While many in Trinidad and Tobago will more than likely be suffering from masquerader’s ‘tabanca’ tomorrow, the King of Soca, Machel Montano will be channeling his energy in a pretty unexpected way this year.
Currently in India, Machel is set to perform at the MahaShivRatri celebrations being held at Isha Yoga Center in that part of the world tomorrow. Highlighted as the biggest performance of his entire career, Machel says this isn’t just another stage performance for him, since this event is deeply connected to his own spiritual journey. MahaShivRatri is one of the largest and most sacred festivals in India, and the gathering at Isha Yoga Center attracted more than 120 million people in person and online in 2021.
Machel has embarked on his spiritual journey with his wife, Renee, and his manager, Che Kothari. For the past seven months, he’s been in India participating in a yoga programme (Sadhanapada) at the Isha Yoga Center, under the tutelage of well known Indian yoga guruSadhguru – undeniably seem as one of the most influential visionaries of this time. Sadhguru leads the nightlong festival of meditation, music and dance at at MahaShivRatri.
Tomorrow night, Machel will perform new music from his label MONK music, a collaboration between himself and Marge Blackman titled “Touch The Ground,” which is featured on the Save Soil Riddim, produced by DJ Private Ryan. “It is one of the most profound moments of my life, to be performing at this festival. After 40 years in the music industry, I am overwhelmed with joy and gratitude for this opportunity and for what it represents on a global level,” said the artist.
Sadhguru
Separately, Machel has partnered with Sadhguru on the ‘Conscious Planet Save Soil’ movement, to raise global awareness and encourage government policy action to revitalize soil. The new single ‘Touch the Ground,’ is a call to action for Caribbean people and the world to find ways to protect the world’s soil from further degradation.
In addition to this global performance at MahaShivRatri tomorrow, Montano will collaborate with the students of the Isha Home School in a musical performance on March 5th, to raise awareness of the Save Soil movement. The performance will take place on Montano’s Instagram Live at 8:30 am AST / 6:00 pm IST.
Later, in mid-March, Montano will join Sadhguru on a visit to the Caribbean including visits to Antigua & Barbuda, Guyana and Belize where they will meet with government leaders from across the region to discuss and collaborate on the Save Soil movement. The visits will form part of a global tour led by Sadhguru to launch Save Soil.
“No matter how much wealth, education, and money we have, our children cannot live well unless we restore the soil and water. Conscious Planet, the only way forward.” – Sadhguru
Love the rhythm, body movement and mainly the intention regarding touching the earth, soil or ground. Trust this gets a big break through regarding all the effort of all involved both living and deceased.
The time has come for good vibes to counteract all negative energy and together with his manager/producer, US based, Trinidadian artiste, Mr. Lee it doing what he feels he can, to inject that positivity.“I know the streets. I can tell you about the streets. Badness and the roughness is what they know. If they got the chance to get to know something else, they would do something else,” said the entertainer.
His music is refreshing. Afrobeats, coupled with Soul and RnB bring to life, a song on The Only 1 Riddim, that he calls, “Take Care.” For Mr. Lee, an artiste with many years of experience on the entertainment circuit overseas, and in the Caribbean, he is mindful of what he sings. “This type of music is necessary at all times to spread love and joy. I wish there could have been more beautiful messages all the time because it’s really important to spread love,” he said with hope.
Joining artistes like Preedy and Christo on the riddim, Mr. Lee is proud of the project. “This project means a whole lot to me. I have two girls and my wife and I have to express my love to them every single day of my life. I have my mom, my sisters, and I have to show them all the love I have within me. All the artistes on this riddim have done the same – we all expressed what we want to express to our loved ones. Most are real stories that can be relatable to others in society,” he explained.
On the topic of love and the importance of understanding what love is, Mr. Lee said for human beings to share love, they must first feel love. “If your father is not showing you love, how will you know love. Most of our youths have no parents around them. They are being influenced by a harsh representation of love, which really, is not love.” At the same time, he called on the elders within societies around the world, to try to strike a balance with the youth, especially in present time. “When I was growing up, the older heads never wanted to release a lot to the youths; they never wanted to give the youths a chance. People in positions of power must give the youths a chance to prove themselves. They have great ideas, but they need mentorship and guidance,” he said.
“Take Care,” written by Joseph ‘Pronto’ Figueroa, is a quality single with a passionate plea for more honest, kind, loving relational experiences. Unlike much of today’s lyrics, Mr. Lee keeps it classy, maintaining a thoughtful approach to music, with lyrics that penetrate. “The raw thoughts – we never heard that as youths. Some things should be kept personal,” he opined. An advocate for goodness, Mr. Lee is calling on men around the world to show their companions more love, in the right way. “Everybody wants to fight and kill. They don’t want to talk about things properly. We need to talk to our spouses more. We need to learn how to communicate better and spend more time with our loved ones.”
Happy to have enjoyed a successful run in Carnival 2026, in Trinidad and Tobago, Mr. Lee is working on new music even as he promotes this brand-new track. “I’m working on new Soca to release for the Summer. I’m working, and I’m happy with the progress I’ve been able to make so far. It’s a process,” he said of being in the music business.
The state-to-state carnival wave set to begin in the US soon, Mr. Lee says this year he is looking forward to heading to Miami for Carnival there and will be back home in T&T, come Carnival 2027. In the meantime, the T&T native and dedicated family man is spreading love through good music that he knows is absolutely necessary at this time.
Caribbean entertainment doesn’t sleep. Proof of that comes in the release of brand new music, this time courtesy the superstar duo of Full Blown – brothers, Kevon and Kory Hart. Their new track, “No Stress” has been released complete with a new music video and it’s a big look for the duo.
No Stress is a vibrant, feel-good anthem that continues the duo’s evolution from soca favourites into one of the Caribbean’s most versatile and globally resonant musical acts.
Known for their strong songwriting skills, undeniable chemistry and sonic fearlessness, brothers Kevon and Kory have steadily built a reputation for creating music that transcends borders, generations and genres. Over the years, Full Blown has become synonymous with high-energy Caribbean songwriting, penning and producing hits that have dominated Carnival seasons, regional charts and party playlists across the diaspora.
Now, with No Stress, the duo taps into dancehall nostalgia while pushing Caribbean fusion music into fresh territory. The track reimagines the iconic Shabba Ranks classic Ting A Ling, blending vintage dancehall energy with Full Blown’s contemporary Caribbean flavour.
The release follows the brothers’ success with the track, The Greatest Bend Over (Take It Easy) alongside Yung Bredda, a crossover hit that amassed more than 40 million streams worldwide and was described by Billboard Magazine as “culture-quaking.”
“People know us for soca hits and high-energy music, but this record really reflects who we are creatively,” said Kevon. “We grew up influenced by so many sounds across the Caribbean. We are a happy, joyful, fun-loving people. We just want good vibes. No stress.”
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Inez Ross
2nd March 2022 at 1:33 AM
Love the rhythm, body movement and mainly the intention regarding touching the earth, soil or ground. Trust this gets a big break through regarding all the effort of all involved both living and deceased.