September Artist of the Month
HOTTEST EVENT ON THE TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO MUSIC SCENE
Trinbagonian born David Reid, along with his Vincentian wife, Lornette Nedd-Reid, started FIRE FUSION in February 2001. Catering for hotels and club performances, David and Lornette learned a wide repertoire of songs including Slows, R&B, Reggae, Hip-Hop and also our famous Soca and Calypso. Hitting clubs both in Trinidad and Tobago, David and Lornette earned a great deal of popularity and became well known for “rocking a crowd.” Clubs, such as Island Club in Trinidad, have had the pleasure of hiring these two songsters for monthly performances alongside well known artists such as Marvin Lewis and the band, Surface, just to name a few.
In Tobago, hotels such as Hilton Tobago and Coco Reef ensure that Fire Fusion is one of their main entertainment events for at least three times a week. Pelican Reef and Tobago’s famous, The Deep, also enjoy sensational Karaoke nights in addition to a wide repertoire of songs from this dynamic husband and wife team.
David and Lornette had a vision of creating a repertoire of their own that would identify them with their new home, Tobago .
In the January 2007, six years after they started, David and Lornette made their first recording “Real Man”. This first hit was entered in Tobago’s Soca Monarch and also T&T’s International Soca Monarch semi-finals. Although they didn’t make it to the finals in the International Soca Monarch, they did make an impression on the Soca world. So much so that they were given an opportunity to perform on one of Trinidad’s big music trucks for Carnival in that same year. At home in Tobago, their power was also felt when they took the title of Tobago’s Soca Monarch from the reigning songstress, Princess Adanna.
Embarking on a new journey, Fire Fusion did a video for the award winning song “Real Man” and to date it has been one of Tobago’s top video hits. On March 1st 2007, David and Lornette went back into the studio and recorded their inspirational hit “Thank You Jah”. This song and “Real Man” were launched in St.Vincent the following week for Vincy Carnival. Since Lornette Reid is a citizen of St. Vincent she entered the St. Vincent Soca Monarch Competition and made it to the Grand Finals. Why stop there? Fire Fusion recorded three more songs, “Real Man Reloaded (Dance Hall Version)” “Matrix” and “Jump up” one week after launching their first two hits in St. Vincent.
Looking for wider exposure for their music, David and Lornette entered The Carivouge World of Performing Arts Championship Competition and qualified with the highest marks in Trinidad and Tobago. Fire Fusion, therefore, represented the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago in this worldwide event.
To enhance their repertoire, David and Lornette Reid made preparations to record three other songs, “Wine Up”, “J’ouvert Morning”, and a calypso “I Am Woman”. These three songs along with “Jump Up” and “Push Back Reload It” were launched for Carnival 2008 in Trinidad and Tobago. Lornette and David have taken their aspirations further by adding one more vocalist, Arlette James and a band of ten musicians, including brass, to their duo in December 2007.
The band Fire Fusion continues to flourish with David performing as ‘Mista Fusion’ and Lornette as ‘Fire Empress’. They now command an awesome presence in the music scene of Trinidad and Tobago. For the year 2009, they were both finalists in the Tobago Soca Monarch Competition, ‘Fire Empress’ with her big hit for the season “Mama Laya” and ‘Mista Fusion’ with his infectious “Drunk Man Wine”. From a field of fifteen ‘Fire Empress’ came away the undisputed winner. She then proceeded to blaze the airwaves in her home land, St. Vincent, with her two hot new numbers, “Session Done” and “Bend Over”, recorded at Vengeance Media Studio in Tobago. With “Bend Over” she gave a magnificent performance in the 2009 St. Vincent Soca Monarch Competition, making it once again to the Grand Finals. ‘Mista Fusion’ is also ready to transform the fetes with his new biting social commentary “Recession”. Watch out for this one in 2010.
‘Fire Empress’ and ‘Mista Fusion’ backed by the big band FIRE FUSION will continue to grow as they stand tall together to produce positive music for Trinidad and Tobago and the world.
