Caribbeing®

At the turn of the last century, steel pan pioneer Ellie Mannette was filmed in Port of Spain, Trinidad, the subject of a documentary, ‘Man of Steel’, by Caribbeing® founder, Yao Ramesar.

Mannette, who can justifiably lay claim to the title of father of the modern steel drum, provides here a revealing chronology of the invention and evolution of the modern steel pan in its birthplace of Trinidad.

Starting in 1930s Port of Spain when he first encountered Alexander's Ragtime Band, Mannette chronicles his myriad innovations, including turning the drums from convex to concave in 1941. He concludes with the quaduet, which he was working on at the time of this interview, a new solo instrument comprising four pans, with a near four octave range.

Caribbeing® founder yAo Ramesar caught up with Vincentian writer Philip Nanton on a beach in Barbados, where he resides, to down a couple beers & talk about his seminal biography of legendary Vincentian jazzman & poet, Shake Keane.

A reading from RIFF :

https://youtu.be/8Ftq0RQcm5I

Jazz & poetry by Shake Keane :

https://youtu.be/mFtbP1wQaAo

Launch of RIFF with Philip Nanton :

https://youtu.be/ANehsC28xoI

A fraction of interviews with Midnight Robber Brian Honoré filmed by yAo Ramesar for his series on Trinidad's traditional Carnival characters.

A fraction of an interview with Kwame Ture(FKA Stokely Carmichael) filmed by Caribbeing® originator yAo Ramesar on location in Trinidad in 1996. Kwame & yAo were reminiscing about Howard University, close encounters in the DMV with Gil Scott-Heron etc. just before filming.

After the camera was on yAo declared that "the revolution will be televised", to which Kwame countered in his best Trini accent, "Doh count egg in fowl bottom, yAo!"

As they started shooting there was loud music down the beach, so they stopped & walked towards the comotion.

A family was sprawled out on the sand, eating, drinking & singing Indian folksongs. yAo said, "We need about an hour of quiet to do some filming with this fellah" & they asked if he was an African King.

"Yes" he replied. "Take a drink nah, we puttin' out two plate for you!"

Kwame started dancing with the family matriarch, twirling her around, the two of them laughing like children. That became the opening of the film.

Excerpt from a interview with Edgar Whiley, traditional Carnival icon who  embodied the Bat 'Mas.

He is joined by his son Matthew(Son of Bat Man).

Filmed in the mid-1990s by Caribbeing® originator yAo Ramesar.

Edgar Whiley lived across the street from T&TEC, the power station in Trinidad. Sound recordist Austin Wilson wrestled with this, delivering intelligible monologues under the circumstances.

Available on Anchor, Apple, Pocket Cast, Radio Public, Tune In Radio, Breaker, Overcast, Pod Chaser, Deezer, Spotify, Anypod, , Google Casts & Podcast Addict.

Traditional Carnival icon & custodian of the Minstrel 'Mas, Theresa Morilla Montano expounds on inhabiting this seminal character & her conservation of the Patois language. Available on : Anchor, Apple, Pocket Cast, Radio Public, Tune In Radio, Breaker, Overcast, Pod Chaser, Deezer,

Spotify, Google Casts, Anypod, Podcast Addict.

Narrie Approo, masquerader extraordinaire & Black Indian in the pantheon of traditional Carnival characters, expounds on his 'mastery.

Here's the 1st snippet from interviews I filmed with traditional Carnival characters about 25 years ago.

The sound recordist was the late great Austin Wilson, a  veteran masman in his own right. Austin was my long-term collaborator, starting with our filming of the living pioneers of the steelpan in 1992. This suite of Carnival podcasts is dedicated to him, one of my greatest teachers - yAo Ramesar

Jacob Frederick reflects on the The Kalinago Canoe Project (formerly the Carib Canoe Project) that saw the creation & sailing of an indigenous canoe throughout the Caribbean; the reversal of climate change & KALINAGO, the original word for the inhabitants of today's Caribbean. PS apologies for the spotty audio which was the result of weather systems. Hopefully we can do face-to-face interviews when this whole thing is finally over.

In his first solo exhibition 3RD WORLD ARMERICA, Gary "Astro Clouds" Martin time travels to the present through a sprawling arc of pain.

Routed & rooted in the indigenous Caribbean & worldly in its scope, Gary's art resonates from his hometown Arima with the fresh urgency of  Basquiat.

Entering 3RD WORLD ARMERICA you're greeted by an indigenous warrior brandishing a machine gun. Inside, an army of pencils, pens & brushes awaits.

www.eastyard.org

www.caribbeing.net

Prof. Michele Alexandre, Dean of Florida's 1st law school, Stetson Law, recalls her upbringing in Duvalier's Haiti before fast forwarding to US voter rights protection in these crucial times.

Apologies for the spotty audio at our end, resulting from weather systems in Trinidad where Caribbeing® is headquartered.https://atticusreview.org/black-joy-crossing-time-and-space/