2023 Soca Monarch, overseas-based Guyanese Adrian Dutchin said he is now ready to take a step back and explore other avenues for promoting Guyana as he is confident in the potential of upcoming local artists.
The 44-year-old singer and songwriter, who hails from the county of Berbice, won this year’s Soca Monarchy, his fourth, at the National Stadium two Wednesdays ago with his song titled “Place Nice” which speaks about the bountiful resources and opportunities that exist in his birth country.
In a recent interview with Stabroek News, Dutchin explained how his song came about which made him return to the soca competition with a ‘bang’.
“Well, the competition was open to anybody who is Guyanese, and I am a Guyanese, and I’ve been a part of Soca Monarch since the first one, because I’m actually one of the craftsmen that was involved in Soca Monarch from its inception…,” he said. “The song wasn’t created for Soca Monarch really. It was just part of a rhythm [but] when people heard it, they liked the song and so they were telling me that I should go back into Soca Monarch with the song because it’s good for the country and stuff like that… I got through to be in the finals and I went through and I won.”
He said the idea for the song came to him when he was in Guyana for the Cricket Carnival. On numerous occasions, he heard people saying how ‘nice’ the country is.
“I just kept hearing that all the time. Even when I’m at the corner chilling and liming with friends and this thing just stuck in my head…,” he said. “Usually if I see or hear something I would just keep it in my head for a song or so later on… I didn’t know what music or melody I was going to put it to.
“Fast forward a few months later, I got rhythm from a guy out of London called ‘Pahjo’ and he is a Guyanese also. He said to me ‘Adrian I have a new rhythm and I want this rhythm to come out for Mashramani and it will spill over to Guyana carnival’… I listened to it and … what you guys heard now is not what it started out as. But I liked it and the only thing that was coming out of me with the rhythm is ‘Guyana is a nice place. Guyana is a real, real nice place’.
“I just recorded it on my phone and I left it… I lay down [for] like about five minutes, then I jumped up and I went and wrote the demo down and I sent it to him and he liked it.”
He said winning the competition brought unexplainable feelings to him, while at the same time giving him relief. He stated that he foresees the song doing something good for the country due to what it entails and speaks about. “People are loving it thus far… because of just what it speaks of; because when you listen to it, it just sounds so refreshing,” he said.
After recording the song and receiving good feedback, the singer said, he was prompted to reach out to other Guyanese artists like Timeka Marshall, DJ Energy and others for a collaboration. The result was ‘The Mash Project’, which consists of many of the artists’ songs. ‘The Mash Project’ can be accessed on all streaming platforms across the internet.
Asked what it was like to prepare for a grand performance again in his home country, the 2023 Soca Monarch said, “I wasn’t here for rehearsals and so on. I was basically back and forth… I didn’t have rehearsals with the band or anything and that’s who I really want to thank as well because they put together everything exactly how I like it. I got into Guyana the Tuesday and the Soca Monarch was the Wednesday night.”
Although it had seemed like he was not consistently performing or involved in music for quite a while, Dutchin said he has always been behind his rhythm and melodies. “I’ve always been doing music and I’ve always been contributing to the season. I’m always behind the scenes writing or something of the sort…,” he said. “You may hear a new Guyanese soca song come out or some other song and it’s usually me who was somewhat contributing behind the scenes or involved in it in some shape or form.”
Asked what he has planned for the future, Dutchin said he will be taking a break from performing.
“Sometimes you need a break. So as of right now I’m going to just enjoy everything this song is gonna bring to me because I know it’s gonna open a lot of doors,” he said confidently. “I am going to be doing a lot of stuff with a lot of people in the tourism sector and even other areas. I’m basically getting myself geared up for Guyana carnival, and I encourage every other Guyanese artiste to do the same thing because when you look at it Guyana has got two carnivals, something that a lot of countries do not have. We have Mashramani and we have Guyana carnival and even cricket carnival. How great is that? So we should take advantage of it and just make our music to make people happy and also to help our country progress.”
Dutchin thanked God for his success. He also expressed gratitude to his sponsors and supporters including President Irfaan Ali, the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport, businessman Azurrdin Mohamed, Power Tech, Kross Kolor, the National School of Dance, Melissa ‘Vanilla’ Edwards and the many others too numerous to mention who helped him during the competition.
