Higher Level for Berbice artistes
Dan City Production in operation
Dan City Production in operation

Skeldon’s Dan City Recording pushes Berbice music industry By Ravena Gildharie IN an industry fraught with stiff competition and where support and opportunities are limited, a group of musicians in the Ancient County of Berbice have teamed up and are rallying around a Line Path, Skeldon-based studio and production company to promote, expose and develop their talent and music.

‘Upliftment’ in studio at Dan City Productions

Covering a wide genre of music from reggae and dancehall to chutney and gospel, efforts are aimed at combining support for the young and upcoming local artistes, many of whom believe they are being sidelined by their competitors and promoters from Georgetown.

Aside from having their music compiled, recorded, edited and produced in the most modern audio and video formats, the artistes are being promoted online via social media such as Facebook and Youtube and at stage shows in Berbice, Georgetown and neighbouring Suriname.  Dan City Production, the company behind this move,  was officially launched in 2015, and is led by 28-year-old Morizo Orlando Bissessar, better known as Mobflames, a singer/songwriter and musician born and raised in Skeldon.

He started singing in church at age five, and produced his first song ‘One for you’ when he was 12.  At that time, he was living at Enmore, East Coast Demerara, where his father was temporarily relocated by the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GUYSUCO). As part of the Twelve Tribes of Israel band, the young Bissessar performed at CARIFESTA X in Guyana and other popular local shows. His first song featured Paradise-born artiste, Bounty Pray, and was produced by Georgetown-based Platinum Studio. He later worked with several other recording studios in the city until he returned to live in Berbice.

Shevon Singh, chutney singer from Rosignol, Berbice

He realised it was difficult and expensive to travel from Corriverton to record in Georgetown, a challenge for many other local Berbice musicians. He was inspired to establish his own recording studio to boost local talent and began securing funds for the establishment. After school, he opened a small business, a snackette and gift shop.  Bissessar worked in the kitchen of the snackette, cooking and baking during the day. After a few years, he travelled to the United States and started purchasing pieces of equipment for the studio.

In an interview, Mobflames told the Pepperpot Magazine that the studio’s name derives from ‘Danty City’, the area where he grew up, and the facility features state-of-the art equipment led by experienced sound engineers and music producers. He said it is the first recording studio of its kind in the Corentyne and is being largely supported by artistes located across the East Berbice and Rosignol in West Berbice.

To date, it has produced the work of over 20 Berbician singers/musicians featuring releases in dancehall, reggae, hip-hop, chutney, gospel, R&B and soca among others. “Before Dan City Production, all of the Berbice artistes used to have to travel to Georgetown to work in studios there and that was very costly and prevented many of them from recording and releasing their music. Now, we are doing all of the recordings and videos right in Berbice. We also do the graphic editing, photos and building the instrumentals too,” Mobflames outlined. The production team also organises local talent for regular performaces at events in Line Path, Number 78 Village, Number 63 Beach and at local expositions and Town Night activities.

Video shoot for a local artiste

Boosting youth talent  “I am always writing and releasing my own songs, but I work a lot with the youths, helping to develop and showcase their songs. Competition with the artistes from Georgetown is very high. We can’t even compete with them for the Georgetown radio and television to push our music and the Berbice artistes, so we have been shifting across to Suriname where the radio is pushing our music,” highlighted the producer, who also does wholesale and retail trading of electronics and electrical items.

His own music is mostly in the reggae and dancehall styles, while his songs are inspired by his life experiences and observations in society. His songs also address social issues such

Morizo Bissessar better known as ‘Mobflames’

as drugs, suicide and problems affecting youth. He noted that although most of his songs have been long produced and released, a lot of them have never been heard by many people and this is one of the main setbacks facing him and other artistes. Mobflames said that very few local Berbice artistes have attained success over the years, the most recent being Mystic, singer of the popular ‘Coolie Bai’ song.

Bounty Singh, a chutney artiste and John ‘Slingshot’ Drepaul are the other recognised Berbice artistes.This view is shared by Shevon Singh, a 17-year-old Rosignol-born artiste who produces mainly chutney music though she also performs in R&B, hip-hop, soca and soul styles. She started singing at age five in her local Madir and with the help of her father, Laljiewan Singh, wrote and produced her first song, ‘Right here in Guyana,’ when she was 12. She has since released a video for that song as well as three new audio recordings and is gearing up to release two more very soon.

She recently linked with Dan City Productions looking to better organise and promote her on-stage performances. A fourth form student of the Rosignol Secondary School, Singh said she performs solo almost every Saturday and Sunday nights at Feroze Gas Station, Number 6 Village, where there is a fun park that hosts local talent every weekend.

She previously participated in the chutney monarch competition and performed at various Indian Arrival Day celebrations and at the Pegasus Hotel Saturday Night entertainment. She was once a member of the Dax New Generation band. Singh said she has collaborated with several popular artistes such as Terry Gajraj, Bounty Singh and Appache Warrior, but still needs the kind of exposure to jumpstart a successful musical career.

Local artistes in studio at Skeldon

She told this publication that Georgetown promoters don’t seem eager to highlight the out-of-town artistes and that competition is strong with the city singers, since the latter are given greater opportunities and exposure over the Berbice talent. At present, she promotes her songs via the ‘push-cart’ music vendors in her community.

‘Upliftment’ is another Berbice artiste out of Number 78 Village on the Corentyne. His productions are mostly reggae/R&B styled through which he promotes positivity and strength needed to support the youths and upcoming artistes that feel oppressed. At age 33, he has appeared on stage shows across Berbice and alongside several other local talents.

He has also written and produced several of his own songs released through Dan City productions. He said he met Mobflames several years ago through their music and became highly supportive of the studio and promoting venture as he too recognised the need for such opportunities to build the work of the Berbice artistes. He assists as sound engineer at the studio to help produce his own and others’ songs.

“Dan City Productions is a very creative vibe which we need to push our artistes. We have a lot of youth talent, but there is no one to push the talent and to give voice to the artistes and the kinds of opportunities to expose them, so people can see and get to know,” Upliftment related.He underscored the importance of having organised shows to push and expose the artistes and to help them upgrade their talent and quality of music that would ultimately boost their competitiveness in the business.

“I have written and released over 100 songs. I sing about reality and life; positive vibes with a lot of strong energy. I am kind of getting used to the on-stage performances now, my last appearance was at the Emancipation celebrations a few days ago at Corriverton,” the Corentyne artiste stated. He also collaborates with other artistes and promotes his music via social media on Facebook and Youtube.

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