WOMAD

Renegades Steel Orchestra

From Trinidad & Tobago

In recent months, there’s been no end to the column inches devoted to the continuing adventures of the Blind Boys of Alabama, those implausibly long-serving gospel messengers who’ve been spreading the word since the Second World War was still raging. Now it’s time to salute another band that’s been making music just as long. The Renegades Steel Orchestra is probably the most successful steel band in the history of Trinidadian music. Whether performing for Nelson Mandela at his post-release celebrations at New York’s Yankee Stadium or picking up 16 National Panorama titles since the mid-1980s, the Renegades have been the highest-profile ambassadors for the steel pan tradition, largely thanks to the unerring direction of veteran arranger Jit Samaroo. That they’re the best supported pan crew across the entire Caribbean is as much due to their tremendous energy levels as it is to a wide-ranging repertoire that takes in many of the islands’ differing music styles – calypso, zouk, merengue, soca and beyond. Although the band’s ranks are usually around 15-strong, at Carnival time in Port of Spain their numbers swell to an astonishing 120 players, creating a sound of hurricane proportions. Prepare yourself for the Renegades’ soundwave.