Dec 29, 2014

The Best 2014 Soca - year end review

At the end of 2014 the crew attempts to recap ALL the hit songs for the year and pick winners in the categories of best groovy, best power, tune of the year, artist of the year and more! Lets just say that we didn't agree on much mainly because there was so much good music for 2014. Enjoy!




Here were our personal picks for this year.  (The songs must have impacted at least one Carnival this year to be eligible.)

Best Groovy
Alisha:  Nadia Batson - Prisoner
Wolston:  Farmer Nappy - Big People Party
Anthony:  Lyrikal - Conquer Meh, Kerwin - Too Real, Bunji - Carnival Tabanca and Red Light District
Carrie:  Lead Pipe and Saddis - Ah Feeling, :  Lyrikal - Conquer Meh, Kerwin - Too Real, Bunji - Red Light District, Machel - HMA
Drew:  Lead Pipe and Saddis - Ah Feeling

Best Power 
Alisha: Machel -M.O.R
Wolston: Machel - M.O.R  and Iwer - Mama Oye
Majesti: Machel - M.O.R and Skinny Fabulous - Flatten
Anthony:  Machel - M.O.R , Mr. Killa - Rolly Polly and Iwer - Mama Oye
Carrie: Machel - M.O.R and Destra - Mash Up
Drew: Machel - M.O.R , Mr. Killa - Rolly Polly, Skinny Banton - Soak It, Skinny Fabulous - Red Button

Break Out Artist 
Alisha: Mr.  Killa
Wolston: Mr. Killa and Erphaan Alves
Majesti: Flipo
Anthony:  Preedy
Carrie: Lyrikal
Drew:  Lead Pipe and Saddis

Artist of the Year 
Alisha: Kerwin Du Bois
Wolston: Kes The Band
Majesti: Lil Rick
Anthony: Kerwin Du Bois
Carrie: Machel Montano
Drew: Machel Montano

Tune of the Year 
Alisha: Kes the Band - Too Drunk to Wine
Wolston: Farmer Nappy - Big People Party
Majesti: Machel- Endless Wuk (didn't impact any Carnivals in 2014)
Anthony: Kerwin Du Bois - Too Real
Carrie: Lead Pipe and Saddis - Ah Feeling
Drew: Kerwin Du Bois - Too Real

Dec 23, 2014

Dec 8, 2014

Nov 23, 2014

Nov 17, 2014

Nov 10, 2014

Oct 25, 2014

Join in CJSW's annual 'Funding Drive'

Once a year CJSW radio asks listeners to help fund its broadcasting efforts. CalgarySoca's 'Carnival Mix' show asks its listeners to help out today! Donate whatever you can and join in the fun!!  

This years funds go towards getting a podcasting service running.  That will mean you can LEGALLY download ALL of CJSW's shows knowing that the station will pay artists royalties!

For every pledge received you get:
$50 - Friends of CJSW discount card + 2 tickets to MASK fete (Friday night)
$75 - Best of 2014 Carnival CD - CJSW T-Shirt, Friends of CJSW discount card + 2 tickets to MASK fete (Friday night)
$120 - Best of KES, Best of 2014 and Best of 2013 CDs (Plus everything above)
$200 - 5 CDs (Best of 2012-2014 & KES CDs), CalgarySoca T-Shirt , CJSW Mug (Plus everything at $75 level)
$400 - CJSW Sweater, Backpack, CJSW Mug, VIP to EVERY CalgarySoca event for 2015, & everything else listed above!
Donating this year helps CJSW bring you licensed podcasts!
Pledge online via: http://fundingdrive.ca/ (indicate you are donating on the 'Carnival Mix' show to receive all the stuff above!

Oct 18, 2014

Oct 12, 2014

Carnival Mix # 170 - More Early 2015 Riddims

The Obsidian Awards, celebrating Caribbean and African achievements in Calgary, is on this Thanksgiving (Canada) weekend and Maxi Priest was in studio for the previous reggae show. He stuck around for a couple pics with the crew, so we played a couple of his Soca collaborations to warm up for the concert.  We also featured 3 new riddims to tease Carnival 2015.


Aug 25, 2014

Get Ready for MASK this Halloween

We just came off an amazing month of parties and concerts in Alberta for 2014, but don't put away the carnival costumes and masks just yet.  CalgarySoca proudly presents the return of MASK, the Halloween event for Soca Lovers.  Join DJs Drew Atlas, Sherman Hype, and the entire CalgarySoca family as we bring the party once again to Local 002 (2 Richard Way SW Calgary).  Get your tickets now online.  For more info call (403)-701-8041 or (587)-287-7639
 

Carnival Mix #163 - Kes the Band - Interview and Concert Warm Up

Kees Dieffenthaller, the lead singer for Trinidad's Kes the band calls in to the show just prior to their amazing 2 hour performance at Calgary's 'Flames Central' on Saturday evening. The studio was full as Toronto's DJ Soca Sweetness, Ottawa's DJ Massive Vibes, and Edmonton's #1 promoter, Evan Rutherford were all on hand for a few jokes as well with the CalgarySoca crew. Thank you to everyone who came through and made this entire weekend one that Calgary won't soon forget!

Aug 7, 2014

KES the Band live!





CalgarySoca was proud to present, for the first time in Calgary, KES  the Band!

The dynamic ensemble from Trinidad and Tobago was here as a part of Carifest 2014 celebrations. 

Massive hits like ' Wotless', 'Where Yuh From', 'Precision Wine' and more filled Calgary's Flames Central on Saturday August 23rd 2014.
http://www.eventbrite.ca/e/kes-the-band-carifest-2014-tickets-12556967227?aff=eorg

To see the entire Album of pics, CLICK HERE

Aug 4, 2014

Carnival Mix #160 - Barbados Cropover finalists 2014!

As we continue to cover this summer's Caribbean Carnivals, its no secret that the CalgarySoca crew looks forward to the music of Crop Over Barbados!  This year has been great (this is the 2nd show that we've dedicated to Bajan music), however, this show we get to focus on the finalists of this year's 'Sweet' and 'Party' Monarch competitions.  Congratulations to this years winners:

Sweet Soca Winner: Biggie Irie - Pankatang
Party Monarch Winner: Gorg - Me Rum

for all the results go here: http://bit.ly/cropover2014


Aug 2, 2014

Kes claims the 'Summer Cyah Done"

As we countdown to KES the band in Calgary on Saturday Aug.23rd for Carifest celebrations, we get to enjoy the latest video release, "Endless Summer" which was released today.  See how many 'Trini Celeb' cameos you can make out.

Jul 19, 2014

Carnival Mix #158 - St. Lucia Soca Monarch winners 2014

Congratulations goes out to the winners of this year's Soca Monarch competition in St. Lucia. Just before the competition the crew had a chance to recap all the finalists in both the Groovy and Power Categories. Take a listen to them all on the show, along with some of this year's more popular riddims, and get yourself up to speed.

This year's winners are:

Groovy results 
1st Arthur "Numb"
2nd Ambi "Bumper is Mine"
3rd Ricky T "Doh Let Go"

Power results
1st Ezra "Bachannal Rampage"
2nd Ambi "Free"
3rd J Mouse "Hurt It"

Jul 13, 2014

Jul 7, 2014

Carnival Mix #156 - Vincy Mas, Monarch Finalists 2014

Congratulations to Fireman Hooper for capturing both the Ragga Soca and Power Soca Monarch titles for Vincy Mas 2014. Just prior to the finals in St. Vincent, the Calgary Soca crew went through all the finalists in both categories on-air, so that we could all be familiar with the tunes before the live stream of the event. Here it is now for you to get up to speed as well. Enjoy!

Jun 29, 2014

Carnival Mix #155 - Plenty Artists - Soca Radio Show

Summer is here and more and more artists across the Caribbean are getting ready for their respective Carnivals. We showcase a bunch more new tunes for Vincy Mas, Cropover, Antigua Carnival, St. Lucia Carnival and more! We also heard that in addition to KES in Calgary for Carifest in August, there will be a few more artists in Alberta before the end of summer. Watch out Edmonton it looks like Cariwest will be massive this year! Rumor has it we'll be seeing K.I, Lyrikal, and 5Star Akil

Jun 14, 2014

Jun 3, 2014

May 1, 2014

We're off to St.Lucia Jazz fest!

We apologize in advance if you don't get regular updates from us during the next couple weeks.  The CalgarySoca family is off to sunny St. Lucia to take in the annual Jazz fest.

(There is ample Caribbean music at the Island-wide festival, and we hope to take in the likes of Teddyson John, Tessanne Chin and more.)

Regular updates will resume here on CalgarySoca the week of May 17.

Apr 29, 2014

Friday June 13th, the BlackOut returns!

It hasn't been since February's Carnival fete that we had an official CalgarySoca party here in the city.  The action returns on Friday June 13th for BlackOut 2014!  Nothing but the hottest Soca tunes, and ALL BLACK ATTIRE is a must!

DJ Sherman Hype once again joins Drew Atlas at Local 002 to deliver the tunes.  Get your tickets now either online at http://BlackOutFete2014.eventbrite.ca or by calling 403-701-8041 & 403-800-0101.

Tickets $15
Eventbrite - BlackOut Soca Fete 2014

Apr 27, 2014

CalgarySoca gets on Ottawa's Soca Boat!


Friday June 20th, CalgarySoca heads out to the nation's capital for the first time ever to join DJ Massive Vibes and Natural Mystic on the Soca Boat! For the last few years, the Soca Boat has been one of the must-go-to events for Ottawa's Carivibe and this year, DrewAtlas, Carrie and Anthony have gotten an invite to be a part of the fete. Stay tuned for more details! We'll post any updates as they come. Follow on Twitter @massiveVIBES or go to www.SocaBoat.ca 

 

Carnival Mix #147 - Drunk til Morning

Last week the CalgarySoca crew was out of town for Easter visiting family,  so mix #146 was actually a replay of the 'Best of Trinidad Carnival 2014.  Catch that HERE.

This week the crew partied a little too hard the night before, but Soca is as good a remedy as anything to get you up and about. By the end of the show, Drew seemed to have his senses returned, but Anthony was still hurting. Enjoy the old and 2014 hits in this mix.

Apr 13, 2014

Carnival Mix #145 - Pure Heat

Beenie Man was in Calgary this week for an amazing show so we decided to feature some of the best of Beenie's collaborations with Soca artists.  Also this week the video dropped for Timaya's remix to 'Bum Bum' ft. Sean Paul.  Check it out on the video page when you get a chance.  In the mean time enjoy this week's mix!

Download coming soon

Apr 11, 2014

Apr 4, 2014

Mar 31, 2014

Carnival Mix #143 - featuring Skinny Fabulous

http://bit.ly/1lyIdN2
Vincy Soca Superstar, Skinny Fabulous was in Edmonton on Saturday for the always 'massive' 'Cold Sweat Fete' put on by ETR events. This week's show was dedicated to the growing library of Carnival hits from 'Skinny'. Skinny Fabulous even calls in to the show to let us know what he's been up to since Trinidad Carnival, and what fans can expect from him for this year's Vincy Mas.

The CalgarySoca crew has made 'Cold Sweat' a 'must-go-to' event for the past few years, but with scheduling conflicts here in Calgary, had to miss out this year. Skinny Fabulous lets us all know what he thought about that as well, Enjoy!
 

Mar 25, 2014

Carnival Mix #142 - Soca Radio Show

http://bit.ly/QcWPEO
With Skinny Fabulous making his way to Edmonton on the 29th, we zero in on a couple of his tracks as well as check out some new jams from his fellow 'Vincy' Countrymen. Anthony threatens to dance like 'Benjai'. Drew fills a few requests, then joins Anthony in interrupting Carrie just enough that someone might get hurt.  Enjoy!
Download mp3

Mar 17, 2014

Carnival Mix #141 - International Soca Mix

So Trinidad Carnival is over and you don't know what to do with yourself? Check out some of the international collaborations that ensure the Soca vibe continues around the world. This week we look forward to upcoming festivals with music not just from Trinidad, but also with new music from, St. Vincent, Antigua, Grenada, BIM, BVI, the UK, the US, Canada, Sweden, and even Japan. We also visit some of the Afrobeat rhythms that crossover so well with modern Soca. Machel Montano takes us 'raving' plus teams up with Ravi B and bring us the sounds of genuine Indian fusion. Bunji Garlin delivers a Brazilian Samba inspired gem, and Kerwin Du Bois and Lil Rick let us know what 'Monster Winers' from the Dominican Republic are capable of. Soca really is a 'World' music. Enjoy!


Download mp3

Mar 9, 2014

Mar 4, 2014

Mar 1, 2014

Kerwin wins Groovy, Machel retains Power. Killa is the Breakout



(mylime.ca) International Soca Monarch Final results were announced shortly after 4am this morning after 21 artists went head to head for Soca Monarch bragging rights. In the end it was King Machel being crowned Power Soca Monarch for the 4th consecutive time, but his bid for a 3-peat in the Groovy category was denied by the crowd favourite, Kerwin Du Bois.   The ISM 2014 Final Results are as follows:   

2014 Power Soca Monarch Final Results 

1. Machel Montano (MOR) 
2. Mr. Killa (Rolly Polly) (Tie) 
2. Destra (Mash Up) (Tie) 
2. Iwer George (Mama Yo) (Tie)


2014 Groovy Soca Monarch Final Results 

1. Kerwin Du Bois (Too Real) 
2. Machel Montano (Happiest Man Alive) 
3. Farmer Nappy (Big People Party) 
4. Destra Garcia (First Time) 

Congratulations also goes out to crowd favourite Mr. Killa for securing the 'Breakout Artist' title ahead of Erphaan Alves.



Watch some of the best/most talked about performances of the night below: (1hr 26min)




Feb 28, 2014

Feb 26, 2014

Watch Soca Monarch 2014 Streaming LIVE

http://gocamp.us/pay-per-view/soca-monarch/
Thank you to CarnivalTV (broadcasters of last year's Soca Monarch) for the link to this year's competition.

We can all experience the Pay-Per-View event for $19.95USD and the stream appears available for all internet devices including iOS and Android.

The names have been drawn for the order of appearance, plus confirmed performances from Bunji Garlin and Kes the Band in addition to the competitors, means this should be a 3-hour-plus concert experience that you don't want to miss:

 *We have been given 2 links to PPV.

For Canada and US viewers: http://ultrastream.tv

Viewers in the Caribbean ONLY : http://gocamp.us/pay-per-view/soca-monarch/



Groovy Monarch order of Appearance
 Here is the Order of Performances for the Groovy Category on #ISM2014 Fantastic Friday!

  1. Ravi B
  2. Mr. Famous
  3. Erphaan Alves
  4. Skinny Fabulous (St. Vincent)
  5. Denise 'Saucy' Belfon
  6. Biggie Irie  (Barbados)
  7. Destra
  8. Tallpree (Grenada)
  9. Farmer Nappy
  10. Cassi
  11. Kerwin Du Bois
  12. Machel Montano


Power Monarch order of Appearance
Here is the Order of Performances for the Power Category on #ISM2014 Fantastic Friday!

  1. Ann-G (Japan) 
  2. Snakey 
  3. Nadia Batson 
  4. Patrice Roberts 
  5. Super Blue 
  6. Iwer George 
  7. Lyrikal 
  8. Devon Matthews 
  9. Destra 
  10. Mr. Killa (Grenada) 
  11. Machel Montano

Feb 23, 2014

Feb 22, 2014

Feb 9, 2014

Feb 3, 2014

Carnival Mix #135 - POWER Soca

http://bit.ly/1bkecYf
With Soca Monarch semis right around the corner, its time we got up to speed with the Power hits that are impacting T and T Carnival.  We also are happy to announce that in addition to being heard now on CJSW on Saturdays and Mylimeradio.com on Sundays, the 'Carnival Mix' will be heard on TeamSoca.com on Tuesdays as well, starting on Feb. 4th 2014

Jan 29, 2014

CalgarySoca can now be heard on TeamSoca.com

http://www.teamsoca.com
Starting Tuesday Feb 4th 2014, CalgarySoca's 'Carnival Mix' will be heard on TeamSoca.com.  The show takes over the regular Tuesday 5-6pm (EST) slot and will of course continue to feature the Soca, Chutney, Kaiso, Island Pop and Pan that has been reaching Calgary listeners for close to 3yrs.  The crew joins an elite crew of presenters over at TeamSoca including, Canada's Dr. Jay, Florida's Barrie Hype, California's DJ Stephen, New York's DJ Spice and legendary Trinidad presenter Ian D' Goose.

Check out the Live Stream here

International Soca Monarch 2014 - Semi Finalists

Soca Monarch 2014
We're counting down the days to this year's Soca Monarch competition.  The semi-finalists were announced yesterday, and today the participants found out what order they would be competing in both the 'Groovy' and 'Power' categories. 

The show takes place on Sunday Feb 9th 2014 at Trinidad's Arima Velodrome.  Below are the performers in both 'Groovy' and 'Power' in their order of appearance.

Jan 26, 2014

Jan 20, 2014

CalgarySoca joins MyLimeRadio.com!

Carnival Mix airs Sun 11am-noon (EST)
MyLimeRadio.com currently plays Caribbean music online 24/7 and features DJs from the US, Trinidad and some of Canada's best DJs, such as DJ Soca Sweetness, Renegade Squad and Mr. Playhouse.

Starting Sunday January 26th 2014, the CalgarySoca crew will be bringing their year round passion for Soca to the MyLimeradio.com network. The show will continue to feature host/DJ Drew Atlas with co-hosts Carrie and Anthony, and focus on everything from Soca, 'Island Pop', Chutney, Pan, etc.

In addition to their regular slot on Calgary's CJSW 90.9fm on Saturdays, check for 'the Carnival Mix' now every Sunday from 11am-noon (EST) {9am-10am (MST)} on mylimeradio.com

Jan 19, 2014

Jan 14, 2014

Get Ready for F.F.C 2014


https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.651714898210347.1073741832.180257572022751&type=3
F.F.C is here again.  Its the First Fete for Carnival in Calgary for the year! Get familiar with all the hits for Trinidad and Tobago Carnival as CalgarySoca returns to Local 002 (2 Richard Way SW, Calgary) for a massive night of Soca. Friday February 21. 2014.  Music by Drew Atlas and Sherman Hype


*Thank you to everyone that came out.  See some of the pics from the night HERE

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.651714898210347.1073741832.180257572022751&type=3

Jan 12, 2014

Jan 4, 2014

Get fit for 2014 with 'Buss a Sweat 5' from Ruan Legend

Early into 2014 many new year's resolutions include getting into 'Carnival Shape' for Trinidad 2014.  We found this massive mix from Ruan Legend of Dei Musicale (the musical gods) that should be in everyone's workout playlist.  It's called 'Buss a Sweat 2013' but don't get it twisted its 2014 ready!  Add it to yours now and get 'ready for the road'