Paying homage to creators in Trinidad and Tobago’s culture is something that a key promotional outfit adheres to. Ahead of the Covid-19 pandemic, Randy Glasgow Productions, through their Chutneyland 2020 event, paid tribute to leading East Indian choreographer and dancer, Nigel Salickram. As the RGP team prepares for 2023, three of the music industry’s best chutney producers will be honored.
“It is extremely important for those who dedicate their lives to making others happy through music, culture and the arts to know that we appreciate them,” Glasgow said. He believes music producers like Zaheer ‘Big Rich’ Khan of Pungalunks Factory, Rishi Mahato of Maha Productions and Rishi Gayadeen deserve sincere recognition. “We will honor these gentlemen who, year after year, contribute the music we need to make our events within the carnival a huge success. Without them, what would our festival be?” he asked.
Big Rich is a perfect example of true business success. With no formal training in music, the Princess Town native, who later moved to Couva, went from making Indian dub tape mixes to touring as a result, then landing a job in radio and finally a music producer. He has left an indelible mark on the industry, creating some of the biggest hits in chutney music, among them ‘Radica’ sung by Kenneth Salick, Hunter’s ‘Jep Sting Naina’ and Ravi B’s ‘Ah Drinker’.
Rishi Mahato of Maha Productions has been in the business for many years and he has also worked with some of the most popular artists in the Caribbean music industry including Machel Montano, SuperBueFay Ann Lyons, Iwer George, Nishard M and even dancehall artists , Consensus. and Tommy Lee. Mahatoo won several regional titles in the last ten years.
The third producer to be honored is Rishi Gayadeen. He has proudly created and recorded music for world renowned artistes in Soca, Chutney Soca, Traditional Chutney, Parang, Soca Parang and Dancehall genres. His musical knowledge dates back to his childhood, having joined his father’s band, The Guyatones, at the age of 12. At the age of 22, he became the leader of the group. Rishi Gayadeen is known as a multi-talented musician, capable of performing perfectly at any given moment, for any artist, in any genre of music.
For Randy Glasgow, the decision to honor these three musical minds was easy. “Their value to our industry is immeasurable and we must treat them as such,” Glasgow said.
Saturday, February 11th, the Brian Lara Cricket Academy will host the 2023 edition of Chutneyland and three of the biggest makers of chutney music will be honored on stage. “This will be one of the biggest events in the carnival. We guarantee it! What better stage to honor the greats than among their music fans and supporters? We can’t wait!” said Glasgow.
