Classical/Caribbean music at its best!

IF it’s one thing about Caribbean music, it certainly has that unique sound that piques your interest and evokes a “feel good” vibe that just makes you want to dance. But more than that, Caribbean music has that je ne sais quoi that makes it so versatile that it can be mixed and tweaked to seamlessly combine with other genres. Recognising this trait, two young women have used this to their advantage, and, coupled with their passion for music and their undeniable talent, have created a sound unlike any other, and are now taking the Caribbean by storm.

They are Janine and Janelle Xavier, and together, they form Xavier Strings. This talented duo who hail from Trinidad and Tobago, has over the years captivated audiences with their fusion of Caribbean and world music using the unique sound of the violin and other instruments provided by their band. They have since racked up quite a musical reputation for and have been in high demand, having made multiple appearances including festivals in New York, St. Vincent, Antigua, Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago and other notable events.

In an exclusive interview with the Pepperpot Magazine, the sisters talked about their influences, their passion and the importance of sharing their Caribbean culture with the world!

Growing up, what would you say were the most influential aspects of your life that inspired you to become musicians?
Being exposed from a very young child to the musical life of Trinidad and Tobago, in its natural habitat. Be it spending time in Paramin with the paranderios, moving from house to house making music at Christmas time, and talking with the minstrels as they prepared to go on the streets for Carnival; or listening to Tambrin music played by a Tamarin band in Scarborough, Tobago; or playing in the National Youth Orchestra at Queen’s Royal College; [these things] provided a glance of the musical diet we were fed.

Our mother being a musician had a huge part to play. She exposed us from the womb, while playing her double bass in orchestras in the United Kingdom, and put us as babes in front of those orchestras while she pursued her studies in music. Our mother kept us going through that “meh” period, when you don’t really want to do this right now, she kept us going, because she knew it was only a phase. As a teacher, I recognised as well a lot of people like the idea of the violin, for instance, but they don’t realise how bad a child will sound for how long. Parents give up before kids because of the annoying sounds while learning. If parents did not give up the children won’t give up either. They will go through their “meh” phase and they will be fine.

What would you say is the importance of art, and by extension, music to your lives?
Music is very important to us. It is what creates the balance and ensures the sanity and gives us a chance to have a voice.
Music, and the ability to create and express ourselves in a way that may be slightly more intangible to someone else. The ability to portray your ideas, feelings and emotions to someone else is very important to everyone. Different people have different ways of going about it. As an artist, this is how we vent and show our moods and portray our life’s story. You are using your art to create discussion about ideas that are important. Every culture has music. When you notice the music, the rhythms, and the harmonies that’s full at you, you really notice it. You feel a connection. That is layer one. When we sit down to listen to music again, the audience appreciates that it is not just a connection of feelings but a means to understand the layers of the music. Whether it is because the audience was educated in that form, whether from society, or from music schools or just some appreciation.

As musicians, our job is just to express ourselves and our life experiences. We hope that our life experiences are similar enough to help the audience to cope with their experiences and to move to another place or to come to a place of acceptance. It is for catharsis. You are able to experience emotions without having to go through a situation yourself, personally, at that time. Music is used to create a mood in our mind.

The violin is a classical instrument and you have successfully mixed that sound with the sound of Caribbean music. Would you say that Xavier Strings has created its own sub-genre of music? And if so, was this intentional?

By adding our own Caribbean flavours, which are a composite of our diverse experiences to our interpretation of world music, may lead you to think we are creating a subgenre. Rather, our music may be considered a Caribbean interpretation of the music around us. From another perspective, we have actually brought back something that had already existed in a different form.

What sparked your interest in the violin specifically?
We only know what we were told by our mother. Who you become has a lot to do with the people around you, and what they did to you and with you before you were aware.
Mummy tells the story of when she was in university she was pregnant with us while playing the Double Bass in orchestras, and as babies we were placed in front of the orchestra where the first sounds we heard were that of violins.

In your music, there is a clear Caribbean vibe; in your fashion and in your dance moves on stage, it is the same. If you were to verbalise a particular message that you are sending to your audience every time you perform, what would that be?

Our message is that we in the Caribbean have something to say musically that is different to what others say. You experience it particularly when you live abroad. You feel a yearning for home. We grew up in the era of Bob Marley and Calypso, but when you hear even the newer subgenres, you know that it is yours. When you listen to the music of different enslaved and indentured groups, they are different from those of the ethnic origin of those peoples. Why did they evolve the way they did? Why did Reggae, Calypso, Jazz, Rhythm and Blues develop the way that they did and why are they distinct from one another, even though the main proponents are basically from the same places of Africa and India.
We are basically Trinidadians. Our sound comes from our mix, Calypso, Soca, Tamb’rin, Folk, Parang and Chutney. Soca and Chutney Soca came from an amalgamation of us. We have something to say. We enjoy being ourselves. We are not just passionate about music, We are passionate about Caribbean music.

What would you say is the most important reason why persons of Caribbean heritage should ensure that this heritage is represented/heard in other parts of the world?
It is important to teach the world who you are. Helping to break down barriers of misunderstanding based on lack of knowledge of our culture. You are misunderstood, shunned in communities. By sharing your culture, you break down barriers of misunderstanding and allow people to prosper and progress. We want everyone to understand our language. Our language is different. It is Caribbean. We want to add our diversity to world music which will bring about innovation that will advance the group.

Because there are more of us in the diaspora than there are on the islands, this means that there is somebody who always misses that voice out there in foreign places.
Apart from that, we have a completely different voice. A different point of view to offer the world and we don’t realise it until we are out there in the world and realise how little that voice is represented.

The music of other countries has been heavily influenced by Caribbean music. E.g. Electronic Dance Music has actually borrowed from Soca and Reggae, quite heavily without us really realising the extent. They have modified things and taken out parts of the beat. People don’t realise how much Soca drumming has affected popular dance music. Also, when you listen to black music of different foreign countries like the UK, the heavy influence of dance music is so prevalent.
We as Caribbean people have something to say. And we can be confident that what we say is valid.
We have to say it in the language we are familiar with. And when we do, we realise we have to speak up.

How important is it for persons to have a healthy work/life balance?
It is very important to have that balance between work and life. We don’t live to work but rather we work to live.
As a person, if you are drained or distracted you don’t create as well. Unfortunately, a lot of us are workaholics. We give everything to something else that does not contribute to our mental, physical, spiritual or emotional health. We do this because we have to make a living, because of greed or for reasons like making other people happy in relationships. A lot of the time, work is a means to an end. Sometimes we think the end is financial safety and security. The end is actually well-being. We are at our best when we take care of our whole self when our mental, physical, emotional and spiritual health is actually dealt with balance.

If it does not happen in the workplace and you give all your time to the office, you don’t benefit, except you can live and take care of yourself, financially.
But if you have nothing to give except money, then these same people who matter, family, friends, who want more than money, they will fall away. Your emotional needs are not being met by them, because you are not giving them anything.
Taking care of your whole self is what a work-life balance is about. It’s about being happy. The second you leave that job you will be replaced with someone else. How did it benefit you? What did you gain from it and what important things in life fell away when you were getting money and nothing else.

You have varying academic qualifications, yet, it has been reported that it is music that really brings you to life, what would you say is the importance of following your passion in life?
When you listen to the biggest entrepreneurs, they talk about two things, going after things they were interested and passionate about and then finding a formula that works and works. That rang particularly true of me [Janelle] because I am a naturally creative person. Apart from the music I was doing outside, I was also studying and working in a field that I wasn’t as passionate about, environmental sciences. Even though I know it is important to save the world, make the environment better, use our resources more sustainably and to spread that message that we have the earth for a much longer period.

But I wasn’t brilliant at it. And I never quite understood why. It did not light me up or make me want to do more research and focus. It becomes really important to be passionate about what you do. There are different personality types, different people need different types of things. Maybe because of my academic background, I also need intellectual stimulation, as well as create stimulation. But I have come to realise I can get them both in music.

The big thing in music was that I didn’t think there was a way to follow it without doing anything else, and be able to make a living, which is very important for me as a woman. Men can sometimes just do things that they are passionate about for the sake of being passionate. Women see things differently. We need security, and we know we are biological set up to nurture another generation. It meant that I had to give up something that I thought was bread and butter, to do something that I loved.

I am just that type of personality; that mother-earthy type of person who needs to be attached to nature and feelings. I did not give that up before I was able to set up enough things within music to be able to sustain myself. That is why I teach, which I love. I love teaching music because I am passionate about it. If I was just teaching, what I did before, geography, geology, environmental, GIS, I would be OK. My music students really like me. I am their good friend. They are passionate about music because I am passionate about music. I think it is important to be able to impart that. We are different individuals and God gave us different passions and different things so that if we were to each follow our own passion, we would bring balance to the world

Do you play any other instruments? If so, what are they?
When I was a Venture Scouts the Queen’s Royal College Scout Band, I (Janine) played the clarinet. Now I only play the violin. (Janelle) and I have played a wider variety of instruments. Like most Trinidadians, I have played the Pan (Guitar and Double Tenor Pans). This is interesting because it is the same voicing I prefer today, viola which is the alto voice of the string family. Apart from that, I play piano, guitar and vocals. Xavier Strings’ violins are hybrid. They are actually five-stringed violins (the violin normally has four strings) to enable me to play in the viola range, without having to switch instruments.

For more on Xavier Strings, visit their website www.xavierstrings.com