Luta returns from World Music Expo in Denmark

Fresh off a one week trip to Copenhagen, Denmark, to attend the World Music Expo (WOMEX), LIME Soca Dans star, Rondy ‘Luta’ McIntosh,{{more}} is of the view that St Vincent and the Grenadines should attempt to heavily infiltrate the European market with soca music.

The man behind some of this country’s biggest soca songs described the experience in Copenhagen as an “ecstatic” one. “The people from these European countries appreciate our style of music and they just love the soca vibe,” Luta said.

McIntosh noted that he was chosen as part of a Caribbean delegation by the Regional Council of Martinique and the Caribbean Export Development Agency (CEDA) to attend the Expo. He explained that one of the aims of both agencies was to merge Caribbean music, despite some of the language barriers of different countries.

“Although we are so close, there is still segregation on how we collaborate with music,” McIntosh said. Another aim was to take Caribbean culture to Europe and expose it and also to form contacts.

While in Copenhagen, McIntosh said he, along with Manager of Island Network Herric Horne, met with music professionals from Africa and other parts of the world. McIntosh said they were able to do some impromptu performances, which he noted attracted a lot of people to their booth.

Good things are already in store for McIntosh, as he told SEARCHLIGHT that an online music distributor from Germany is seeking to distribute his music on the European market.

Adding that he has also formed links in Belgium, McIntosh said he is scheduled to be part of a delegation attending the upcoming Olympic games. In April of next year, McIntosh will be heading to Haiti to perform at a festival for a Haitian artiste there named ‘Belo’.

“We really need to tap into the European market with our Soca music. Right now we are looking to do collaborations with other artistes who attended WOMEX,” McIntosh added.

Hailing the trip as a success, Horne said that the trip was a groundbreaking experience, one which he says opened up many doors, not only for Luta, but St Vincent and the Grenadines.

“This is a whole new experience for us. This Expo enhances our capacity and helped us to build stronger networks,” Horne noted.

He promised Vincentians that they can look forward to great things for Vincy Mas 2012, as they would be putting in place some of what they gathered in Copenhagen.(KW)