Machel Montano

Machel Jesus Montano (born 24 November 1974) is a Trinidadian soca recording artist and record producer.

Known for his high energy, fast-paced, and often unpredictable on-stage performances, he is one of the genre's most popular artists.

Montano is the frontman of the soca band The HD Family.

Montano was born in Carenage (Northwestern Trinidad) on 24 November 1974 and his family moved to Siparia (Southwestern Trinidad), when he was very young.

He attended Siparia Boys R.C., then Presentation College, a prestigious secondary school in San Fernando, where he was in the choir led by Mrs Cynthia Lee-Mack.

Machel's first shot to fame as a nine-year-old boy came with the song "Too Young To Soca" while he was still in primary school.

In 1984, along with his older brother Marcus and neighbours, the group Panasonic Express was started and, in 1989, the band became Xtatik.

In April 1986, at the age of 11, Montano appeared on the mainstream television show Star Search.

In 1987 he was the youngest finalist to ever win the Caribbean Song Festival.

His career spans more than 30 years.

In 1987, he took part in the Trinidad and Tobago National Song Writers Festival, and placed second with his song "Dream Girl".

He also won the Caribbean Song Festival in Barbados, becoming the first Trinidadian and youngest contestant to win this competition.

The band developed and was re-invented by its leader Montano several times, including as The Xtatik Circus, Xtatik The Road Marching Band and The Band of the Year.

His successful singles, with and without Xtatik, include "Big Truck" (Xtatik's most successful single, which won the Road March title in 1997), "Outa Space" (with Beenie Man), "Music Farm" (Xtatik), "It's Carnival" (with Destra Garcia), and his Road March title wins in 2006, "Band Of The Year" (with Patrice Roberts), and in 2007, "Jumbie".

Since 2007 they have been known as Machel Montano HD (High Definition); Montano promoted the concept by saying that he is the first human being to go HD.

He claims this characterizes the evolution of his music over the past 25 years and the highly improved style in which his music is presented to his fans in radio format, television, and during live performances.

He is part of a campaign in Trinidad and Tobago to promote safe driving – "Arrive Alive".

Part of the hype surrounding Montano since 2007 is his HD tour bus, a 20-year-old bus from the Public Transport Service Corporation (PTSC) that was re-done and includes a bedroom, bathroom facilities, flat-screen TVs, Internet access and expensive audio systems.

After its debut in 2007, the bus was re-painted for 2008, the new images of Machel matching various photos from the album artwork of his 2008 CD, Flame On.

The bus featured heavily in his videos for "Jumbie" (2007) and "Rollin/Blazin d Trail" (2008).

His album Flame On, released in February 2008, featured collaborations with calypso artistes David Rudder on "Oil and Music" and Mighty Sparrow on "Congo Man".

Flame On also includes Clamydia with other artistes from various genres including soca, reggae, rap and reggaeton.

Examples of these partnerships can be heard on the following tracks: Patrice Roberts on "Rollin", Shaggy on "Winning Season", Buju Banton on "Make Love" and finally Lil Jon and Pitbull on "Defense (The Anthem)".

On Flame On Montano's right-hand man Kernal Roberts was involved in the writing of eight out of the 13 tracks.

In Trinidad's Carnival Road March Competition for Carnival 2008, Montano's song "Blazin d Trail" placed third.

Around 2012 he moved to the Los Angeles area.

He is very well known in New York City, where he has had sold-out concerts in Madison Square Garden many times over.

Machel is a six-time International Soca Monarch, a ten-time Trinidad and Tobago Road March winner and a one-time Calypso Monarch.

In 2012 Montano won the Road March, Power Soca Monarch and the Groovy Soca Monarch.

He won the Groovy Soca Monarch with his rendition of "Mr. Fete".

In May 2012 he launched the music video to his hit single "Bottle Of Rum".

Kernal Roberts, son of the late calypsonian Lord Kitchener, has taken up the role of Xtatik's drummer and musical director.

In the United Kingdom, he co-presented the International Sounds of Soca show on the BBC's black music digital radio station BBC Radio 1Xtra for four years with DJ Slic.

On 20 January 2013 Montano released the official video for the single "The Fog" from his 16th solo album, "Machelements".

On 27 January 2013, Machel then released another video for his single "Float".

Two days after another visual was released for his song "Happiest Man Alive".

Other songs that were followed by immediate visuals are "Epic", taking two months to create and release, and "Ministry of Road", taking less than one month to follow up on.

His win for "Ministry of Road" is the second consecutive win at the BET Soul Train Music Awards for Soca Music just after Bunji Garlin won in 2013 with Differentology.

In 2014, Montano took an interest in electric dance music (EDM), collaborating with EDM artists Major Lazer to create EDM song with a Soca vibe, called "Sound Bang".

In November 2014 Montano won a Soul Train Award for Best International Performance for the song "Ministry of Road (M.O.R.)".