By Stephanie serac
To keep it real. That’s
why Gen-X (Casio Anthony) and GQ (Gideon Quashie), two young
Trinidad producers from the south believe that Tony Eno, a
Canada-based producer can bring their music on the world stage.
Eno is the executive producer/publisher
of the album Obstacles, recorded in one week in Zero-One and
Outback studios in Fyzabad. He spent two weeks in Trinidad
on a quest to find new talents. Helped by Gen-X and GQ, Eno
recruited several young dancehall and reggae artistes from
South Trinidad, like Bongo Spear (Gerald Johnson) and King
Shorn (Kern Thomas), and also popular Jamaican artiste Mega
Banton, to record seven tracks.
Eno said: “We faced
a lot of obstacles to record this CD, like street protests
with people burning tires in the roads. That’s why we
called the CD Obstacles.”
He added: “It seems
that in Trinidad if you are not associated with people working
in the radio stations, your music won’t never be played.”
He gave the assurance that
he can make it happen in England and in North America for
the artistes he chose.
“I am an international
journalist and I know I can succeed in getting their music
broadcasted,” he said.
“I took the best in
the crop and we recorded night and day to propose those titles
to the radios and other media.
“I want to bring Trinidad
music to the same level as American music. But, our music
has got so much more to offer. It can be on a serious subject
but with so much humour that it can make you laugh about it.”
Gen-X, a young, aspiring songwriter/musician
said: “I just want to be me. I don’t want to follow
anyone else rules. Most of the artistes who began to sing
positive things about love, God, saying to put down the guns,
after two or three songs begin to sing the opposite, disrespecting
women, and calling for fire.”
In Ghetto Dancer, on Spider
Riddim, Obstacles’ first track, Gen-X sings: “She’s
a ghetto dancer, sexy and clever.” He thinks this single
has the necessary appeal to be heard on local radio.
Eno said two tracks—Ghetto
Dancer and Spiderman by Spiritual—from Obstacles have
already been released and some radios are already calling
to ask about them. Both, composed by Zero One Productions,
are on the Spider Riddim. The first five songs of the album
are composed on this same riddim.
“All the songs have
been mixed in Zero One Productions and mastered in Outback
Studios,” disclosed GQ.
