Sheldon Blackman and The Love Circle fuse music genres into one glorious blend.

SHELDON Blackman of the group The Love Circle is truly excited about performing in Kuala Lumpur and then heading off to participate in this year’s Rainforest World Music Festival 2008 in Sarawak. Not only because this is the first time the band from The Republic of Trinidad and Tobago is coming to this part of the world, but also due to the exchanges that would take place with other bands from different parts of the world participating in this renowned festival.

In a phone interview with Blackman last week – while he was on his way to London’s Heathrow Airport to catch the plane to KL – he said, “We are open to anything as we are looking forward to really sharing with other musicians on the stage. It’s exciting how everybody’s coming together, and experiencing that spirit of collaboration.”

Sheldon Blackman: ‘We are open to anything as we are looking forward to really sharing with other musicians on the stage.’

For Blackman, music really does unite the world, cutting down all the barriers men have put up. “Music shows that we are all the same, and it is this uniting force that is really the strength of the festival and why we are so excited to be part of it.”

After all, being united and celebrating diversity are two themes he and the band members (made up of his mother and siblings) are very familiar with. It is the backbone of their brand of music called jamoo and soca. These two types of music were invented by his late father, Garfield Blackman (a.k.a Lord Shorty, and later Ras Shorty I), in the late 1970s and late 1980s.

He formed the group The Love Circle in 1979 to spread the music. Soca is a form of dance music that combines the sound of calypso with insistent percussion, and Blackman’s father meant for it to be a tool for social commentary back in 1978. A decade later, he created another genre called jamoo, which is a fusion of Reggae and gospel music.

“My father wanted to unite the African melodies and East Indian rhythms. There are many different minorities in Trinidad with so many different cultures and races; he wanted to unite these differences through music – fuse all of the music and the diversity of the cultures.

“These are two distinct types of music that share similarities,” he explained rather cryptically. “Jamoo is more spiritual, while soca is more about celebration.”

What the group has done, however, is to combine both the genres. Their music is described as a contemporary world beat which blends African, Indian, and new age rhythms, and includes sounds of the steel pan – their country’s national instrument. “Our prime focus is to inspire people, to celebrate life and love. Our music is all about energy and celebration. And that is exactly what we are going to deliver when we get to Malaysia,” he promised. Well, no wonder then, this Caribbean group is slotted for the prime slot during the festival.

The 30-year-old Blackman said he has been exposed to music since he was in his mother’s womb. Like his father, he draws his inspiration from the people, life and nature in his homeland.

“I come from a very large family, my father has 25 children and my mother has 14 children, so all of us learned to share and work together from an early age ... our lives are all about inter-dependence. I apply that in my life and music – enjoying the simple and good things in life, and to live a humble life and to respect nature.

“Music is my life; my family’s life. We see ourselves as a vessel – the music comes through us. It’s an honour to have that gift, to be the host. Music is really the food of love. I am humbled and honoured to be that vessel.”

For the past six years, Blackman has been busy as a solo artiste. It is only thanks to the Rainforest Festival that the members of The Love Circle are reunited once again.

“We are so excited about performing together after so long; that alone is an inspiration for us and we want to share that energy with everyone at the festival.”

• NY Film Critics name 'The Hurt Locker' best film
• 'Princess and the Frog' bounds to No. 1 with US$24mil
• Cellist Yo-Yo Ma named to new post at CSO
• Grizz Chapman of '30 Rock' needs kidney transplant
• Journalists threaten to fight 'Balibo' movie censorship
• Crisp and clear
• Double the mayhem
• Hopping into town