It’s 1:47 AM and we are at the Copa Cabana in Barbados for the inaugural staging of ‘Foundation’. Put on by Haleek Maul, this event showcases the island’s up and coming musical talent unbeknown to many. The underground music movement in Barbados is laden with eclectic individuals that are not being played on the radio or anywhere else on mainstream media. Here is an insider look as to who is Lagoon Wavey and his new song ‘Confidential’.
The same night, in true Caribbean fashion the DJ is yelling at the top of his lungs, “we have a new song fi premiere tonight! The artist is in the house tonight – Lagoon Wavey”. Once the first snare hit and the eerie synths started playing, the crowd was immediately immersed in the vibe of the song. The bass dropped and Wavey sang, “You gotta tell me what is, I don’t like to assume,” followed by the crowd “buss up”.
In Caribbean culture the concept of the “Pull Up” is reflective of our musical appreciation. To “Pull Up” a song means to restart it from the beginning and the number of “Pull Ups” a song gets is a huge indicator of how well it is being received, and that night ‘Confidential’ got about 6. From then we knew it was a special song from an even more special artiste. Gabriel St. Auburn Sobers, better known as “Lagoon Wavey” is an eccentric character. A very observant and reserved guy, he is very rarely trying to be the center of attention which is a refreshing departure from the typical narcissism associated with recording artists. Often clad in full black, he is a soft-spoken, reticent individual that could even be perceived as a bit guarded.
When you hear the sultry sounds and mellifluous vocals of Lagoon Wavey, you should know that it is coming from a trained ear. Not only is he a self-taught guitarist but he also studied classical music in college. Classical music is all about dynamic range and you can hear this fundamental principle of sound design expressed well throughout all of his work. We asked Wavey about his training in classical music and he stated, ” I didn’t feel the need to go to a college internationally because the music program at Barbados Community College is fantastic. It’s two years of hard work for the Associate Degree in Fine Arts. It’s a lot of positive insight and though it was a stressful experience at times I made a lot of amazing friends. Classical music in my opinion is the most challenging genre of music to learn. You can’t merely be an average singer and sing classical because it pushes you to be exceptional. It helps you master your breathing, your tone, and your pitch. It’s a really good foundation for any singer who wants to take their craft to the next level.”
The unique vocal styling and melodic choices reflected in ‘Confidential’ is strikingly different from anything that is considered Bajan music currently. Wavey discussed how classical music directly influenced the outcome of this track saying, “the notes that I sing and the harmonies I produce all come from constant practice of reading sheet music, learning tones, and chords. Vocally I’m trained up to level 7 in music theory. At first, I thought the process of learning classical music was tedious but honestly, I started to enjoy it. It helped me to learn how to form music that is more sincere and interesting. If you give it a chance, classical music is so full of emotion so I believe it has helped me in my songwriting as well. In the early 1800s and 1900s, people were writing such raw, emotional, and vulnerable music. Sometimes it didn’t even have to rhyme, it just needed to be pure emotion and that’s helped me make my music more relatable. “
We questioned Wavey a bit on his music philosophy asking if he felt that genres were a necessary demarcation in music and he thoughtfully responded, “I do generally think that genres limit artists in a sense. It also categorizes us for the listener and I do think that genres single out what a consumer might be interested in listening to. Always remember that as artists, we make music for the listener and not for ourselves. What I am against though is genre being a source of limitation for the artists and putting people in inboxes. I think you can sing whatever you want to sing once you label it the right way. So yes…genres are still necessary to an extent because music will become a cluttered mess if everybody just releases with no order.”
Gabriel St. Auburn Sobers is the grandson of West Indian cricket legend Sir Garfield Sobers and hailing from such a powerful family, he understands the thorough implication of living a life led by purpose. In closing, he unequivocally stated “obviously I’m connected to music in every way. Music is my entire life and I genuinely believe that’s why I’m on the planet – to do music.”
