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Amrit Samaroo |
Band From Space ,
Amrit
Samaroo explains, is a true ‘pan song’ in every sense of
the word. He wrote it for the New York stageside steelband he plays with
and arranges for, Steel Sensation, and they have performed it. It was also
the panorama tune of choice for Pantimes in St. Lucia for 2006. There were
different lyrics then for the song, but Amrit says he “wasn’t too happy with the
topic” so this time around he redid the lyrics. “The perfect man for the whole
thing was Crazy [Trinidadian calypsonian who resides in the US]; it was a crazy
topic.” He enlisted the assistance of fellow colleague and steelpan arranger Kareem Brown, who is
also versed in studio production and operations, to turn out a musical product that would be
favorable with the wider steelpan fraternity. Both Brown and Samaroo have won scholarships from
the Music Literacy Trust fund, which enabled them to study together at the
University of the West Indies. Furthermore, Amrit says that the young arrangers
like himself, Brown, Cheo Cato (arranger for the 2006 Junior panorama champions,
St. Augustine Senior Comprehensive Steel Orchestra) and others, continually
‘bounce ideas off each other’ to have a sense of where the [pan] music should
go.
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