#streamcaribbean with music producer Kasey Phillips (Precision Productions)
And we’re back for another edition of #streamcaribbean in English. My main goal with the #streamcaribbean podcast is to celebrate Caribbean music and those who create it. It’s a tedious task to do it both in French and in English, but I think it’s necessary because I really want artists and music professionals to create this official network to keep building our own industry, so we don’t need to seek validation or infrastructures somewhere else. It’s still just a dream, but I know we can make it happen. I believe in us.
My guest today is Kasey Phillips, a music producer from Trinidad & Tobago. He has his own music company called Precision Productions. He has worked with big Caribbean artists like Machel Montano, Bunji Garlin, Kes the band or Shaggy, but he also works in the US and can produce songs in other genres like he did for Carl Thomas or Australia star singer Jessica Mauboy. Right now, he’s on the producing team of Ciara who just released her single “Better Thangs” with Summer Walker in 2022 and there’s more to come. Why did I ask him to be on the podcast? Fun fact. I wasn’t a fan of soca growing up. If you listen to my other podcast Karukerament about Caribbean cinema, you’ll know how I felt about soca in the 90’s and early 2000’s. When I started listening to soca again in 2016/2017, the sound had changed. As a certified R&B fan, there was this groove and this sweetness that I truly enjoyed and if you listen to my discussion with Kasey, you’ll understand his role in this switch in soca music back then. We’ve also talked about the evolution of Caribbean music on the US scene, his actions to share the knowledge and experience he’s gathering while working in LA. And of course, we talked about the similarities between the state of zouk now and the state of soca a few years ago. This was such a fun discussion, I was a bit chaotic as usual, I’ll have to share the bloopers for this episode. You’ll hear him typing while we were talking because he was checking the names I was mentioning. You can check out the show notes to find out about the artists. I hope you’ll enjoy this discussion as much as I did #streamcaribbean.
00:00 - 00:22: opening credits
00:22 - 1:58: intro -> update on my first selfpublished novella “Viré” based on the song “Viré” by Gilles Floro
0:01:58 - 3:58: introduction of music producer Kasey Phillips (Precision Productions) + presentation of the themes
3:58 - 5:44: Kasey’s first memory of a Caribbean song -> Preacher’s Jump and Wave” (1994) + how Road March’s winning songs like Skinny Fabulous, Machel Montano, Bunji Garlin’s “Famalay” usually get famous across the region
5:44 - 7:20: how he got into producing at the age of 10 + how his family supported his dream
7:20 - 9:29: why he decided to move to LA in 2010: wanting to branch out into new genres + make soca known on a bigger scene
9:30 - 10:42: how his experience in LA got him to create a team of writers for soca
10:43 - 12:24: the wall artists from Guadeloupe and Martinique cannot break to get mainstream success in France. Example: Kassav’.
12:25 - 15:24: the reactions when he came back from LA and the need to change the soca game back then.
15:25 - 20:08: how a Caribbean connection with R. City (Theron Thomas & Timothy Thomas) led him to work with Ciara on “Better Thangs” feat. Summer Walker
20:08 - 23:50: the advantages and disadvantages of being a producer from Trinidad and Tobago
23:50 - 25:20: how artists from Guadeloupe and Martinique gave up on zouk to do other music genres from other Caribbean countries
25:20 - 27:27: the state of zouk similar to the state of soca before 2010/2011
27:27 - 31:14: his take on the evolution of Caribbean music since the 90’s through Jamaican artists from Patra to Sean Paul, Wayne Wonder
31:14 - 35:11: the accessibility issue for Caribbean artists when it comes to streaming platforms like Spotify and Pandora, and Paypal payments
35:11 - 38:17: is Trinidad & Tobago music leading the Caribbean music scene on the international stage? Machel Montano, Kes x J.Perry x Michaël Brun with “Liki Tiki”
38:17 - 41:25: why he created online workshops about producing
41:25 - 43:25: Guadeloupean producer Staniski being the right fit for a workshop for the French Caribbean (Staniski feat. Oswald and Saël - They Will Never Know)
43:25 - 45:30: the biggest challenges for Caribbean artists to hit big: lack of structures
45:30 - 49:49: how some artists from Guadeloupe did get signed in major labels since the early 2000’s but never lasted. For instance, dancehall singer KRYS and zouk singer Nesly
49:49 - 53:00: how the French music industry ripped off zouk to create “urban pop” to keep artists from Guadeloupe and Martinique in the shadows
53:00 - 55:32: how Dennery segment from Saint-Lucia and Guadeloupean Bouyon prove the interconnections within Caribbean music. Current example: “Las Palé Mweh” by Keke.
55:32 - 58:12: the lack of local media to promote Caribbean songs across the region like back in the 90’s
58:12 - 1:01:12: how Caribbean artists must have a business mindset to see their music also like a product that needs to be marketed as such
1:01:12 - 1:06:55: the importance to build a strong relationship with the fans like K-Pop did to reach a global stage through its fanbase
1:06:55: - 1:07:46: Kasey and Precise Productions upcoming projects: Ciara, Anthony Cole and more
1:07:46 - 1:08:28: outro
Precision Productions: official website | instagram | twitter | Facebook