WHO AM I? / WHO ARE YOU? / WHO ARE WE?

While growing up in Trinidad & Tobago in the '80s and early '90s we couldn't help but fall in love and appreciate our own content. Calypso and Soca were always on the radio. Local television stations and radio was full of content by people like me, for people like me and about people like me and when I say me, I mean each and every one of us. We were all in it together.
Memories of fighting to stay awake to see Super Blue win another Soca Monarch, watching Carnival bands cross the stage on TV, the attempted coupe, a young Machel Montano jumping out of a pram dressed in a diaper are just some of the memories that I am sure we will never forget.
I make films for a living and my passion is storytelling. However, that that passion plays runner-up to the love I have for our country, culture, and history. These elements have shaped us into who we were, who we are and who we can be in subtle and sometimes dramatic ways. They are the very essence of the soul of our nation. But what really fuels those who help shape and mould us? What drives and inspires them? What is their story?
Personally, I would love to hear stories of these people, the original influencers. What was it like in the Red House and TTT during the attempted coup? Will we forget who the man with "The Hammer" was? How was life before independence? Will our children even know the story of Jean and Dinah?
Sadly, as each year passes so do the custodians of our 'story'. With each loss, we as a nation also lose part of our history and while we have their works to remember them by, do we truly know who they were?
On top of losing some recent greats such as Shadow, Brother Resistance and Winsford Devine the current global pandemic further stresses how fragile our time on this planet is.
These individuals are living 'time capsules'. Their stories are national treasures that should be actively preserved for future generations to develop an appreciation not just for their past but for who they are and what they can be.


LET WE OLE TALK!

Ole talk borrows its name from the Caribbean pastime of light-hearted chit chat. This podcast will capture the stories of the artists, individuals and events that shaped our society and diaspora. With every episode, we look behind the curtains as the individuals themselves give us their first-hand stories about their life's story. Where did they grow up? What was the country like back then? What were their biggest obstacles and their most important victories?
We will discuss all these topics....and if we are lucky then maybe we can even get them to sing a song or two.

WHAT IS OLE TALK?

Ole Talk aims to be a podcast platform to give the custodians of our history an unfiltered, first-hand opportunity to preserve their stories. A chance to see past the public persona and tell the stories of who they really are and what their works truly mean.
We will sit down and Ole Talk with persons who are shaping and those that have shaped our society in differing ways. Some known, some unknown. Everyone has a story, and we should never forget where we came from so, we forge ahead to a richer, brighter future.

WHO TALKING? (but not limited to..)

• A mixture of age ranges, roles and artforms are the target interviewees with a focus on the elders to begin with.
• Calypsonians
• Historians
• Soca Artists
• News reporters
• Band Members
• Sportsmen
• Producers
• Artists
• Cultural influencers. Locally & internationally.

WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT?

• The soul of a nation is rooted in its culture, shaped, and nurtured by the works of its artists. With each piece, the story of who we are, who we were and who we can be is preserved. Their works influence us as a people as well as inspiring new artists to take up the mantle.
• These works however are only a fraction of the story with their true meanings only being fully appreciated if we delve into their lives, coming to grip with influences and appreciating their struggles and triumphs.

• Sadly, as each year passes so do our artists. With every passing day, we are in danger of losing our heritage as told through the stories of our artists. This is compounded even more today with the COVID-19 global pandemic and while we have their works to remember them by, do we truly know who they were?
• As we lose these custodians of our heritage it is imperative that we preserve
  not just their works but their stories for future generations to learn from and
  treasure.
• What life events inspired them? What do their works even mean? Will future
  generations know the significance of Saga Boy and Tan Tan? Will they forget
  who the man with “The Hammer” was or will they wonder if “Jean and Dinah”
  were actual people?

THE CAMPAIGN

• This campaign seeks to raise $36,000TTD in funds to facilitate in creating a platform, in the form of a podcast, which will serve to preserve the stories of our artists and by extension our culture for generations to come.
• This will cover equipment and yearly/monthly fees for internet hosting services. None of the money from this campaign will go to me. I'm doing it because I genuinely believe in its importance, and I just enjoy hearing these stories.

WHAT YOU GET

In contributing to this project, you will play a major part in preserving our history not just for our society and the Caribbean diaspora but also for future generations to find
inspiration from.

SUMMARY

Over the years our artists and others have shaped our society and spread our culture internationally. Their works influence us as a people as well as aspiring artists who will eventually take up the mantle. As we lose these custodians of our heritage with time it is imperative that we preserve not just their works but their stories for future generations to treasure.

Podcasts burst onto the scene and its meteoric rise in popularity around the globe gives us the vehicle needed to not just preserve these stories but quickly and easily spread them to all corners of the globe with just a click.

Investing in this project affords our stories a level of immortality that has been previously elusive. As a people we will be able to connect with them on a personal level, peeling away the layer of celebrity thus revealing the individual inside. An individual created of the stories as us, one that shares our fears, our dreams, a person who inspires us, one that makes a nation proud and one that could become a symbol of our nation for the world.