THE ISLAND WAVE INTERVIEW

 "Island Wave" celebrates Caribbean Heritage Month, recognizing the significant contributions of Caribbean people in shaping the US culture and economy. Their diverse lineup of talented artists reflects the culture that shaped them, blending Jamaican sounds with global influences. Through campaigns, they initiate conversations on cultural themes like men's mental health.

"Island Wave" is actively celebrating Caribbean Heritage Month this June. Can you tell us about the significance of this month and why it's important to recognize and honor Caribbean culture?

Caribbean heritage month is still not widely celebrated in the UK, but it should be.  During Caribbean-American Heritage Month, Americans recognise the significant contribution Caribbean People had in shaping the culture and economy of the nation. As a country that dominated the Islands with impact still very evident today, Island Wave aim to help raise awareness and the popularity of celebrating Caribbean heritage month within the UK. This June and those to follow we honour those who helped build our foundation and acknowledge the sacrifices made. 

The lineup for "Island Wave" features an array of talented artists from various Caribbean islands. How does their music and personal experiences reflect the culture that shaped them?

To best answer this question, we had to put it to an “Island Wave” artist themselves. Speaking on his music and experiences, Tessellated explains… “I feel that everything I do, and especially my music, is at the core a reflection of where I grew up. My music is at its core a blend of Jamaican sounds with bits and pieces from around the world blended in.  The energy and mood I try to capture is the one that I was raised knowing and being a part of. I think its inevitable that people are moulded by the place you were raised but especially in Jamaica, the uniqueness of the culture means that artists from here have an especially strong imprint that we are proud to share in our work.”

Can you share some examples of how "Island Wave" has successfully highlighted important cultural themes in previous campaigns, such as Men's Mental Health month?

During Men’s Mental Health month, “Island Wave” took the approach of discussing men’s mental health within the Caribbean culture. With certain traditions still very much still in place in the Caribbean Islands, especially with regards to the role of the man, our platform were able to create conversation around this, specifically, with a number of international media partners on board.

It is key to mention that, as “Island Wave”, we are not trying to educate but to share experiences - from our media campaigns to our live shows.

With the goal of expanding its reach, how does "Island Wave" plan to increase the representation of Caribbean faces and cultural perspectives in the commercial marketplace?

Over the past 2 years Island Wave have successfully carried 59 Caribbean Nationals abroad to participate at international events that would not usually cater for a lineup of Caribbean creatives. As the official Caribbean stage at both SXSW, Austin, Texas and music matters, Singapore, Island Wave help showcase artists to an audience of industry professionals opening up opportunities for future endeavours.

More recently, Island Wave have started to work in assisting film creators and are supporting Bajan Film Director Daniel Boyce. In March 2023 Island Wave successfully delivered, “26”, the first of a series of short films created with an aim to tackle unspoken social issues within the Caribbean. 

With a full Bajan cast and crew Island Wave are also looking to assist in increasing the ratio of Caribbean faces and cultural representation in the commercial film world today.

As a live platform, "Island Wave" has garnered a reputation for its fusion of Caribbean music and culture. How does the platform create remarkable experiences for its audience during live showcases and festivals?

The platform remains authentic. Our goal is to share the vibrancy of the Caribbean music scene, so we pride ourselves on working hard to support talent based in the Islands and having them perform across a number of international stages. In terms of the performances themselves, that comes from our incredible roster of artists whose love and passion for music delivers the warmly received energy they bring to our live shows. 

The recent performance by Blvk H3ro at SXSW received high praise. Can you describe the energy and impact he brought to the stage during that performance?

Blvk H3ro was incredible at this year’s SXSW, as we’re our whole roster of artists who performed this year. We are so proud to say it was, again, one of more popular stages of the festival, for the second year running now. This is all down to the passion and zest of our performers spilling into the streets and drawing in such a huge crowd. As the official Caribbean stage at the festival for the second year in a row, we hope this year’s display means we can continue to support Caribbean creatives for next year’s SXSW too!

What can attendees of the Reggae Land Festival in the UK expect from the "Island Wave" takeover at the BIG TOP stage? Which artists are set to deliver remarkable musical and cultural offerings?

Announced so far, we have Protoje (Jamaica), Kalpee (Trinidad and Tobago), Tessellated (Jamaica) and Lila Iké (Jamaica), with many more amazing artists to be announced ahead of the date in August. It will be “Island Wave”’s first time hosting a stage in the UK which we’re particularly excited about, so expect high energy, unfiltered fun and good vibes all round.

Are there any future plans or projects in the works for "Island Wave" that you're particularly excited about and would like to share?

As the official Caribbean stage at Music Matters and SXSW Texas You can see the stage this September in Singapore and next March in Austin. 

To add to this “Island Wave” have their first feature film “Mahi”, written and directed by Daniel Boyce, going into production in Barbados, at the end of this year. Additionally, there are many on-going talks to bring the “Island Wave” stage back to the UK next summer, as well as Dubai, Africa and Asia.

What role do you believe "Island Wave" plays in preserving and promoting Caribbean culture, both within the Caribbean region and on a global scale?

“Island Wave” serves as a platform to support and find funding to export Caribbean creatives internationally. We will continue to scope out opportunities that may not be available to those from the Islands due to visa restrictions and limited monetary support for the arts.

We will also continue to open up the conversation of equality and restoration of the Islands creatives and push entities such as DSP’s to support this movement by creative relative genres so that artist can correctly identify themselves, such as listing Caribbean Music as a Main genre which is currently only available to select under an umbrella of Reggae.