Erphaan Alves has been performing for almost his entire life. At the age of nine, he entered his first Calypso competition at Rosary Boys RC (Port-of-Spain) and won. He has been in the soca scene for just over a decade, but his rise within the soca industry began in 2012 when his songs “In Your Eyes” and “Terrible” helped him qualify as a finalist in the International Groovy and Power Soca Monarch competitions respectively. Since then, Alves has been growing steadily with numerous hits such as “Come From? (Bumper Like Rain)”, “Intentions (Wine & Touch)”, “No Habla” and “Overdue”.
In September 2019, Alves released “Soca Global”. Besides the fact that this song has a pulsing rhythm and an enchanting brass breakdown nearing its end, its lyrics also challenge the status quo. As discussed in a previous article, soca typically has a limited range of topics covered. Alves opposes this by opening the record singing “ah go go to my grave to support dis ting yeah (push de soca global)”, solidifying himself as an ambassador of the art form. CARIB VOXX had a virtual sit down with Alves to dissect the lyrics of “Soca Global”, explore the progression of his #noSeasons project, find out some more about his upcoming virtual concert and mixtape, and hear his thoughts on the absence of Carnival 2021.
Soca Global
We pulled direct quotes from the artist’s 2019 release and asked him to expound on what was being said. The lyrics are powerful at face value, but once given deeper context from Alves, a whole new dimension to the song was revealed. For example, when Alves sings the bridge “right now soca music in a nice position”, he explained that he is not only talking about how easily the feeling of soca can be translated to worldwide listeners. He is also referring to the evolution of the global music industry and how easy it has become for artists, independent or otherwise, to share/distribute their music worldwide on various streaming platforms.
Alves also shared his thoughts on “Kaiso once make de breakthrough/ So lewwe plant back da rose, Calypso/ But first lewwe fix local now/ Then we go take off global now”. He suggests that it is critically important for Trinidad and Tobago, as the mecca of Carnival, to change the way that we view our art forms. He believes that it must start within the education system – teaching our children about the history of our music on a national level so they can naturally develop a greater understanding and appreciation for our culture.
#noSeasons Project
Which other global genre do you know operates only on a seasonal basis? Change doesn’t happen overnight, and this is something that Alves learnt the hard way. When he decided to launch the #noSeasons project, he thought it would have been an idea his fellow artists would easily support. That was not the case. Some tried to paint him as trying to be “Captain Soca” trying to save the day. He doesn’t claim to be soca’s superhero. #noSeasons was a strategy to propel the movement that was started before him.
“I wanna wake up one morning and not see ‘Soca 2021’ on a Julian Promos title and we in November 2020 still”
Something as simple as labelling songs a seasonal product perpetuates the seasonality of the genre. A limiting factor is the box of “Carnival lyrics”. You know them – “jump and wave”, “wine and jam”, “flag and hand”. Alves notes that the last time he exploited Carnival lyrics was “Bumper Like Rain” (2014). He puts certain words aside so that he does not slip back into that box. Songs like “Overdue” (which apparently is NOT a love song) have captured the hearts of people from all walks of life. It’s a universal song that can resonate with anyone, from the pastor to the drunken man outside the bar. Releases like “No Habla” show what a change in approach to the genre could do. Although released in May 2018, the song became a Carnival hit the next year and beyond.
GRATEFUL
On November 22 at 7:30 PM AST (6:30 PM EST), Alves will be sharing a special moment with his fans and fans of soca at large through his first virtual concert, “GRATEFUL: A Virtual Experience”. We asked Alves if viewers can expect to see other soca artists share the stage with him and he simply said that this concert will not showcase soca performances as we know it; it is meant to tell the story of Erphaan Alves. He hinted later on that it will be intimate and we can expect acoustic renditions of some of his more popular songs. He hopes that this decision will make it easier for the listener to really feel the depth of his lyrics and the fluidity of the messages in his music.
On the night of the event, the viewing public will be given the opportunity to donate to the St. George’s College Music Fund, which Alves himself started in 2018. Persons interested in viewing the virtual concert live can tune in via PlayGo, TTT (Trinidad) and on the artist’s YouTube and Facebook pages. Though we do not have an official release date for the GRATEFUL mixtape, we do know that DJ Private Ryan is involved and it will be available for streaming on Digicel’s D’Music App.
Carnival 2021
It goes without saying that no Carnival 2021 will have major implications for the soca industry. Artists make the bulk of their money through performances, and the International Soca Monarch. This is the issue of being dependent on a festival. Will soca be able to survive without it? How will we survive without DJ Private Ryan’s Soca Starter Mix? Fortunately, the cancellation of Carnival may just be the catalyst that the movement needs.
“I have to find a way to stay relevant between now and then [Carnival] and stay relevant then too and stay relevant after that… Carnival itself propels all these songs. Carnival is a mechanism…[it] promotes so much other sub-sectors.”
Streams will not drastically increase without Carnival. There’s no need to learn the words to sing at fete, so what’s the point? Foreigners wouldn’t bother to learn the songs either if they aren’t coming. However, Alves believes that artists should now see themselves as content creators. In 2020, it’s easier than ever to pursue that path.
After this conversation, there was one thing that was undeniable to us at CARIB VOXX – Alves is passionate about soca music and will indeed go to his grave to support it. Whatever is the result of the cancellation of Carnival, we hope it helps push de soca global.
Interested in hearing more from the artist himself? Watch the full video above!
