For The Most Part Podcast is the brainchild of Kemi Ible, a Trinidadian musician, songwriter, producer arranger and much more. From an early age, Kemi has had a deep love for music, and this passion led to her career in music. Kemi saw a need for an open, relaxed space to discuss music and musicians in Trinidad & Tobago - particularly those with serious talent and little to no following. Armed with a Macbook and a few studio essentials (including a USB interface with a mind of its own), Kemi started this podcast.
Our first episode dropped on August 7th, 2020. Since then, we've had two amazing seasons featuring many musicians, producers, artists and entrepreneurs looking to develop our creative sector in Trinidad & Tobago. We've had the pleasure of meeting Shannon Francois, a Trinidadian gospel and R&B singer with crazy vocals. We've spoken to Marcus Ash about the challenges facing our national instrument. And of course, we've had hard-hitting conversations about our soca industry and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Kemi is a variety of creative fields, including music teacher, videographer, producer, steel pan arranger, and even a writer.
Her popular arrangements include Iron Love, a Christmas Medley by Baron, and a Tribute to Women in Steel, which her fellow arranger Ms. Roisha Edwards teamed up to create. Kemi has one official original composition released entitled 'Holding Your Heart'. She is the instrumentalist on bass and guitar for Machel Montano's Road Trip Reloaded. Her influences include having a family of musicians, vocalists, DJ's, photographers, producers, including cousins Mr. Simeon Sandiford of Sanch Electronix and Anson Soverall ’Ansonpro’.
Kemi attributes her parents and family's extensive music collection for her current knowledge that is applied to the podcast. The music library or 'harddrive minds' have exposed her to legendary artists such as the Carpenters, Aretha Franklin, Patti Labelle. All of the acts coming through the Motown 60's era, the disco era with voices such as Gloria Gaynor, Earth, Wind & Fire, Donna Summer of the '80s and the list from this musical vault continues. Furthermore, outstanding local professors and artists have aided Kemi's career, such as Dr. Patricia Dardaine-Ragguet, Wayne Bruno, Theron Shaw, Dr. Jeannine Remy, Phillip Keiller, and Jessel Murray, to name a few.
'I think even when I was three years old, learning music with Dr. Pat, I was still curious. There was something in the way she taught me that brought me full circle to teach in her institution’, she says. ’The pandemic and my keen interest to reflect upon personal business experiences were partly why this podcast began'. She continued, ’People are unaware as to two things that are concurrently happening: A lack of awareness to exceptional talent and the overrated performers drowning them out, as well as a lack of awareness as to how much of an influence of how 'popular' music is made.‘
According to Kemi, the priceless music of the 60s and 70s is the foundation of some of today's popular music. Indeed, this era brought us some of the world's most legendary artists with complex, novel ideas and sounds. Kemi's love for the underpinnings of what made this era a musical gem in time extends to modern genres. Each interview seeks to carefully dismantle an artist to paint a raw, honest picture - who are their influences? What have they been through in life? How do they write their feelings down so elegantly?
Behind the scenes, the FTMP team makes much of the magic happen. We are an eclectic bunch of artists, musicians and technicians hailing from Trinidad & Tobago. Putting together this podcast has been a labour of love, and we intend to continue. Season 3 is packed with lots of surprises, all-new artists and cool collaborations. Stay tuned!