Machel

Machel Montano came into the world in 1975 in Port Of Spain, Trinidad, West Indies. From his earliest years he sang alongside his brother Marcus on guitar. The Montano family arranged vocal lessons for him, and at age nine his instructor chose him to represent the school in the Junior Calypso Monarch contest. Stern reviewers objected that he was too young for midnight performances, yet he continued along his chosen course. In 1986 he answered his critics with the release of ‘Too Young To Soca’. Later that year he reached the Calypso Monarch semi-finals wearing a baggy nappy and finished fifth in the sixty-year-old competition. A talent-contest win earned him a spot on the 1987 U.S. television program Star Search. Although he did not win, the appearance introduced soca to American audiences and helped spread Trinidad’s new sound. Working with his band Xtatic, formerly Panasonic Express, he developed a soca-dancehall approach. An early example of this Caribbean fusion arrived in 1991 with ‘First In De Party’. The group often opened for visiting artists and backed leading ragga DJs, among them Buju Banton, whose style left a clear impression. After completing studies at the Ohio School of Recording Arts in 1993, Montano applied his new studio skills to the soca-house track ‘Come Dig It’. In 1996 the Los Angeles label Delicious Vinyl Records signed Montano and the band. They delivered a powerful version of the song at the Brooklyn West Indian Day Carnival that was later used in the label’s promotional video. His position was secured in 1997 when ‘Big Truck’ captured the road march title, an achievement matched the following year with ‘Footsteps’. Seeking to give soca the international standing of reggae, he invited Shaggy to appear on the ragga-styled ‘Toro Toro’. Greensleeves Records released the single in the UK, where it entered the lower reaches of the pop chart and gained further attention across Europe. Reggae influences also surfaced on ‘Daddy Axe’ and ‘Hardworking Dog’, both featured on his U.S. debut Machel Arts. Nominated at Winsome Charlton’s 1998 Miami Reggaesoca Awards, he performed alongside prominent Jamaican acts. His contribution drew strong praise, though the evening’s standout moment came from an unplanned set by veteran DJ Yellowman.