NEW YORK (Fusion Records PR) - Fusion Records, a New York based record label has developed a focus to create a litigate platform for artists who operate in the area of Caribbean music to have a forum to create, record and get the appropriate marketing and promotions for their music in an effort to take our music/culture to new levels of awareness in the world arena of entertainment.
Ever wondered why Caribbean music is not played enough on mainstream radio stations? Ever wondered why our kids have musical icons that don't mirror our culture and value systems? The answer is simple, the production of our music is not done with parity to the American mainstream and our artists/celebrities have no corporate structure supporting their growth and development. While Caribbean music (soca, reggae, chutney etc.) is close to our hearts and had been incubated and crossed over with the likes of Bob Marley, Sean Paul, Shaggy and most recently Kevin Lyttle over time, the rest of the world had never gotten a really opportunity to experience the music of the islands until now.
More importantly the stable of artists that we have come to know and appreciate has not had an opportunity to gain the attention they truly deserve. This can be accredited to the absence of a focused corporate entity specializing on harnessing the talent emerging from the Caribbean and nurturing it appropriately to bring this music to the fore front in the fashion that Fusion Records has adopted.
We had an opportunity to speak with the managing partners at Fusion and were able to obtain details of one of the first artists that they are focusing on in the Caribbean space. The artist is Rick Ramdehal with heritage from Guyana and Trinidad. Rick has been performing in/around/for Caribbean entertainment for over 15 years and emphasizes 'its been a long time coming, I finally found a company the can support someone like myself and understands the culture and the music to assist in making this a success' – Rick.
His debut album with Fusion - SexyDancin' is a flavored ensemble of music that skirts soca, accentuates dancehall, riddled with influenced from classical Indian while flirting with the facets of a Sean Paul/Bob Marley like sound. It is the perfect fusion of the Caribbean, the American mainstream and the attributes of Indian film songs which are very popular in the Caribbean.
While we think that the corporate direction of the label and the opportunity for Rick and others that we all know and love is insurmountable, more immediately we think that this new level of legitimacy for our music and culture needs to be commended. It is certainly one of the pieces that will provide the pride, acceptance and affinity that the people from the Caribbean islands and Guyana may have been missing perhaps it gives our youngsters an icon, our mid-aged adults something to relate to and provides for our older generation a sense of pride, a sense of 'sense of pride, identity and an affiliation with the cultural and community which contributes to this new Caribbean/American melting pot.' – Verman Bedessee, Partner, Fusion Records.
This view of pride and affinity seems to be the general consensus of the public. Rick's album has been available for sale since March this year, individuals who already have their copies have raving reviews and their call to the Caribbean public is for support. Now we have the corporate entity to assist us, and there is light at the end of the tunnel of 'contributing our part to the world of music' – Richie Etwaru, President Fusion Records, we the people need to go out and support this endeavor. The album is in local music stores, mainstream retail music stores, available on the internet and in several West Indian convenience stores and markets.
This fall Fusion Records is arranging to have close to $25,000,000 (GY) in retail value of complete copies of Rick's debut album – SexyDancin' gifted to individuals residing in Guyana and other Caribbean countries. This amounts to approximately 8,000 copies of SexyDancin' which Rick negotiated as part of his contract in an effort to 'give to the people who made/supported and influenced him over the years' – Rick. We will be covering these arrangements and the dispersion of the disks to different organizations/groups/countries as it progresses over the next few months.
Fusion Records can be contacted at (888) 273-6427, at https://www.fusionus.com or at [email protected]. For a full listing of Rick's performances, more information on the artist or for locations of retail stores that carry the album, one can visit Rick's website directly at https://www.rickramdehal.com.
THE HISTORY
The first generation of Ramdehal's that migrated to Guyana in the 1840's included four brothers, extremely talented and versatile in music, and considered in their country to be the best of their time.
This family heirloom of musical talent was gracefully passed both genetically and culturally onto the new generations. Rick's grandfather (the late Baal Nain), the next generation, was again, one of four brothers. They too were referred to as the best musical talents of their time. By the mid 1900's this generation became internationally known throughout the Indian communities in Trinidad and Suriname. Ironically, until recently, this rich tradition and the Ramdehal musical heritage, remained unknown to the current talented progeny, which includes, you guessed it - four brothers.
Rick and his three brothers, began their musical journey within the US, in their church and through their fascination with culturally identifiable Hindi movies. As the brothers' musical talents emerged (Rick's vocal skills became apparent by age ten) they slowly became aware of the significance of their grandfathers' and great grandfathers' musical influence on the West Indian community, particularly in Guyana. Rick in particular embraced this identification with his musical heritage as his popularity as a young vocal talent progressed.
THE MUSICIAN
Rick's versatility is instantly recognizable - a proficiency on the keyboards, guitar, bass and trumpet - first honed with his brothers in the band Swarangeet. Rick's versatility is the thread that unites his music writing, composition and performance. His commanding combination of vocal and instrumentation skills reached newsworthy proportions during the band's 2001 tour in London. Rick's performance as a lead vocalist and bassist during the Notting Hill Carnival was described as "nothing less than spectacular". His highly energized Soca music performance, spanning 12 hours uninterrupted was given to an estimated audience of 1.2 million people (this sounds outrageously inflated). The following week, Rick again stole the show at Shelby Centre in London on both bass and vocals.
THE VOCALIST
Rick's vocal repertoire includes, Bhajans, Taan Singing, Soca, Reggae, Indian Pop, Chutney, and Mainstream Pop and Rock and his new sound has been described as a fusion of all the above. Rick is professionally meticulous with his vocal training, approaching his vocals as a delicate instrument, and subscribing to deliberate and consistency in his practice.
After listening to Rick's debut album SexyDancin' it is immediately apparent why he was signed to Fusion Records for a multiple album recording contract.
THE PERFORMER
Since age 10, performing has felt as natural to Rick as breathing feels to most. It's not uncommon to sense Rick's energy and comfortable communication immediately become embraced by his audience and vice versa. As a young female fan recently exclaimed "his music is spiritual!" While performing in the 2002 Chutney Soca Monarch, the crowd of over 20,000 people chanted 'Rick, Rick, Rick' for even before the conclusion of his first song. This instance was not an exception - the dynamic has been repeated at almost every Rick Ramdehal performance since.
Rick is now preparing for a full tour in support of his album - SexyDancin' already released in March 2004 by Fusion records Inc. The tour includes featured dates during Miami Carnival, Long Island Carnival, Toronto Caribana, Trinidad Carnival and prominent clubs throughout The U.S. and Caribbean.
THE PERFORMANCES
Pegasus - Georgetown, Guyana 1,900
Notting Hill Carnival - Nottinghill, England 750,000
Nassau Coliseum - Uniondale, New York, 35,000
Chutney Soca Monarch - Sanfernando, Trinidad 40,000
Markham Fair, Toronto, Cannada 10,000 (multiple times)
Labor Day - Brooklyn, New York, 1,000,000 (multiple)
Caribanna - Toronto, Canada 35,000 (multiple times – will be there again in 2004)
Renzy Complex - Couva, Trinidad 15,000
Marineland - Ontario, Canada 9,000
Paramount - Ontario, Canada 18,000
Jersey City Carnival - New Jersey 43,000
Boston - MA 5,000 (multiple times)
Minnesota - 4,000
Miami – Florida 7,000
Hartford - CT 1,200 (multiple times)
Montreal - Canada 800
Soca Paradise - New York 1,500 (multiple times)
Club Tobago – New York 1,500 (multiple times)
Caribbean Tropics – New York 1,500 (multiple times)
Washington DC Carnival – Banneker Park 4000
Orlando Carnival – Florida - 3000
