Bajan creatives contributed significantly to the success of The Greatest Bend Over (Remix) music video, which featured Trinidadian artistes Yung Bredda, Full Blown, American singer/songwriter Chlöe Bailey, and American-Ghanaian singer Moliy.
Several of the scenes were filmed in Barbados under the direction of Barbadians and there was a local ground team of 25 individuals and over 35 supporting dancers and extras as part of the project.
One of the executive producers and co-director, Kwesi Q Trotman of Perpetua Productions Ltd, highlighted the magnitude of the collaboration.
“Soca and calypso are on the brink of really crossing over and going global and with the success of The Greatest Bend Over, it’s now tipping it over the edge,’
he said.
He said the project was one example of the great work capable of being produced by Barbadians.
“These types of opportunities are usually given to international teams. They usually come to our homes to tell our stories. However, in this situation, we were entrusted to tell our story ourselves. Our creatives are at the forefront. They get to be employed and make a living doing what they love to do.
“The video’s just been released and we are already getting calls from other international artistes who are now interested in doing more projects, not only with the team, but in Barbados. Everybody stands to benefit,” Trotman said.
He recalled that they secured the collaboration after a representative of Bailey’s team reached out.
“There was someone who brought another project to Barbados and I was working on that project. Ten years later, they reached out to me after seeing work that I shared.
“What was initially supposed to be a basic music video just capturing visuals during Crop Over. . . we surprised them with our ideas and they loved them, they trusted us and they allowed us to take it
a step further,” he said.
Despite the ambitions, he initially thought it might not have been possible since the project was green lit on August 1 and they only had a short window to
deliver.
“We didn’t think it was possible. It was confirmed on the Friday before Kadooment Day. We only had Saturday and Sunday to prep. Businesses closed early the Saturday and on Sunday there was nothing and Monday was Kadooment.
“It was a daunting experience, but we kept our heads down and we pushed through and everyone that we reached out to that had time to accommodate us, all fully supported the idea and they trusted the concept,” he added.
The Greatest Bend Over is featured on Full Blown’s Big Links Riddim, which was released late last year and took off during this year’s Trinidad Carnival.
Nadya Persaud of Creativs Label Music Video Commissioner was co-executive producer. Jamar Lex Silva was co-director and cinematographer.
The art, set design and wardrobe were executed by Lianna Ifill, while Aisha Commissiong (with support from Riddim Tribe) did the choreography.
There was also production support from GTG Rentals Inc., which provided the local creatives with industry-standard film and video equipment and gave them the best tools to film and service productions at an international level.
While some production was done in the United States, a lot was filmed in Barbados.
Three locations on the island were showcased in the video: Drill Hall Beach, JDM Squared Garage at Lower Estate, both in St Michael and the housing development in Maynard’s, St Peter.
Trotman thanked the Maynards’ community, who he said came together to support the project.
“We were going door-to-door asking people if they would be interested in taking part in a video. They were semi-reluctant . . . one of them literally looked at me and said, ‘I don’t usually entertain people that come to my door, especially during times like this, but I trust you’.
“The whole neighhbourhood came out. If we were short on anything, the community allowed us into their homes and let us use their tables and chairs. It was so beautiful to see,” he said.
The video can be viewed on YouTube.
The post Bajans bring the vibes to remix appeared first on nationnews.com.
