00:00You may not know him by name, but you definitely know his work.
00:04From Big Bad Soaker to Truck on the Road,
00:08Keshav, a member of the Just Now production team,
00:11has been instrumental in shaping the carnival experience for more than a decade.
00:16Now, after years behind the boards, he is stepping forward, this time as a singer.
00:23TV6 met with Keshav at the historic Kin Sound Studios in St. Anne's,
00:28a space deeply connected to Trinidad and Tobago's musical legacy.
00:34So I've been a producer in soca and dance music for many, many years,
00:38since I was a little kid, and I'm really fortunate to have worked with a lot of the
00:43legends and young talent that have become really accomplished in soca music.
00:50He explains that production often begins with an idea,
00:53but ultimately, it is the people who decide what survives on the road.
00:59On the production side of things, you go in with a concept, an idea.
01:04The collaboration could be with an artist, it could be with a writer.
01:07Sometimes you start with a beat.
01:09Sometimes you start with a concept.
01:10No matter what the process is, the people generally decide,
01:15and always decide, what song makes it or breaks it on the road.
01:19Just Now, which I'm a part of, is very well known for making road-heavy music,
01:23like Big Bad Soca, Truck on the Road, many different songs with Destra, Bungee, Cass,
01:28Fian, a lot of different artists,
01:31but we are known for making drum-heavy and rhythm-section-heavy stuff.
01:35We've kind of brought brass back into soca music,
01:37and I'm so proud that there's so much brass and iron in soca music right now.
01:42That instinctive, people-driven approach helps create major anthems,
01:46including Big Bad Soca, sometimes even in a matter of minutes.
01:51We always had Bungee in mind for that.
01:54I was sent in beats sometime before I came back from on tour,
01:58and when we went into studio, literally we had the song done in about 15 minutes.
02:01Music, he says, was always part of his upbringing, shaped early by his parents.
02:08My dad was a Trinidad and Tobago High Commissioner and Ambassador,
02:10but music was one of the key elements of his diplomacy,
02:13and he's in fact probably our longest-serving career diplomat in Trinidad and Tobago.
02:18And that's the same way I learned to sing.
02:22Both my parents can sing really well.
02:24No talking, no sky-larking.
02:27And while production remains his foundation,
02:31Keshav says a few years ago he felt compelled to step into the spotlight himself.
02:36A couple of years ago I decided to start singing and putting out vocal records,
02:40and it has become something that's incredibly fun for me.
02:43I get to interface with the people directly,
02:46and it's ultimately very gratifying,
02:48and I have three songs this season out right now.
02:51Those releases include collaboration with some of the industry's most recognizable voices.
02:58So the three songs I have out this season are Symphony with myself and DJ Private Ryan,
03:04who actually produced that.
03:05The next one is called Carnival Soul,
03:08which is myself and Just Now,
03:10which is also who I am a part of as a producer.
03:12And that also features a legendary sample by Ralph McDonald,
03:17who is incidentally the producer of Just the Two of Us by Bill Withers.
03:21And the third song is We Lime In with Just Now,
03:25Less Than Paul and Preeti.
03:28He says performing, after years of creating hits for others,
03:32has added a new kind of fire.
03:35So in my journey as an artist and being on the front of the stage,
03:39each year the fire catches a little bit more, right?
03:42Having been in the background and propelling records for so many years,
03:45I've tried to fit my own path into this,
03:49and it's become hotter and hotter.
03:51And I have to say that I'm really grateful to be so busy playing so many stages this carnival.
03:56The reception has been really great.
03:59Grounded in tradition, but always looking forward,
04:02Keshav says his mission is to honor the greats
04:05while continuing to evolve the sound.
04:09Alexander Brouswell, TV6 News.
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