Lord Shorty Creator of Soca Music - Sweet Music (1976) Hi-Res

"Soca Explosion" is a landmark studio album by Trinidadian musician Garfield Blackman, better known as Lord Shorty (later renamed Ras Shorty I). The album was released in 1978 on Charlie's Records.

This release holds a special place in the history of Caribbean music, as its composer is officially recognized as the creator and chief architect of the soca genre.

By 1978, Lord Shorty had already revolutionized music. Several years earlier (beginning with the tracks "Indrani" in 1973 and "Endless Vibrations" in 1974), he had consciously innovated the traditional calypso rhythm. To unite the two main ethnic communities of Trinidad and Tobago—African and Indian—Shorty integrated Eastern instruments (dholak, tabla) and a distinctive Indian vocal style (chutney) into his music. Later, Indian drums gave way to Western pop drum kits, and the tempo quickened—thus soca was born.

The album "Soca Explosion" became a triumphant summation of this revolution and a demonstration of how powerful, international, and groundbreaking the new genre had become by the end of the decade.