‘Chandy’ beats in Baltimore
Drawn to Jamaican culture in his youth, Winnette St Catherine of the United States Virgin Islands loved the music of Buju Banton and traditional roots-reggae acts like Steel Pulse and Lucky Dube. He also admires controversial dancehall acts such as Vybz Kartel and Mavado.
Known as Chandy Locks, St Catherine has worked with acts who favour different sides of dancehall/reggae for Chandy Locks Records, a company he founded one year ago in Baltimore, Maryland.
The label has a number of Jamaican acts on its books including Khago, Dilly Chris and Sauce Perreler. More Clarks by Sauce Perreler, Options by Dilly Chris, Village and Any likkle Change from Flexxx In The Complex are the songs currently being promoted by Chandy Locks Records.
Breezy and Papa Smurf are other artistes on the Chandy Locks Records roster while Beenie Man, I Wayne, Shane O and Intense have recorded songs for the fledgling company.
“We want to bring a high-energy vibe to the music and carry it across the world. We have a different kinda sound, an inclusive sound that people can enjoy,” said Chandy Locks.
The label’s songs enjoy steady rotation on Baltimore radio stations including the underground 90.3 Wild Out Radio and 93.9 FM WKYS.
While music is Chandy Locks Records’ primary function, management has other ventures in the pipeline.
“On the grounds we have a movie theatre, we have a rehearsal house where the artistes can rehearse for shows. We also have a video camera crew and at the studio artists are free to bring their own engineer and team to ensure a comfortable workplace,” said Chandy Locks.
As Winnette St Catherine, he enjoyed a healthy diet of dancehall/reggae in his native St Croix. He was also big into Super Cat, Terror Fabulous and later arch-rivals Vybz Kartel and Mavado.
By the time Chandy Locks migrated to South Florida in 2000, St Croix had become the hot spot for reggae in the USVI. When he moved to Baltimore 10 years ago, that territory had a buoyant reggae scene with acts like Midnite and music producer Laurent “Tippy I” Alfred, head of I Grade Records.
With the label that bears his moniker, Chandy Locks wants to make a similar impact in Baltimore.
“We working with a good set of artistes and getting the songs out there. It all comes down to patience but we getting there,” he said.
