Is Carnival a bacchanal?

Chef Khalid Mohammed is one of the Caribbean's leading chefs. In this chat with Franka, he reflects on how Covid has affected his restaurant business and reveals why he believes fine dining can't succeed for the foreseeable future in Trinidad and Tobago.

Full Bloom is the newest band to hit the streets of London for the annual Notting Hill Carnival. Featuring designs by two of Trinidad's leading designers - Sandra Hordatt and Shari Cumberbatch, along with London-based Michelle Lucas, bandleader Jean Pierre Poteon promises something for every kind of mas player. 

JP, as he's more commonly known, tells Franka how he came to the business of Carnival and explains his commitment to raising the standard of band management and customer service for the summer festival with his entertainment company Frolic Nation. 

David Prendergast is a Jamaican who loves parang and pastelles.

He developed a penchant for these uniquely Trinidadian things during his four-year tenure as High Commissioner to Trinidad & Tobago.

This edition of Talk 'Bout Us features an interview he did with Franka just before he returned to Jamaica earlier this year.

In this conversation, he speaks about the sometimes tricky relationship between T&T and Jamaica. The rivalry between the two countries usually manifests as light-hearted banter about football or food but in recent years, issues like immigration and trade have created some high tension. 

Prendergast also speaks about how culture has been a unifying force and the ways in which this country captured his heart.

Carnival fetes are driving the success of the season and promoters want the authorities to cut down the red tape involved in putting on major events.

This was the view of three major players in the fete industry during a recent discussion that looked back on the Carnival 2019 season. The discussion is featured in this bonus episode of Talk Bout Us.

Paige de Leon of the Fete Promoters Association; Jules Sobion, commander-in-chief of Caesar's Army and St Mary's College Past Student Union president Brevard Nelson cited inconsistencies in the process to obtain bar and dancehall licenses as one of the major challenges.

The three joined Franka and LoopTT's Ricquolia Phillip for the chat at Uncorked Wines and Spirits in Port of Spain.

Four-time Olympian Cleopatra Borel is the star on this edition of Talk 'Bout Us. She joins Franka to speak about women in sport - the athletes and the journalists.

"Cleo" speaks frankly about her challenges as she attempts to compete in her fifth Olympic Games in Japan in 2020, the shortcomings of athletics in Trinidad & Tobago and what she envisions as her future after she retires from competition.

Also featuring in this podcast are Naasira Mohammed, the first woman to be appointed media and communications manager for the West Indies men and women's cricket teams; Rachael Thompson-King, senior sports journalist at the T&T Guardian Newspaper and Barbadian journalist Alex Jordan, formerly of Caribbean sport cable channel Sportsmax.

A visit by American jazz giants Spyro Grya kicks off what has now come to be known as "Jazz Season" in Trinidad and Tobago.  In this bonus episode of Talk 'Bout Us, Franka speaks with Carl "Beaver" Henderson, promoter of the new concert, Sunset Jazz.

Henderson also discusses why he brought promoters of other local jazz shows, along with officials of  Trinidad Tourism Ltd and the Trinidad Hotel, Restaurants and Tourism Association together to push for Jazz Season to be promoted internationally.

In this edition of Talk 'Bout Us, we conclude our Carnival 2019 series The Re-Release with a heavy hitter - David Michael Rudder.

Rudder is one of the Caribbean's most influential musical storytellers. His thought-provoking and incisive lyrics have enlightened the Caribbean consciousness with songs like Haiti, Rally Round the West Indies, Ganges Meets the Nile, Calypso Music, Rant of a Madman and 1990.

He tells Franka how the events sparked by the death of young black boy in August 1991 in Brooklyn inspired his favourite song. Interestingly, Rudder says his 2019 release Mix It and Bring It is what he would consider his re-release. 

In the latest edition of Talk 'Bout Us, Franka presents the fourth installment of our Carnival 2019 series, The Re-release. 

Our featured performer started in the calypso arena, winning the national Junior Calypso and Junior Soca Monarch titles in 2001.

By 2006, she was part of the band Xtatik and became the youngest Road march winner with the song Band of the Year featuring Machel Montano. 

Now a solo artist and a mother, this once shy girl from Toco is one of the most consistent and sought after soca artistes on the scene.

With songs like A Little Wine, Old and Grey, Big Girl Now, Sweet for Days and this year's Like It Hot, Patrice Roberts is certainly a fan favourite. 

Talk 'Bout Us speaks to Trinidadian performer Kees Dieffenthaller for its Carnival 2019 series The Re-Release. Dieffenthaller, lead vocalist of Kes The Band, is one of the Caribbean's most versatile performers with a stack of soca hits, and pop songs that have been chart toppers in places like Greece and Hawaii.

His 2019 song Savannah Grass has captured the public imagination and is a frontrunner for the prestigious Road March title. In this edition, Kees tells Franka about the process of creating Savannah Grass with producer Jelani Shaw, how his late father influenced his love for Trinidadian culture and people and he also reveals the songs he would like to rework. 

CREDITS

Produced and presented by Franka Philip

Theme music by Lyndon Livingstone (Razorshop Productions)

Thanks to Question Mark Entertainment and Kees Dieffenthaller

Music credits
Savannah Grass written by Kees Dieffenthaller and Jelani "Pops" Shaw, produced by Jelani Shaw. 

Hello written by Kees Dieffanthaller and Kit Israel, produced by Kit Israel (Advokit Productions)

In this episode, of Talk 'Bout Us, we are into the second part of our special Carnival 2019 series - The Re-Release. The men of rapso collective 3canal tell us about the songs that have meant the most to them over their more than 20-year career and which songs they think could do with a second outing. 

1n 1998, 3canal gave the rapso genre a shot in the arm with their monster hit Blue. In the years that followed, Wendell Manwarren, Stanton Kewley and Roger Roberts (original member John Isaacs passed away in 2000) have been shining a light on society with a style that stays true to a uniquely Trinidadian oral tradition.