Musician makes move from Punta to slower beats
He is no stranger to the Belizean music scene, but this week is the first time that Lloyd Augustine has made the transition from his traditional style of music. Lloyd, better known for his Punta beats, has now slowed things down on his latest release.
Lloyd Augustine
“Well, this album was requested by my mom. My mother come to me one day, she said, “Lloyd, every time you record it’s Punta, Punta, Punta. Why you noh try wah Paranda CD?” so I say, “Ma, I think that dah wah good idea.”
And the first song I recorded was named Feidi and this song is written by my grandfather, which is a song about a loss, because he came from Seine Bight fishing and came to Hopkins and his boat capsized, so the only thing that he can take out of that wreckage was a box of matches and a hard back crab came and take the matches and went into a hole. And he just tell the crab, “Hey you hard back crab bring back mi back of matches.”
“Paranda Music is basically a spiritual music. Paranda is a music that talks about life, whether it is good or it is bad. Back in those days when the Garifuna people used to write Paranda music, it is because of some kind of experience that they go through.”
Jacqueline Godwin
“So this is like a big transition for you, from Punta to Paranda?”
Lloyd Augustine
“Definitely it is a big transition, but I have a passion for Paranda from when I was a little boy as well. Back in those days in Hopkins we used to get our drums, turtle shells, and shaka and we go on the beach and we start to sing away like that, so I am ready for this.”
Augustine says the album has been well received in the south and is now hoping for a similar response countrywide. “This is it. Ligiya Le” is available at all leading record shops for twenty dollars.
