Burning Flames are an

Antigua Antigua ( ), also known as Waladli or Wadadli by the native population, is an island in the Lesser Antilles. It is one of the Leeward Islands in the Caribbean region and the main island of the country of Antigua and Barbuda. Antigua and Bar ...

soca Soca or SOCA may refer to: Places * Soča, a river in Slovenia and Italy * Soča, Bovec, Slovenia * Cayenne – Félix Eboué Airport, by ICAO code * Soca, a village in Banloc Commune, Timiș County, Romania * SoCa, Southern California Other u ...

band from St. John. Their music is influenced by calypso,

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...

ragga Raggamuffin music, usually abbreviated as ragga, is a subgenre of dancehall and reggae music. The instrumentals primarily consist of electronic music. Similar to hip hop, sampling often serves a prominent role in raggamuffin music. Wayne Sm ...

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African Americans in the m ...

, and

zouk Zouk is a musical movement pioneered by the French Antillean band Kassav' in the early 1980s. It was originally characterized by a fast tempo (120–145 bpm), a percussion-driven rhythm and a loud horn section. The fast zouk béton of Martini ...

.Broughton, Simon; Ellingham, Mark; McConnachie, James;Duane, Orla (2000) ''World Music: The Rough Guide - Latin and North America, Caribbean, India, Asia and Pacific'', Rough Guides, , p. 523

Biography

The band formed in St. John in 1984.Thompson, Dave (2002) ''Reggae & Caribbean Music'', Backbeat Books, , p. 50-51 The original lineup included three brothers — Toriano "King Onyan" Edwards (vocals, guitar), the multi-monikered David "Bubb-I/Krokuss/Lord Satellite/Natural Rampler" Edwards (vocals, bass), and Clarence "Oungku" Edwards (vocals, keyboards) (just like with George Jones of Barbados' soca band

Square One (band) Square One is a Bajan soca band formed in December 1987. It continued until 2004, when singer Alison Hinds left the group, then re-formed in 2010. History Square One was formed in 1987 by Anderson "Youngblood" Armstrong (vocals), Cecil "O Shaka" ...

} — along with their nephew, drummer Rone "Foxx" Watkins. The three brothers had previously worked together as

buskers Street performance or busking is the act of performing in public places for gratuities. In many countries, the rewards are generally in the form of money but other gratuities such as food, drink or gifts may be given. Street performance is pr ...

, and Clarence and Toriano played in

Arrow An arrow is a fin-stabilized projectile launched by a bow. A typical arrow usually consists of a long, stiff, straight shaft with a weighty (and usually sharp and pointed) arrowhead attached to the front end, multiple fin-like stabilizers c ...

's backing band. The band won their first Antigua Carnival Road March title in 1985 with their song "Stiley Tight", which was issued as their debut single in 1986. They went on to have international success in 1989 with "Workey Workey", which was also later

covered Cover or covers may refer to: Packaging * Another name for a lid * Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package * Album cover, the front of the packaging * Book cover or magazine cover ** Book design ** Back cover copy, part of co ...

Byron Lee & the Dragonaires Byron Lee and the Dragonaires (known as Byron Lee's Dragonaires after Lee's death and now The Dragonaires) are a Jamaican ska, calypso and soca band. The band played a crucial pioneering role in bringing Caribbean music to the world. Byron ...

. Burning Flames was hugely influential in bringing about the modernization of soca in the Eastern Caribbean, and in turn being a huge influence on the evolution of soca in its country of birth, Trinidad and Tobago. The advent and utilization of the drum machine, digital sampler, electronic drums and other emerging music technologies and techniques in soca was almost single-handedly popularized by the quartet. Indeed, their outsize influence on soca songwriting, live performance, music production and arrangement, and their seminal and innovative use of drum machines and synthesizers cannot be overstated. The Burning Flames sonic DNA can be heard in the soca of bands and artists throughout the Eastern Caribbean, Barbados, and even Trinidad and Tobago (1985 to 2000s). The band signed for

Mango Records Island Records is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded in 1959 by Chris Blackwell, Graeme Goodall, and Leslie Kong in Jamaica, and was eventually sold to PolyGram in 1989. Island and A&M Records, anoth ...

in 1991, releasing the album ''Dig''. They won the Road March title on five occasions between 1991 and 1996, and in 1997 Toriano Edwards embarked on a solo career as King Onyan, going on to win four

Calypso Monarch The Calypso Monarch (originally Calypso King) contest is one of the two major annual calypso competitions held in Trinidad as part of the annual carnival celebrations. History While Trinidad's carnival has its origins in the 18th century, a singi ...

titles, eventually leaving the band.Ferguson, Isaac (1995)
Festivals in U.S., Beyond Adopt Music, Spirit of Carnival
, ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'', 18 November 1995, p. 120, retrieved 11 September 2012 The other members recruited St. Lucian guitarist Bryan Fontanelle and Trinidadian soca chanteuse Onika Bostik, and the new lineup recorded the album ''HokusPokus'' (1999). They won the Road March title again in 1999 with "Magician (I Command You)". Bostik died on 19 December 2004, due to injuries sustained in a car crash on 11 December.Artistes Call for Prayers for Soca Star's Family
, ''Newsday'', 21 December 2004, retrieved 11 September 2012 The following year, lead singer Oungku left Burning Flames after winning that year's

Carnival Carnival is a Catholic Christian festive season that occurs before the liturgical season of Lent. The main events typically occur during February or early March, during the period historically known as Shrovetide (or Pre-Lent). Carnival typi ...

Road March The Carnival Road March is the musical composition played most often at the "judging points" along the parade route during a Caribbean Carnival. Originating as part of the Trinidad and Tobago Carnival, the term has been applied to other Caribbean ...

with the single "De Harder Deh Come", and formed a new band, Red Hot Flames. From his song, "Oungku Too Bad-Minded", it became apparent that Oungku left the band due to some kind of controversy. He said it was because the band had outgrown its members. Red Hot Flames went on to win the 2006 road march competition with the single "Trouble". That year, original band member Onyan rejoined with bass player and vocalist David "Krokuss" Edwards, also known as Lord Satellite. The first album of the reformed band was entitled ''Ebry Bady Ha Fu Nyam'' and featured hit songs like "Raw Sole" and "Green Bush". They went on to reclaim the Road March title with the single "Papi" from their 2007 album ''De Real Fyah''.

Discography

Singles

*"Stylee Tight" (1985) *"Bicycle" (1988) *"Island Girl" (1989) *"Workey, Workey" (1989) *"Crazy"(1990) *"Oh Yah Yai" (1991) *"Knuckle" (1993) *"Juantana Mera" (cover of "

Guantanamera "Guantanamera" (; Spanish: (the woman) from Guantánamo) is perhaps the best-known Cuban song and that country's most-noted patriotic song, especially when using a poem by the Cuban poet José Martí for the lyrics. The official writing credits ...

")(1994) *"Gym Jam" (1995) *"Swinging Engine" (1996) *"Mash it up" (2001) *"Rush" (2003) *"Road Rage" (2004) *"De Harder Dey Come" (2005) *"I Man Haffu Nyam" (2006) *"Pig Tail and Pig Mouth" (2006) *"Papi" (2007) *"Jam Um In De Iron Band" (2008) *"Kayo" (2008) *"Wash Yu Kin" (2008) *"Out Ah Order" (2009)

Albums

* ''Stylee Tight'' (1985) * ''Burning Flames Rule'' (1986) * ''De Session Pwyle'' (1987), Burning Flames Music * ''Rysh & Dutty-Wave And Jump'' (1988), Burning Flames Music * ''Light Years Ahead'' (1988) * ''Me Na Freard'' (1989), Burning Flames Music * ''Mek E Bark'' (1990), Dr. G * ''Say It's War'' (1991) * ''Dig'' (1992),

Mango A mango is an edible stone fruit produced by the tropical tree ''Mangifera indica''. It is believed to have originated in the region between northwestern Myanmar, Bangladesh, and northeastern India. ''M. indica'' has been cultivated in South a ...

* ''Hard Fu Dead'' (1992) * ''Briggiding Biff'' (1993) * ''Klatye'' (1994) * ''As You Were'' (1995), Tropical Vibes * ''Workey Workey'' (1996),

Charly ''Charly'' (marketed and stylized as ''CHAЯLY'') is a 1968 American drama film directed and produced by Ralph Nelson and written by Stirling Silliphant. It is based on ''Flowers for Algernon'', a science-fiction short story (1958) and subseque ...

* ''Batten Dong Woosh'' (1996) * ''Fan De Flames-2 Hot 2 Handle'' (1997), Burning Flames Music * ''Oh Behave-Nothing Personal, Just Business'' (1998), Tropical Vibes * ''Hokuspokus'' (1999), Arrow Music * ''Jam-eulus'' (2000), Tropical Vibes * ''Burning Flames Are Unstoppable'' (2001) * ''Phenomenal Supa Soca'' (2002) * ''Venom'' (2003) * ''Debblish Rage'' (2004) * ''ONIKA-Always & Forever'' (2005) * ''Frolic'' (2005) * ''Ebry Bady Ha Fu Nyam'' (2006) * ''De Real Fyah'' (2007) * ''Still Burning, Hard Fu Out'' (2008) * ''U Pan U Own'' (2009) * ''"Reeaally !!?? (25th Anniversary)" (2010) * "Ah Patta Dem Come Fram" (2011) * "Countdown To Rehab" (2012) * "Kanaval Nah Ga Narmal" (2013) * "Let Um Go - Ah Nah How You Look" (2014)

Members

Current

*Toriano "Onyan" Edwards (lead / rhythm guitars & Lead vocals) *David "Krokuss, Lord Satellite" "NATURAL RAMPLER" Edwards (bass, vocals) *Clarence "Oungku" Edwards ( keyboards & vocals) *Rone "Foxx" Watkins (drums)

Past

*Clarence "Oungku" Edwards ( keyboards & vocals), now lead singer for band Red Hot Flames *Rone "Foxx" Watkins (drums) *Bryan Fontanelle (guitar) * Onika Bostic (vocals) - died 21 December 2004 * Farmer Nappy *Sisco *Seduction (vocals) *Blade (vocals)

Pre 1984

''Pre-recording release local live performances Antigua.'' *Elton "Sabu"Thomas (drums) *Jerome "Long Scyant" Thomas(drums) *Conrad Thomas (drums)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Burning Flames Antigua and Barbuda musical groups Soca musical groups Musical groups established in 1984