This month’s listening picks from the Caribbean — featuring reviews by Nigel Campbell of new music by Cyndi Celeste; Braveboy; John G; Teneille Young; Ronald Snijders; and Mical Teja
Cyndi Celeste
Love in My Language (self-released)
The juxtaposition of spoken word and music has been mined on records by legends like Gil Scott-Heron and Mutabaruka. Barbadian poet Cyndi Celeste — on this, her first full length album — uses oft-heard rising cadences and that feeling of missing punctuation to provide a stream-of-consciousness form of performance poetry that enchants. She calls her work “a dynamic blend of Bajan language and Caribbean storytelling, infused with R&B, soul, jazz, and hip-hop influences.” Ethereal music accompanies rhythm and metre, rhymes and metaphors to give listeners a view of her truth — internal monologues on identity and authenticity — and the endless possibilities of the English language as these islands’ gift to the world.
Braveboy
Las Lap (Bravehouse Music)
Braveboy is the “king” of international collaborators within the soca and island hip-hop sphere. On this new EP he does not disappoint, linking with Venezuelan producer Jolemy and his countrymen LEXO, Abel and Corne to explore the evolving nature of the SOundtrack for CArnival — the modern incarnation of soca beyond Lord Shorty’s SOul of CAlypso genesis five decades ago. The easily identifiable rhythms meld perfectly with sexy Spanish language lyrics, pointing to potential crossover opportunities within the limitless Latin American market.
John G
Agyei (self-released)
Trinidadian John G’s music has been referred to as “Caribbean roots” — an amalgam of the roots revival aesthetic that came to the fore in Jamaica in the early to mid-2010s, and the laid-back roots reggae of Bob Marley, all within a self-described “singer-songwriter/soulful Caribbean folk” style where lyricism is key to crossover. I’m a child of hate and slavery / I’m a soul that still needs saving. This short four-song EP’s superlative production creates a perfect bed for G’s voice — best described as a powerful rasp — to deliver calm affirmations of love and empowerment. Jah bless!
Teneille Young
Wildflower (self-released)
Dreams often do come true. Just a couple of years ago, singer Teneille Young was doing cover songs on YouTube, now she has bagged the epic production skills of Jamaican hit-maker “Mikey” Bennett to helm this four-song EP of originals that show the range of what modern reggae can be. A lovers rock vibe is present in some of the compositions, giving the record a throwback feel. Young’s feathery, naive voice also evokes many late 1970s female reggae singers, making this a package of retro vibes done good.
Ronald Snijders
Penta (Night Dreamer)
Flautist Ronald Snijders is a hero of Surinamese jazz, rarely heard outside that diaspora (the Netherlands and its former colonies). His music on this new album continues his notable efforts over nearly five decades of layering modern jazz fusion music over the native kaseko rhythms, along with regional influences for global uptake. Marketing terms like “ethno-jazz” don’t do this album justice; its grander vision is placing the Caribbean heartbeat front and centre. And it does!
Mical Teja
Higher Power (Teja Music) • Single
Trinidad Road March 2024 winner Mical Teja returns in 2025 to cement his place as a major soca artist who understands the power of incisive lyrics to make generic riddims supercharged beyond the banal, and understandably unforgettable. Spirits combine, the body and mind / With the heart and soul / No, we don’t have control / Blame it on a higher power. Ancestral drums combine with modern soca beats to elevate this song. Teja has mastered the formula for hit soca music for Carnival fetes and on the road.