has been a popular
form that quickly to embraces technological
changes.
 Later Soca incorporates the drum machine
and is heavily synthesised.
 Through the years it has always been
influenced by American popular music.

15. Modern Soca
 Modern Soca uses marketing devices of Pop
music.
 Artists are constantly focused on increased
international appeal especially in North
American non-immigrant market.

16. Artists
 TnT – Super Blue, Tambu,
Machel Montano, Destra,
Shurwayne Winchester, Kes
the Band, Kerwin Dubois, Bunji
Garlin, Fay Ann Lyons
 Barbados – Alison Hinds
Rupee, Edwin Yearwood and
Krosfyah
 Grenada – Tall Pree, Mr. Killa
 St. Vincent – Skinny Fabulous
 Antigua – Burning Flames

17. www.stefanwalcott.com for more see
link
 www.stefanwalcott.co
m
 http://wp.me/p3MXG
X-3
 For music examples,
look out in July 2014
for Caribbean
Composers
Handbook in
Amazon.com under
Stefan Walcott.