Published:
Monday, February 20, 2017
Rapso giants 3Canal celebrate 20th anniversary of the hit that put them on the road to success
This year, rapso group 3Canal celebrates the 20th anniversary of the classic song Blue. In 1997, when the song was released, the group presented a J’Ouvert band—one of the largest ever seen in Port-of-Spain. The song’s success was a catapault for a fruitful music career for Wendell Manwarren, Roger Roberts and Stanton Kewley. Fellow founding member, John Isaacs, died in 2000.
Incredible journey
The last 20 years have been an incredible journey. Just the fact that Blue was such a hit, followed by the response to the J’Ouvert band—which of course was overwhelming—and the fact that we were able to make a music career that has taken many twists and turns.
One of the best achievements was being signed to a label for five years, being able to work with some of the top producers in the country and beyond. Then going on to innovate and create the 3Canal show and years later, setting up of the Big Black Box (3Canal’s headquarters on Murray Street, Woodbrook). These were three very clear highlights.
Spirit of collaboration
The spirit of collaboration has always been very strong with us.
From the beginning, working with Graham Wilson on Blue was very much a collaborative effort. We depended on his experience and his guidance to help us craft the sound —we came in with raw vibes.
We moved on to working with Carl Beaver Henderson who helped us to shape our sound in the earlies with Rituals, then the chance to work with Sheldon “Shel Shok” Benjamin to create stuff like Talk Yuh Talk and Good Morning.
Working with Andre Tanker on Ben Lion was a huge collaborative experience.
Over the years, working with SuperBlue has been very humbling, eye opening and enlightening.
It’s also been good working with other bands—and steelbands in particular. We had a nice relationship working with Skiffle, Exodus and Desperadoes.
We also worked with Mungal Patassar—we did two songs with him.
It’s been incredibly fruitful the opportunity to work with others.
John Isaacs
John passed in the Carnival of 2000. It was February 9. We were about to launch our band the next day or something like that. And the launch turned into a wake, an incredible wake. John’s passing has gone on to fire us up quite a bit because of his presence, what he stood for and the kind of guy he was.
He was a plain spoken, no-nonsense kind of guy. If we were on tour and the amenities weren’t suitable, John would be the first person to object. He would always insist that you treat yourself right... just a quality and a standard. We always maintain that.
The funny thing is that sonically, he still is very much a part of the sound. When our voice comes together, somehow there is still that element of John in the whole mix. He was inside the group but he maintained a position like an audience, so if a song appealed to him, it would appeal to an audience. That was a big value he brought to the group.
Innovative videos
We’ve been known for making some incredible videos and we’ve had good collaborators in that regard as well, Walt Lovelace being chief among them.
One of my favourite videos would be Mud Madness, because of the location and the way we were able to do that mud ritual. The response to that was very intriguing.
A lot of people still love Blue.
I’m very proud of our videos. I think that’s one of the ways in which we’ve stood apart over the years.
Keeping it fresh
We came out of the blue with a big hit and it was pressure to follow up, but not pressure we put on ourselves. Every year in the Carnival arena, you have to come hard—and of course, it’s not possible to do that every year, so staying relevant is always a challenge.
One of our saving graces is that we remain rooted to the J’Ouvert. J’Ouvert continues to attract fresh energy every time. Plus with the innovation of the show, we’re able to attract a lot of young people who are interested in being part of the show. It’s also a way of keeping in touch with current trends and current energy.
We work with younger artists to help develop and train them. And now with the Black Box, that is deepening even further the idea of mentorship and training.
Those are the things that help us to stay relevant.
J’Ouvert
Having done J’Ouvert for the last 23 years, we are just one of the many servants of the ritual that is J’Ouvert. Carnival itself is a big ritual. The recognition of it as a ritual is very strong and that’s what keeps us going and keeps us connected. Every year the J’Ouvert is the constant and that is what keeps us in the business still, because at the core of all the music-making, there is that J’Ouvert vibration. Every year we try to articulate some new perspective on the J’Ouvert and sing a praise song to the J’Ouvert so it is still fresh after all these years.
3Canal Show—Blue Forever, Forever Blue
Once the concept is there, we know we have to make a show. But what format the show will take, you’re never quite sure until you start exploring and doing it.
We have several approaches to doing a show. This year’s show reminds me of when we did Shine (2008) which was about transmitting positivity. It was a conscious decision to let light shine and challenge the darkness to make a statement and still engage people to make sure there is joy, make sure the depths and the heights are communicated.
I think we’re in for a nice ride this year. Blue Forever, Forever Blue promises to be something really special. One of the big additions is animation. The young animators and the crew at North Eleven led by Johann Medford have been doing a great job creating specific content for the screens as well as original artwork by Ayodha Ouditt, the nephew of Steve Ouditt—one of the founders of 3Canal when we started as a J’Ouvert band. It really is about succession and progression and continuity.
The Future
We want to be able to take our message, take our show and our vibe to the world. We look at the example of Calypso Rose and the success she’s having right now. We believe very firmly in the power of our expression. By our expression I mean T&T’s expression, not 3Canal’s expression solely.
We believe we have been blessed to be able to put this in some kind of a package and communicate it to the world. It’s just now to find the support on the ground here to make it happen. That is the real challenge.
If we want to talk about industry and creating industry and opportunity for people, the Big Black Box is also critical to the future in terms of a space where real training could happen, more events could happen of an alternative nature that are not just purely commercially motivated, where more people could create and develop.
• Continues on Page A26
• From Page A25
MORE INFO
WHAT: The 3Canal Show—Blue Forever, Forever Blue
WHEN: Carnival week for five nights—February 21-25
WHERE: Queen’s Hall, 1-3 St Ann’s Road, Port-of-Spain
TICKETS: $300 general, $350 reserved, from Queen’s Hall and the Big Black Box
MORE INFO: 622-1001; tickets 624-1284
lifestyle
Stanton Kewley, John Isaacs, Wendell Manwarren and Roger Roberts, the founding members of 3Canal in their 1997 video Blue.