What are the Anguilla Sessions?
The Splice team traveled to the Anguilla Music Academy to record the sounds of the Leeward Islands. The resulting pack highlights soca music, the most dominant style in the region. Soca was invented in the early 1970s in Trinidad by Lord Shorty to revive calypso music, as it was lagging in popularity among younger generations. Influenced by African and East Indian rhythms, the genre took hold throughout the Leeward Islands with its rich, colorful, multi-cultured community. In addition to the Soca this pack is also a holistic look at all of the genres associated with that part of the Caribbean including Afro Soca (fused with Afrobeats), Dancehall, Reggae, and Zouk due to Anguilla's proximity to St Maarten.
While it doesn't receive as much global attention, St. Maarten's sister island, Anguilla has a long, textured history. It begins with indigenous Amerindian colonization in 1200 BC. An extended period of European colonial disputes between 1631 and 1825 saw the island ruled by the Dutch, Spanish, French, and English. At that time, slaves were brought from West and Central Africa to work tobacco and sugar cane plantations. When Britain ended the slave trade in 1807, many plantation owners sold and left the island to their former captives. After a period of administrative control by nearby St. Kitts starting in 1825, the island revolted in 1967 to become a British overseas colony, which they are to this day. That's why you'll hear the sounds of Africa, Latin America, Indigenous Amerindian, and European in Anguilla's music. While Anguilla is more English, St. Maarten still has Dutch and French roots, making for an intriguing tapestry when you combine the two cultures.
Royalties from this pack will go to AMA to help educate children in the Caribbean region.
The musicians and producers involved in this pack:
- Darius James - Engineering, Drums
- Dennis James - Engineering , Vocals, Keys
- Omar Tomlinson - Engineering
- Kiev Edwards - Saxophone
- Michael Dumpa Martin - Steelpan
- Bankie Banks - Vocals, Harmonica
- Roots and Herbs - Nyabingi Percussion Ensemble
- Tyrone (aka Latest) - Vocals
- Jaiden Fleming - Drums
- Kyle Woodley - Drums
- Larry Hodge - Bass
- Curtis Robinson - Bass
- Gordon Hazel - Guitar
- Daniel Connor - Guitar
- Kerwyn Goddard - Keys
- Dady Hodgie - Keys
- Kevin Archibald - Keys
- Omalie 360 - Vocals
- Myisha Letang - Vocals
- Carlos Daniel Antonio - Vocals
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