King Calie takes lessons from Sierra Leone trip

Following his recent return to the island after participating in the Telem Week cultural exchange event in Sierra Leone, dancehall artiste King Calie revealed that the sojourn was insightful and contributed to his artistic exposure.

King Calie, who is the reigning Magnum Top Performer, pointed out that the festival was held from November 10 to 19 and provided a safe space for the participants who were all performers from around the world.

"'Telem' means 'safe space' ... so that's actually what the Telem festival provided for everyone that was involved, a safe space where you can come and make your 'uncommon noise'," he said. King Calie explained that the uncommon noise stems from Telem Uncommon Sounds, which is a platform for experimental music in Sierra Leone.

"So you may not be making the mainstream music that everybody wants to hear but you are making good music. So this space is that space where you can come and perform," he said. "All in all, it was a good experience and good exposure that allowed me to actually meet people who respect music both fans and friends."

He shared that leading up to the festival, there was a nine-day creative retreat where the participants produced songs, wrote music, interacted with each other and rehearsed for shows held in Tokeh Beach.

"Outside of the retreat itself, I actually met some other musicians in Sierra Leone doing dem thing as well, and I was able to invite them to the show to experience and be involved in the exchange outside of the artistes who were actually a part of the retreat," he said.

The retreat was followed by the two-day festival at which participants each took centre stage to showcase their individual talents.

"Day one was mainly faculty artistes with a few teasers from us who are from overseas, and then the second day was the full-on final show where we got to perform all the songs that we wrote while being in Sierra Leone," he revealed.

King Calie said that he was invited to participate by trade policy specialist and advocate, Professor Rosalea Hamilton, who is also Jamaica's honorary consul to Sierra Leone.

"Professor Hamilton has been very instrumental into my career. She is part of the reason I went to law school and ever since then, she has been around the family. She thought it would be a good idea to have a cultural exchange with Sierra Leone and upon doing some research, she found out about the Telem retreat and decided that it was something that she wanted to get us involved in. So she reached out to myself, Jamala Falak (bassist) and Rica G (cultural practitioner) and we just ran with it," he shared.