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Groovy music is simply what people can relate to as 'dance-able music'. This applies to all music inclusive of what we now call "Groovy Soca". From the very onset that was the goal of Ras Shorty I. To create a new music style that was considered '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 new generation, 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 that was so much a part of the Carnival festival. As in the previous article, we discussed the tempo of the music. 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) then 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 bolster the Internation Soca Monarch Competition.
Once again, we have a case of labeling to satisfy a market segment. It is easy to understand Groovy as it relates to sweet music to dance and groove with a significant other. Power, on the other hand, created a 'mad frenzy' as did the 'jump and wave' Soca that Super Blue ruled with 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 pace 'Jump and Wave into Power Soca' style of music.
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Soca Essentials - That Essential Soca from 2000-2010 mixed by DJ Smartiez