When pannist Darius Austin takes the stage, the atmosphere comes alive with jubilant music. His contagious spirit always finds his audience reciprocating the feeling and it was this that he brought to the Guyana Talent Search competition, resulting in him finishing as one of ten winners.
From the start of the show, viewers could see Darius’ expertise on the steel pans and how much the judges were marvelling at his performances. Certainly no amateur, the 23-year-old has nine years of playing the steel pan under his belt, three of them on a professional basis.
Darius nearly did not make it into the competition. The musician shared that he was unaware of it until a friend saw the advertising for it on Instagram and reached out to him on WhatsApp. He enthused that once he learnt of the competition he wasted no time preparing his one-minute video as he was all too eager to be part of it, having not performed before an audience in a long time.
Darius, who grew up in the city, has since relocated to Parfait Harmonie, West Bank Demerara. Music, he said, has always been at the forefront of his life with his parents singing in church and with his uncle Curtis Farley being part of the Heat Wave Band. Growing up in Georgetown he said afforded him a number of opportunities including learning how to play the steel pan.
Darius was attending Christ Church Secondary when one day, the headmistress Ms Smith enquired if anyone was interested in learning to play the pans as the Pan Wave Academy in Georgetown was offering classes. He immediately jumped at the chance. Recalling the experience, the pannist said he was really grateful to Ms Smith, adding that there were not enough words to thank her for showing interest in the students at the school in learning to play the steel pan.
Since learning to play he has participated in several local and international competitions. As regards the latter, last year, he competed in the Pan Ramajay Competition where he placed 11th. He also entered the international Panograma Competition but owing to internet issues, was unable to complete it.
Darius shared that by the time the show started he already had a list of tunes he intended to play. He noted that he avoided playing the more common music that pannists play at competitions and opted for genres that he knew were popular. It seems he was on the right track as during his performances, the judges could be seen dancing in their seats. “I wanted to show that steel pan can be entertaining in any genre and that the [audience] can still enjoy themselves even though it’s not [a song performance],” said the pannist.
Darius said that while he was excited to be out again among people performing, he has always been an introvert and as such, he kept to himself for the most part. It was really onstage that he unleashed another side of him, one which lit up the competition that viewers are still talking about him today. Though shy, he said he was confident that he would make it to the finals and kept his head up.
Other contestants had shared that persons running the competition had sometimes stepped in and told them which song they should sing next. For Darius, it was different as he explained that because many were not au fait with what can be played on the steel pan, they did not share opinions if they had any, part of which also may have been as a result of him not socializing as much.
Apart from the steel pan, Darius plays a little keyboard, the bass guitar, the clarinet and the drums at his church. Prior to the onset of Covid-19, the musician had started an entertainment business where he played the steel pan at various occasions. It was through these performances that he was able to save his earnings and purchase the keyboard. According to Darius, he saw it as an investment for his entertainment business. He has yet to form a band of his own but hinted that he is hoping to do so.
Darius had also been teaching students from St Rose’s High and other schools in and around Georgetown to play the steel pan, but this came to an abrupt halt with Covid-19. The pannist said he was able to cushion the financial effects at first as he had savings, but these have since been depleted. To provide an income for himself, Darius works as a part-time electrician and as a taxi driver.
Without events to perform at, he said, makes it a challenging time particularly because he is so passionate about music. Music, said Darius, keeps him sane. After a long time of not playing he is eagerly looking forward to playing at a wedding soon.
In scrutinising the local entertainment industry, the pannist said he would wish to see the older folks who played the steel pan being more open to performances of other genres in addition to the regular national songs or Soca music that is more preferred.
With all the finalists being announced winners of the competition, Darius said it could not have come at a better time when everyone has been drastically affected by the pandemic. He added that the wins are also a confidence booster for him and the other finalists.
During his free time, Darius practices as much as he can. It takes him about 10 minutes to half an hour to learn a new tune; he is a natural at what he does now.
The pannist opened for the Senior Soca and Calypso Monarch Competitions in Bartica last year. He plays at birthday parties, funerals, cocktail parties, and business meetings.
Darius can be booked via his Facebook accounts Darius Austin or Darius Austin Steelpan Entertainment.
