A Conference with Clive Bradley, Pelham Goddard,
and Yohan Popwell
New York -
My name is Sarah Glover and I’m a Master’s student in Latin American and
Caribbean studies at NYU (New York University), currently doing my thesis on
the steel pan movement in Brooklyn. I grew up in the Virgin
Islands and am part of a musical family with an appreciation for the steel
pan, so this topic resonates with me personally. My research has three
tiers: 1) the involvement of second generation West Indians (first
generation Americans) in Brooklyn pan; 2) how transnational ties are formed
and maintained between Trinidad and Brooklyn; and 3) how pan is being
incorporated and “mainstreamed” into institutions in Brooklyn (i.e. school
programs, community centers, etc.)
Last Friday, August 26, I had the pleasure of visiting Basement Recordings’
studio, where an arrangers panel, organized by
When
Steel Talks, was
held. In attendance were three men whose names I’ve become very
familiar with through my research -- Yohan Popwell (Sonatas), Clive Bradley
(D’Radoes and Pantonic), and Pelham Goddard (Marsicans).
It was truly a pleasure to witness the panel. The men joked around
with each other, laughing easily in the company of old friends. As I’m
not a musician myself, many of the issues the arrangers raised were new to
me -- Popwell’s insights into how he can distinguish the distinctive styles
of each arranger, Bradley’s ruminations on the challenges of arranging music
for an instrument he does not play, and Goddard’s stress on the importance
of creating other venues for pan outside of the competitive setting of
Panorama. The arrangers also speculated on winners for this year and
the factors out of their control which could affect the outcome of the
competition, such as the quality of the sound engineering, and drawing the
first position in the competition.
The arrangers panel touched on many themes I hope to address in my research.
For example, the presence of three Trinidadian arrangers visiting New York
for Panorama is in itself a study in transnationalism. The back and
forth flow of people and ideas between Brooklyn and Trinidad creates an
ongoing conversation in pan, one that prevents stagnation and continually
fosters innovation.
Mr. Goddard’s desire to make pan more commercial speaks
the most directly to
my interests. The larger issue of whether or not
pan can be made more mainstream raises many questions about the future
directions of an always evolving movement: Can and will pannists be
successful commercially? Who stands to benefit the most from commercial
success, those who have pioneered the field or those with the most access to
resources? Will pan be seen by the American mainstream as a “legitimate”
instrument, and as more than just a vestibule for Carnival music? As the
face of pan changes -- from Trinidadians to Brooklyn’s West Indians, and pan
moves further outward, to Japan and elsewhere, what changes will this mean
for the movement? What new meanings and social spaces are created when
non-West Indians take on this instrument as their own? As a new generation
of arrangers takes the scene, what innovations will they bring to pan-- both
as an instrument and as a genre? And will these changes in turn be accepted
in the pan hubs of Brooklyn and Trinidad?
Sarah Glover, above, with Clive
Bradley
and Pantonic Steel Orchestra practicing at their panyard