Xtatik
Encyclopedia
Xtatik is a locally and well-known Trinidad and Tobago
soca
band led by Machel Montano
.
. The original line-up was (then 9-year-old) Machel Montano (vocals), Joseph Rivers (guitar), Vincent Rivers (bass guitar), Derwin Vallie (keyboards), Sterling Paul (trombone), Oral Rodriguez (saxophone), Marlon Roach (trumpet), Rodney Daniel (trumpet), Gregory Pegus (drums), and Darryl Henry (percussion). The group became Xtatik in 1989. Their early albums Breaking Out (1990) and One Step Ahead (1991) were both locally successful, and the band had several hit singles in Trinidad & Tobago. In 1991 they recruited guitarist Roger George and moved to a sound that fused Soca and dancehall
. Several albums followed in this vein and the band won road march titles at carnivals in Caribana and Miami in 1994. In 1995 they successfully blended soca and house
on "Come Dig It", giving them exposure in the United States. They won the Trinidad Road March title in 1997 with "Big Truck", and again in 1998 with "Footsteps". In 1998, Peter C. Lewis joined as co-lead vocalist.
Xtatik, won the Party Band Competition in 1996. According to -Metro Connections, Montano "successfully crosses boundaries between young and old, between Jamaica and Trinidad and between soca and dancehall."
Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago is an archipelagic state in the southern Caribbean, lying just off the coast of northeastern Venezuela and south of Grenada in the Lesser Antilles...
soca
Soca music
Soca is a style of music from Trinidad and Tobago. Soca is a musical development of traditional Trinidadian calypso, through loans from the 1960s onwards from predominantly black popular music....
band led by Machel Montano
Machel Montano
Machel Montano is a soca singer, record producer and songwriter based in the Trinidad and Tobago....
.
History
The band evolved from Panasonic Express, which was formed in 1984 in Port of SpainPort of Spain
Port of Spain, also written as Port-of-Spain, is the capital of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago and the country's third-largest municipality, after San Fernando and Chaguanas. The city has a municipal population of 49,031 , a metropolitan population of 128,026 and a transient daily population...
. The original line-up was (then 9-year-old) Machel Montano (vocals), Joseph Rivers (guitar), Vincent Rivers (bass guitar), Derwin Vallie (keyboards), Sterling Paul (trombone), Oral Rodriguez (saxophone), Marlon Roach (trumpet), Rodney Daniel (trumpet), Gregory Pegus (drums), and Darryl Henry (percussion). The group became Xtatik in 1989. Their early albums Breaking Out (1990) and One Step Ahead (1991) were both locally successful, and the band had several hit singles in Trinidad & Tobago. In 1991 they recruited guitarist Roger George and moved to a sound that fused Soca and dancehall
Dancehall
Dancehall is a genre of Jamaican popular music that originated in the late 1970s. Initially dancehall was a more sparse version of reggae than the roots style, which had dominated much of the 1970s. In the mid-1980s, digital instrumentation became more prevalent, changing the sound considerably,...
. Several albums followed in this vein and the band won road march titles at carnivals in Caribana and Miami in 1994. In 1995 they successfully blended soca and house
House music
House music is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in Chicago, Illinois, United States in the early 1980s. It was initially popularized in mid-1980s discothèques catering to the African-American, Latino American, and gay communities; first in Chicago circa 1984, then in other...
on "Come Dig It", giving them exposure in the United States. They won the Trinidad Road March title in 1997 with "Big Truck", and again in 1998 with "Footsteps". In 1998, Peter C. Lewis joined as co-lead vocalist.
Xtatik, won the Party Band Competition in 1996. According to -Metro Connections, Montano "successfully crosses boundaries between young and old, between Jamaica and Trinidad and between soca and dancehall."