This may sound boring to you because you read it in the Power Soca post... Soca is Soca! This is the absolute truth when it comes to the music that is called 'Groovy Soca' today... the original music style of Sokah, the music we call 'Soca' today!
Groovy music is simply what people call 'dance-able music'. This applies to all types of music, including what we now call "Groovy Soca". From the very beginning, that was the goal of Ras Shorty I. To create an innovative music style that was 'not boring' and easy to dance to (especially with a partner). Think about it. In the song Endless Vibrations (1974) he sang the following:
"Change the accent of Carnival
to a groovy, groovy Bacchanal.
Wailing, expressing – de old feeling do needs changing.
Wake up, people, examine your minds –
get with it, get with it, the change of the times.
It’s a newgeneration, endless vibrations
– right on, right on, right on, right on!"
He aimed to create music to dance to and have a good time. This was not the wining and grinding style of Carnival. As in the previous article, we discussed the music's tempo. Soca music during that period was around 135 BPM or less. Since, in Trinidad and Tobago, the terms Groovy and Power Soca have to do with the tempo (slower pace vs faster pace) one can conclude that Soca started off initially with the slower standard pace... this pace was given the name "Groovy" in 2005 when the Soca Monarch competition was divided into two segments... Groovy Soca and Power Soca. This was done because 'jump and wave' Soca (speed around 155 BPM) was taking hold and making way for even faster tracks. However, it was a shrewd marketing strategy to help boost the International Soca Monarch Competition.
Once again, we have a case of labeling to satisfy a market segment. As it pertains to sweet music to dance and groove with a significant other, Groovy is easy to understand. Power, on the other hand, created a 'mad frenzy' as did the 'jump and wave' Soca that Super Blue ruled during that period.
So remember that Groovy Soca is what Soca started out as from the beginning. It was simply given a label in 2005 to differentiate it from the faster paced 'Jump and Wave into Power Soca' style of music.
Please be advised that the music is presented here for your listening pleasure and for promotional purposes only ("Fair Use" Musical Content Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976). No copyright infringement is intended! . We encourage you to promote the artists and their music; please don't share the music and rob the artists of needed income!
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Soca Essentials - That Essential Soca from 2000-2010 mixed by DJ Smartiez
