WHILE the main producers of the 2024 soca Carnival Contract Riddim were international duo Banx and Ranx, two Trinidad and Tobago producers also added their signatures to the mix.
Undoubtedly, the most popular track on the riddim is Ian "Bunji Garlin" Alvarez's Carnival Contract, which speaks of having to fulfil the mandate of participating in Carnival annually because of the deal. Many have said it is the tune they want to win the 2024 Road March competition.
The other tracks on the riddim are Fully Bad by Skinny Fabulous, Road Friends by Nessa Preppy and Skinny Fabulous and Magnificent by Sackie.
[caption id="attachment_1062549" align="alignnone" width="671"] Nessa Preppy - Angelo Marcelle[/caption]
The instrument-packed beat is just under four minutes long, with a gradual ride/build-up that leads to a fun, upbeat chorus.
Banx and Ranx (Zacharie "Soké" Raymond and Yannick "KNY Factory" Rastogi) have produced for artistes such as Sean Paul, Dua Lipa, Nicky Jam, among others.
Raymond is from Canada and Rastogi from Guadeloupe.
In 2022, they posted on Instagram that they wanted to explore the genre of soca.
Luckily, Dana Shayegan – CEO of Monk Music – saw it and began to get some TT producers involved.
The first was Bjorn "The KVG" Graham, who has produced tracks such as Savannah, One Wish, and Stage Gone Bad by Neil "Iwer" George and Kes and Socavivor by Rikki Jai.
[caption id="attachment_1062513" align="alignnone" width="735"] Bjorn "The KVG" Graham, -[/caption]
Admittedly, Graham said, while Banx and Ranx "didn't totally understand the soca formula," they did really well with their interpretations of certain aspects of it.
He said an idea "sparked immediately" as he realised the track had a lot of potential.
"I wanted to put my spice and signature on it. I stretch across different genres, obviously, but this project needed a particular approach. I decided I wanted to collaborate with someone else I also thought fit into that style."
He said he probably "drove all over the country" to sit with musicians, sound engineers and producers to see how his ideas could become reality.
Guitars were done by local guitarist Daniel Roberts and additional production by Vernice "Trini Baby" Herreira.
[caption id="attachment_1062512" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Music producer, singer and writer, "Trini Baby" Herriera. -[/caption]
Graham recalled that after Roberts added his elements, he told the musician, "Bro, send me your bank account information
now!
"He breathed some life into it."
Graham said the track was originally meant for Machel Montano and Lyrikal. It was the crafting of that track, he said, that acted as a blueprint to help the riddim become what it is now.
Shayegan, who is from the US, helped "bring everything together," Graham said, and is also listed as one of the producers.
While Banx and Rand brought "a whole different vibe and international feel," it was still up to the locals to add some TT flavour.
Herreira told Newsday they all worked on the riddim for at least
