December 25th 2023 from Noon to 5pm will be the 17th edition of the Annual Caribbean Xmas day show title “Island Riddims” on Ckut 90.3fm, hosted by Production Sounds and Soca Head. For seventeen years now this
annual radio show has been a part of our Caribbean Christmas Traditions. It all started as a fluke in 2006, when no one was ever interested in doing their radio show on Christmas Day at Ckut 90.3fm. Hence Ckut has a volunteer named margo, who would stay Christmas day and play pre-recorded shows and Christmas albums all day. So I contacted Louise (station manager) and said that I was interested in filling in a couple hours to play some traditional music from the Caribbean called Parang.Here’s a brief explanation of what Parang music is. Parang is a popular folk music originating out of Trinidad and Tobago, this Christmas season genre was brought to Trinidad by Venezuelan migrants who were primarily of Amerindian and African heritage, something which is strongly reflected in the music itself.
Over the years Parang music eventually merged with Soca music creating “Soca Parang”. The listenership and reviews of the first show was so overwhelming. We were then asked by Ckut and many members of the Caribbean Community to make the show an annual tradition, and that’s when the show got its name “Island Riddims”. For seventeen years this Caribbean Tradition provides an important connection with the past.
Our roots, heritage, core values are often all part of that connection and bring value and meaning into our lives. During the years callers were allowed to connect with their family members live on air via three way. Many greetings and shoutouts were given live over the phone as my mother was operating the phone lines at the time. Let me introduce you to my co-host Soca Head as I took her under my wing and began to mentor her in 2016. Rachel Mark aka SocaHead. The nam
e speaks for itself as her love for soca is deep. With roots in both Trinidad and St. Lucia, and her experience in radio, Soca Head met Production Sounds in 2016 and started helping with organizing, promoting soca inspired events and radio shows
From there Soca Head has joined the Island Riddims team.Tune in this Christmas day from noon to 5pm on ckut 90.3fm and call us live at 514 448-4013 to give your greetings as we continue to keep our traditions alive.
