‘Play More Local’

Most people may think that Junior “Mr. Famous” Noel is a new arrival into the realms of the soca arena. Hailing all the way from Toco in north east Trinidad, this season, 2014, he has already made a tremendous impact with his hit Play More Local, featured here.

Contrary to popular belief, “Mr. Famous” happens to be quite seasoned in the industry and established himself as an artiste with the now-defunct band ‘Tidal Wave’ which originated in Manzanilla. In addition to being the lead male vocalist of the band, “Mr. Famous” was also the sound engineer who always ensured the quality of music was of the highest standard. ‘Tidal Wave’ mostly performed music covers and played in many fetes and community events in Manzanilla and environs. Through the group “Mr. Famous” was able to establish a firm foothold in the soca industry of Trinidad and Tobago and continued to develop his career when he became part of ‘Roy Cape and the All Stars’ in 1998. As lead male vocalist of the band, he performed during Trinidad and Tobago’s Carnival and toured extensively after the local season was over, to Canada, the United States and Europe.

After leaving ‘Roy Cape and the All Stars’ “Mr. Famous” moved on to become the lead vocalist of the band ‘Horizon’ in 2002. Although the band ‘Horizon’ no longer exists “Mr. Famous” was able to gain experience and overcome challenges often faced by many rising soca artistes.

“Mr. Famous” decided to take a break from the music industry in 2003, and migrated to the United States to pursue other endeavors. His zeal and deep love for soca music caused his return to the industry and he aggressively re-established his connection to the music he had dedicated so much of his time and energy to.

This season “Mr. Famous” has made his passion and appreciation for soca music quite obvious with his latest and highly-rotated hit Play More Local. Since its release, the song has been burning up the airwaves locally, regionally and internationally. It is entertaining and artful, and emphasizes the need for supporters of soca music to realize the impact that the art form has on the cultural development of Trinidad and Tobago as a nation.

It is a musical appeal to listeners to embrace and appreciate soca music, not only during the carnival season but all year round; hence the reason the song was released before the Christmas and Carnival season. To date, “Mr. Famous” is a prolific songwriter with a distinctive voice and has recorded a number of other songs for the fast-approaching 2014 Carnival Season. Be sure to listen out for “Mr. Famous’” latest releases which include a few very exciting collaborations.