FROM the San Fernando studio of local hit-making producer Michael “Tano” Montano comes a team of soca stars with one mission: Fill the airwaves with irresistible melodies.
Packed with live instruments and featuring songs by Coutain, Kes and GBM Nutron, the Heroes Riddim already has the population grooving.
The credits include musicians Daniel Ryan (saxophone arrangement), Aaron Blenman (trombone), Charles Randy Williams (trumpet), Joshua Richardson (bass), Rhys Thompson and Modupe Onilu (live percussion) and Kyle Peters (guitar).
It was mixed and mastered by Kasey Phillips of Precision Productions.
New-age vintage sound
Montano told Newsday after watching a documentary about legendary calypso producer Rawlston “Charlie” Charles last year, he was inspired to create more music that “combined the old with the new.”
Charles owned Charlie's Calypso City record store in Brooklyn, US, and was the founder of the label Charlie's Records.
He worked with several local artistes including Ras Shorty I, creator of soca, Lord Nelson, Lord Kitchener, Calypso Rose, The Mighty Sparrow, Superblue and Explainer.
“A lot of those songs from that era were experimenting with disco and calypso, and I love the feel of it,” Montano explained.
“So my intention was just to bring a sound that's familiar but still sounds fresh.”
He recalled that in the documentary, Charles spoke about investing in a bunch of new equipment to improve the quality of mixes and masters in the genre.
“And that really inspired me and reminded me that we, as creatives, have the responsibility to always want to take our music to the next level.”
He started working on the beat that eventually became the Heroes Riddim that same day.
It begins with a superhero-esque brass arrangement that delves into a groovy beat complemented by strings and percussion. There are also synth toms and amapiano log drums.
Coincidentally, prior to even watching that documentary, he had thought about working on something “that sounded like superhero music.
“I think being a creative, you never know when an idea is going to hit.
“I was walking in the Savannah one day listening the intro to Disco Daddy (by Lord Nelson) and thought that it literally felt like a TV show was about to start. I started (narrating) like, ‘Deep in the heart of San Fernando, a team of heroes…’ because it felt like it could work on that beat. It just felt superheroish,” he said while laughing.
[caption id="attachment_1133602" align="alignnone" width="768"] Michael "Tano" Montano[/caption]
The promotional images and cover art complement his concept for the riddim as well. Designed by Jeurel Saunders, they show Montano and the featured artistes on the cover of the 11th edition of the comic series Heroes Riddim. From the layout, fonts and even tidbits like the pricetag of $39.99, it’s as “superheroish” as it gets. The teaser videos leading up to the release also mimicked the introductions to classic comic-related TV shows and films.
Groovy soca jam
The first voice listeners hear on
