Aiko Roudette to present work on SVG at London Jazz Festival

Once again, St Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) will be featured on the international entertainment stage in London, England, thanks to artist, Aiko Roudette.

The local film maker was chosen to be part of the EFG London Jazz Festival on a team that includes Cassie Kinoshi, bandleader of a 10-piece ensemble called “Seed”. Roudette is presenting accompanying visuals for Kinoshi’s piece which will be performed with the London Symphony Orchestra.

For those not familiar with Kinoshi, “she is a Mercury Prize-nominated (2019) and Ivors Academy Award-winning (2018) Berlin/London-based composer, arranger and alto-saxophonist with a focus on creating multi-disciplinarily and genre-blending performance work in various audio-visual contexts.

Kinoshi and Roudette’s work will be on display at an event that takes place at The Barbican Centre in the City of London on Thursday November 21, 2024.

Explaining the gig, Roudette told SEARCHLIGHT that on show night, her 25-minute video production, shot locally over seven days, will play, while “Seed” performs at The Barbican, a venue that regularly welcomes internationally renowned musicians.

“I am part of the cast as a visual artist…Cassie’s band will perform live and the visuals from St Vincent and the Grenadines will be projected above the orchestra to accompany the music. The visuals are designed to complement the themes and emotion of the orchestral piece,” Roudette explained.

“Cassie’s song itself is inspired by climate change…on a post she has on Instagram, she describes the piece as inspired by anger about the lack of action around climate change and the destruction of the beauty of the natural environment.”

Roudette explained that Kinoshi’s piece is called “Heart” and is inspired by Jamaican writer and activist, Una Marson’s 1931 poem “Nature’s Heart”.

“Heart” celebrates the beauty of nature while underscoring the urgency of the climate crisis.

In relation to her video, the local film producer said Kinoshi reached out to her after recommendations from a mutual friend and explained what she wanted to portray.

Roudette said her presentation shows among other things, the rich culture of SVG which features local Garifuna aficionado, Ulrica Gaymes doing a traditional Garifuna dance (performed at the Owia Salt Pond), while the video also shows the ocean surrounding the multi-island chain, as well as the flora and fauna.

“As a part of this we did a Garifuna dance workshop with children in Fancy. Ulrica went up there and taught some of the dances and we filmed the children from Fancy dancing and this is featured in the piece. Clyornique Durrant, a teacher at the Fancy Primary School, is also involved.”

Roudette said she is once again excited to be able to showcase SVG to the world through film.

“I feel positive about being able to bring Vincentian images into a space as prestigious as The Barbican. I feel pleased that I am really able to give more representation to St Vincent and the Grenadines,” Roudette said, while noting that Kinoshi’s piece brings attention to the serious issue of climate change.

“I think these major global powers such as the United Kingdom have a lot to be accountable for around their inaction on climate change and colonialism. So, the way I have constructed the piece is almost like I am trying to create tension that looks back at the audience and holds them (global powers) accountable for climate change as the more powerful nations of the world,” she explained.

“It is not an ornamental, decorative piece but one with a deep social message. I am trying to show the essence and beauty of St Vincent and the Grenadines as we face these weather conditions and as we are feeling the effect of climate change when we are not responsible for creating these issues.”

Roudette said while producing this most recent piece, she wanted to build a workshop component into it as she normally does in her work.

“In a lot of the work I do, I try to find a way to build a level of community engagement because I’m not trying to just take peoples’ stories for my benefit. It’s part of working with a conscience as when you take, you should always give and that’s the kind of ethos I try to work with.

Kinoshi’s music and Roudette’s videography will close the night’s performances which will play to a packed hall of about 1943 people.

Roudette said Kinoshi’s piece has a kind of “sombre” feel, and speaks about what our future looks like if we don’t sort out the climate crisis.