Multidisciplinary artist Foreigner is once again donning his filmmaker hat with the first part of an experimental series dedicated to the Di Soca Twins dancers. Joint interview.
In the prolongation of his audiovisual project, created for Moonshine on the mixtape SMS for Location vol.3, Foreigner is now focusing on soca dance and music, through the lyrics and movements of the Di Soca Twins dancers. Born in Trinidad and Tobago, Adam Cooper has become a fierce ambassador of Afro-Caribbean entertainment in Los Angeles, a culture that he believes is under-represented and perfectly placed to capture an attentive audience. Through the 19 clips that make up the L.A. ATLANTIC part.1 series, Foreigner gives the floor to the Afro-Caribbean diaspora that offers its rhythm to the nightlife of the City of Angels. Originally from Belize, Dani and Nisié (aka Di Soca Twins) express themselves over the murderous riddims of Martinique’s Natoxie, using their art as an example of creativity for the black women of America to follow and enjoy.
What is the general concept of the L.A. ATLANTIC documentary?
Foreigner: L.A. is one of the few cities in the world where there’s enough space (literally and figuratively) for black people to make a decent living from the arts. L.A. ATLANTIC is an attempt to extend that opportunity to black artists that do not have a physical presence in–or a connection to–the city while showing the rest of the African diaspora that there is a thriving African & Caribbean entertainment scene in LA. It’s an experimental initiative to reinforce the connections between the creative and cultural economies in Africa, the Caribbean and the city of Los Angeles through music, film and dance.
Why did you choose Di Soca Twins for this first episode? What do they represent within the LA scene according to you?
Foreigner: I’ve been working with Dani and Nisié for the past two years, and their story speaks to the essence of being an Afrodiasporic creative in Los Angeles: while the feeling of displacement and irrelevance is haunting, the mission to uplift our respective communities becomes more important than ego, so we dig deep and create what we create out of the purest passion, the purest nostalgia, the purest expression of our true cultural selves in a city that may not understand us.
How was this collaboration with Foreigner? What was the process?
Di Soca Twins: The collaboration with Foreigner was a smooth process for us. He’s very detail oriented so we never got caught off guard. When he initially reached out to us, the first thing we spoke on was the Junkyard Riddim and how it would tie into the documentary. We love experimenting, so it was a fun exchange of conversation and ideas up until it was time to film. We’re just happy in the midst of COVID, production was full steam ahead! There was a tight knit crew moving like clockwork, all wearing masks, and making sure everything Adam envisioned came to life.
How important is it to show to the world that your caribbean and central-american heritage is alive in LA?
Di Soca Twins: It is very important to us that the world knows the Caribbean community is alive and well in LA. For one, we know it may not be as large of a community as it is in the east coast, but we hold it down out here. Secondly, the Caribbean community likes to treat Belize like the red headed stepchild. We are proud to be Central American and it doesn’t make us any less Caribbean by any means. We always want that to be loud and clear. We think we all managed to nail that message.
It is shot in a particular way, with 19 short clips. Why this format?
Foreigner: I wanted to give Natoxie’s music and the minutiae of Di Soca Twins’ story a chance to breathe. I also wanted to capitalize on the idea that social media is driven by quick snapshots of larger narratives.
What do you think about the final result? Do you feel like it covers the most important aspects of your art?
Di Soca Twins: We LOVE the final result. It was a beautiful visual blend of foreigner’s aesthetic, which we admire. Mixing that with our bright, edgy, “in your face” style while hitting important aspects of who we are individually and as Di Soca Twins couldn’t have turned out better.
Why did you choose the producer Natoxie from Martinique to deliver this junkyard riddim?
Foreigner: Artists from St. Lucia, Martinique and Guadeloupe have an incredible influence on the newest sound of soca music and they do not get enough credit for it. While St. Lucia is known for their signature Dennery Segment sound, Martinique has built up their Shatta sound to the point that you don’t need to understand French or Creole to enjoy it. And Natoxie is at the forefront of the Shatta sound movement, so bringing him on board was an easy decision to make. It was also important to try and break down the language barrier between Anglophone and Francophone AfroCaribbean people; we can make incredible art now that we have Google Translate (laughing).
This is the part.1 of the documentary. Can you tease us a bit about the next part?
Foreigner: Part 2 will be a focus on the connection between West Africa and Los Angeles. We will connect West African dancefloor icons in LA with an up-and-coming producer out of West Africa in an effort to tell the stories of the growing Afrobeats nightlife scene here in LA. I’m really excited about this one; there’s lots to talk about when it comes to the African community in Los Angeles, California USA.
Chapters List :
1. Di Soca Twins meet Natoxie for the #JUNKYARDRIDDIM
2. Riddim Reflection
3. Meet Nisié. Meet Dani.
4. Feel The Music (we are not professional dancers)
5. DST Vibe
6. Nisié – Garifuna Heritage
7. Dani – Belizean Heritage
8. The L.A. Soca Scene
9. Soca Safety: Nisié
10. Soca Safety: Dani
11. Playfulness in Soca
12. Power Soca Lifestyle
13. The Power of Jab Jab
14. Carnival Community
15. Community: DJ Krossfayah & DJ Lady X
16. Community: Chanti
17. Community: Chris K
18. Our Ritual
19. Junkyard Riddim Instrumental
The entire series is available here.
Follow Di Soca Twins on Instagram here.
