| Machel Montano | |
|---|---|
Machel Montano performing in 2007 |
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| Background information | |
| Born | 24 November 1974 |
| Origin | Siparia, Trinidad and Tobago |
| Genres | Soca |
| Occupations | Musician, producer, Song-writer |
| Instruments | Vocals, guitar, keyboards, percussion |
| Years active | 1982–present |
| Associated acts | Xtatik, Destra Garcia, Farmer Nappy, Patrice Roberts, Zan |
| Website | www.machelmontano.com |
Machel Montano (born 24 November 1974, Trinidad and Tobago)[1] is a soca singer, record producer and songwriter based in Trinidad and Tobago.
He is the frontman of the popular soca band The HD Family, and is noted for his high energy, fast-paced, and often unpredictable on-stage performances. During his career, which spans over 25 years, he has recorded several songs alongside many of Caribbean music's most popular acts, such as Admiral T, Alison Hinds, Beenie Man, Calypso Rose, Burning Flames, Drupatee, Wyclef Jean, Canibus, Red Rat, Shaggy, Sparrow, Denise Belfon, Ken Marlon Charles (KMC), Destra, Walker Hornung, Vybz Kartel, Mohombi, G-Unit, Black Stalin, David Rudder, Buju Banton, Mr. Vegas, Doug E. Fresh, Pitbull and many others. In 1987 he was the youngest finalist to ever win the Caribbean Song Festival. He now stands as one of the most well-known soca acts in the world, using his leverage as an artist able to sell-out shows. Recently he has moved to the Los Angeles area and furthered his pursuit saying "I may not be the one to bring it forth, but in the meantime, I have a lot of work to do in order for something to happen". He is very well known in New York and has had sold out concerts in Madison Square Gardens many times over.[2]
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Born in Carenage (West Trinidad), his family moved to Siparia, South Trinidad when he was very young. Machel attended Siparia Boys' R.C., then Presentation College, San Fernando, a prestigious secondary school in San Fernando, South Trinidad where he was in the choir led by Mrs. Cynthia Lee-Mack. Machel first shot to fame as a 9 year-old boy with the song "Too Young To Soca" while he was still in primary school. In 1984, along with his older brother Marcus and neighbours the group Pranasonic Express was started and in 1989, the band became Xtatik.
The band developed and was re-invented by its leader Montano several times as Xtatik 5.0, The Xtatik Circus, Xtatik The Road Marching Band, The Band of the Year and many others. Every year Machel has a battle in Zen to keep his band and his performances fresh. From 2007 they are known as Machel Montano HD (High Definition) and he promotes the concept by saying that he is the first human being to go HD. He claims this is a representation of the evolution of his music over the last 25 years and highly improved style in which his music shall be presented to his fans over radio formats, television, and during live performances. He is part of a campaign in Trinidad and Tobago to promoting safe driving - "Arrive Alive". Part of the hype surrounding Montano since 2007 is his HD tour bus, a 20 year old bus from the Public Transport Service Corporation (PTSC) which was re-done and includes a bedroom, bathroom facilities, flat screen TVs, Internet access and expansive audio systems. After the bus' debut in 2007, it was re-painted for 2008, the new images of Machel matching various photos of him from the album artwork of his 2008 CD, Flame on. The bus featured heavily in his videos for "Jumbie" - 2007 and "Rollin/Blazin d Trail" - 2008.
In the last few years the band has risen to a new level of musicality as each performance is very tight musically and has foreign influences such as Ernesto Luis Gutirrez, its Venezuelan percussionist, Shawn Mitchell, bassist from Grenada and musicians from Barbados. Kernal Roberts, the son of the late Lord Kitchener (calypsonian) has picked up the role as Xtatik's drummer and musical director and has brought new life to the band.
Montano was also instrumental in the promotion of soca music in the United Kingdom on the British Broadcasting Corporations' black music digital radio station 1Xtra, where he co-presented the International Sounds of Soca show for four years with DJ Slic. He has released many successful singles, with and without Xtatik, during his career, such as "Big Truck" (Xtatik's most successful single, which won the Road March title in 1997), "Outa Space" (with Beenie Man), "Music Farm" (Xtatik), "It's Carnival" (with Destra), and his most recent back to back Road March title wins for 2006, "Band Of The Year" (with Patrice Roberts) and 2007, "Jumbie".
His 2008 album Flame On, was released in February 2008 and featured collaborations with some of the most esteemed artistes in calypso such as David Rudder on "Oil and Music" and The Mighty Sparrow on "Congo Man". These two collaborations were well-received all around, especially "Congo Man".
Flame On also includes collaborations with other well-known artistes from various genres including soca, reggae, rap and reggaeton. Examples of these partnerships can be heard on the following tracks: Patrice Roberts on "Rollin", Shaggy on "Wining Season", Buju Banton on "Make Love" and finally Lil Jon and Pitbull on "Defense (The Anthem)".
Flame On displays the very strong relationship between Machel Montano and Kernal Roberts, his right-hand man. Roberts was involved in the writing of eight out the 13 tracks on the album.
In Trinidad's Road March Competition for Carnival 2008, Montano's song "Blazin d Trail" placed third even though it was a crowd favourite when it was played at Carnival fetes during the Carnival season of 2008.
In 2011, Machel won the International Soca Monarch competition and defeated the likes of Iwer George (2nd)and Bunji Garlin(3rd)after a fierce night of competition. In the end, Machel walked away with the $2 million prize and the first Soca Monarch title of his career. He then went on to win the road march title with the same hit 'Advantage' by a landslide victory.
| Book: Machel Montano | |
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