BASSETERRE, St. Kitts - HE 'mashed up de place' on Sunday night (Nov. 17) by bringing fun and frolic to the stage at the first Calypso Tent for Sugar Mas 42 and left many people singing "I want to live in Dubai".
He is Lord Felix and his new song for this year's Carnival has been causing quit a buzz since his performance on Sunday at Port Zante.
But, apart from the song, many people have been asking, “Who is Lord Felix? Is he is a Kittitian or a Nevisian and why he is not seen on the calypso scene more often?”
Speaking with SKNVibes, Lord Felix said his given name is Felix Redmill, and while he was not born in the Federation, he is indeed a Kittitian because he was raised on the island from the age of three, along with his siblings, by his Kittitian mother.
He said that he grew up in Basseterre in the vicinity of the Independence Square and had attended the Convent School. But at age 12 he had moved to Barbados, where he resided with an aunt and completed his secondary education at Lodge School. He however noted that he would have returned to St. Kitts whenever school was closed for the various long-term holidays.
Lord Felix said that after completing his secondary education, he returned to St. Kitts but left for London at age 18 to undergo studies in Electrical Engineering.
After graduating as an Electrical Engineer, he returned to St. Kitts but was unable to gain employment. Therefore, he once again left for London and was gainfully employed as an engineer until present day. He however declared that he would soon become a retiree.
Lord Felix explained that although he does not live in St. Kitts, he often travels to the Federation for holidays.
He also explained that he is still somewhat new to the calypso arena, as he only started singing competitively in 2010. In that year, he had competed in the Calypso Monarch Competition with a song called 'I Never Gon Drink Again'; a calypso that is still well-known to many.
Lord Felix however indicated that he was unsuccessful in making it to the Semi-Finals, adding that he was unable to get enough practice time because he had only arrived in St. Kitts the week before the competition.
"I was then entered in the Best of the Rest Competition and I came Second Runner-up. So that was my initiation to performing calypso," he said.
When asked why he decided to sing calypsos, Lord Felix said he had always liked that genre of music, having grown up listening to calypsonians such as the Mighty Sparrow and Lord Kitchener.
He said one day he told himself he would do it and indeed he did.
"I had come back for a holiday at the end of 2009. I was not here for Carnival but I was here for some of the Tents and I said, 'If the people who are singing calypso could sing, then I could do it too.' So the next year, in about April, I said, 'You know what...I'm going to do it.’"
Lord Felix said he went ahead and wrote a few songs and decided to sing 'I Never Gon Drink Again', noting that "I just pictured somebody waking up in a ditch after drinking too much the night before, and that is how it started".
The calypsonian said that he had returned to the stage in 2011 with the song called 'Where are we going from here', and explained that the composition was based on the high number of murders experienced in the Federation for that year.
He added that it had a political undertone as well.
"I was looking at the state of play with respect to both the economic situation and crime. Crime was very high at that time."
Lord Felix informed that he had entered the Calypso Monarch Competition with that song, but once again he did not make it to the Semi-Finals. He further informed that he did not participate in the 2012 competition because he was not in the Federation.
With regards to this year's song, when asked how he managed to have so many details about the political climate of the Federation, Lord Felix said that he keeps up to date with what is happening by reading online news articles and speaking to people.
"I talk to people, I exchange emails with people but I don't think I know so much. It's just that when the big things happen people will talk. And every now and again I read on SKNVibes on the internet."
Asked about the public's response to the song thus far, Lord Felix said that he was shocked to find that people reacted the way they did, noting that many seem to know the words to the song very well and, when seen, they usually ask if they could travel to Dubai with him.
His response: "You might not like it because it is said to be a desert land."
He explained that the song is more for amusement rather than political.
"Calypso is by definition an opportunity for social commentary...that is Kaiso. So people take the opportunity to say things that they want to say, and if they are not satisfied with the roads or the financial situation they make their comment.
"Now, mine is more satirical rather than overtly political. Naturally, anything you say that is in any way critical or even complimentary, it is political. In that the government of the day has a responsibility and therefore you're either criticising or praising them, so it is all at least marginally political.
"But, really, what I am doing is making satire to make people think. We hear all kinds of things about this Dubai and nobody seems to know exactly what's going on. Why do we have a Consulate in Dubai? In Canada we could understand because people go to Toronto or even New York or London. Why Dubai? Those are questions people raised and the words came to me and it seemed to make an interesting song."
Lord Felix said that he is uncertain of remaining in St. Kitts for the Calypso Monarch Competition because he might have to travel back to London for personal reasons. He however indicated that while here, he would most definitely be seen at the Tents.
Lord Felix will be performing tonight (Nov. 21) at the Calypso Tent slated for De House Nitery in Soho.
He is a member of the Legends Tent.
