He may have been born in England but his heart is all Trini. This aptly defines Martin Abraham, popularly known in the UK as DJ Martin Jay.
Jay has been playing music since his early teens, the age of 13, in the 80s, with his older cousin, then 19. He recalls, “At 19, I got into the DJ business in a big way, my mentors then were men like (Caribbean promoters) Sonny Blacks, Smokey Joe, and (Notting Hill band) Cocoyea bandleader Dexter Kahn. I remember departed entertainer Odion “Skunkie” Cyrus telling me that if I really wanted to get into this thing seriously I had to go to Trinidad to get ‘baptised.’ I had to go to the source of soca music.”
Jay continues, “back then when I started, the popular music was reggae, R&B and soul. But, there was a gap in the market for soca music to be played on the airwaves. At the age 19, I thought it was good representation in the UK for a young DJ like myself to play the music enjoyed by mothers and my aunts. It gave a new edge to the music landscape.”
Choice FM, a new radio station (the first black-owned “legal” radio station in London, playing primarily R&B, soul and Hip Hop), was Jay’s first port of call.
“I sent them demo tape, after demo tape, after demo tape, without much positive feedback. Then in 1990, Choice struck a deal with Daily Mirror, a major tabloid, to sponsor for Notting Hill Carnival. But, they needed to put a Carnival package together, and they remembered me, called me, and asked me to help. At the time, I was working as legal clerk in a solicitor’s office. I got the call at around 1 pm, and by 6 pm that evening I’d brought to the station a catalogue of soca records and a schedule of interviews, which included Baron, Chris Herbert and Burning Flames.
“The station manager asked me how much he owed me. I said I didn’t do this for money, I just want my show. A month after carnival, September 30, 1990, I started on the air doing The Caribbean Affair. This is a weekly soca programme, which was aired on a Sunday. It lasted 23 years.”
In 2004, Choice was bought out by London-based radio group Capital Radio and this October, after rebranding as Capital Xtra and changing the music format, Jay’s Sunday evening programme, Caribbean Affair was dropped.
It wasn’t difficult for Jay to find an alternative avenue for the programme: “Almost three years ago, I started an Internet TV station with my stepdaughter called Socavision. This is one of my projects that was in the pipeline. We’ve already done one programme (Sak Passe?—‘what’s happening’). All my years on the radio, interviewing so many Trini artistes, like Black Stalin, Singing Sandra, Denyse Plumnmer, Baron, Crazy, Sugar Aloes, was like an education to the masses in London who listen to soca music but did not understand the music.”
Jay is actually a walking encyclopedia of T&T music and culture, knowledge he gleaned at the feet of several iconic calypsonians and musicians.
“Two of the most important people that I have met in my 23 years on radio have been Roaring Lion and Blakie.
“Roaring Lion came to England in 1992 and I was on the way to do a radio interview with him and Pretender. The trip takes an hour each way. With Pretender in the back seat, Lion spoke for 58 minutes of the hour. He spoke and I listened and the stories he told me about calypso, calypsonians and his career, and how he composed calypsoes, was like a school lesson. It is amazing how much I learned in just under an hour.
“As for Blakie, when David Rudder produced Raw Calypso, with Zandolee, Black Prince and Blakie, I was researching old records. I went by an old guy in London researching records. I took a bunch of Blakie records and burnt them on CD. Dexter Kahn and I produced a show in London, also called Raw Calypso, and featured Singing Sandra and Blakie. When Blakie arrived at Heathrow, there was some confusion with his work permit papers, which delayed him a while. Despite being very upset, we established a binding friendship; maybe it’s because our birthdates are a day apart. Blakie defined what the essence of calypso is. The friendship we had is something I would cherish forever. Blakie had the gift of taking a joke and extending it for three minutes in song.”
Described as “traditionalist” in terms of soca, Jay isn’t too enthused by some of the new generation of soca. “I’ve seen a good stew chicken turn into a chicken and chips. I eat them both but there is a very different way of preparing them.
“It’s hard when you dissect the music of today. The things you could have done with the music of yesteryear, you cannot do with the music of today. The sad part of the industry is that today an artiste cannot afford to spend the kind of money it takes to thoroughly create the kind of music created yesteryear. On the plus side, I am happy though, that Bunji (Garlin) and Machel (Montano) are making good music.”
This year, Bunji Garlin made several visits the UK to perform at summer events like Notting Hill Carnival and work with producers like Jus Now and Major Lazer. As a result, Garlin’s music has been getting played by club DJs and on stations across Europe. Does Jay think this to be the start of something positive for soca and other artistes across Europe?
“What is important,” says Jay, “was when Bunji made Differentology, he didn’t have the eventual success of the song in mind. Differentology always had a life beyond the Savannah. Differentology has been the most powerful piece of music to come to the UK from T&T for many years. The song is also well known throughout Europe, in places like Croatia and Germany. I like the way Bunji is thinking with his music.”
So, what’s in the future for Martin Jay as he continues to be a crusader in Europe for T&T music?
“My role has been to take soca music from where it was and take it to the wider youth market and listener. This is where Socavision comes in. My stepdaughter felt in a modern way, we could take what I was doing on the radio and deliver it in a visual way. I am now doing what I want to do, in the best interest of the music and the young people. When working on the radio you play and say what you are instructed to play and say. Socavision and internet radio are the future.”