Falco is Chutney 'king'

Having spent 15 years penning some of the most entertaining songs, Ramdeen “Falco” Maharaj is proud to have written for some of TT’s top performers. Names such as Ronnie Mc Intosh, Rooplal Girdharrie, Carlene Wells, Marcia Miranda, Sarika Mahabir, Raymond Ramnarine, Papa Steve, Anil Bheem, Sexy Tricia, Devanand Ramnath, Omardath Maharaj, Lal Bharat, Tricia Hamilton and members of the T&TEC Gayatones have all been singing his compositions. His yet-to-be released CD titled Peoples Choice is a compilation of songs which he did for the Dil-E-Nadan orchestra. He is also working on a collection of his best compositions that were recorded through the years. Mc Intosh’s song for 2004 Carnival “What Yuh Crying For” (composed by Falco) has a chutney soca melody and is one of the hot party favourites this year.

Falco’s “Mother-in-law Pressures” took the title for Best Chutney at the 103 FM’s Hall of Fame awards last year. He is also a well-known singer and is one of the top performers with the Massive Gosine Roving Chutney Tent. He also has a reputation for his double meaning songs which amuse and entertainment listeners. Take for instance his song titled “Wood”. It says: “Ah just build a house costing half ah million dollar, The contractor make meh buy ten truckload ah lumber, The building finally over, The yard clean up and looking good, Right now in front meh house have a heap ah wood, So if yuh step falling down yuh could check meh for wood.” Falco said his job with the Ministry of Education restricts him from doing more in entertainment. “A performer or writer must dedicate a lot of time in order to perfect their art. The amount of time one puts into their art will determine how successful they can be. Time is an important factor, where music and song are concerned,” he said.

Falco focuses on the various issues then composes his songs and sets them aside until the right artiste comes by. “Each artiste has their own style in delivering a song. The party songs can be sung by almost anyone but those that are political or social commentary call for an artiste who has experience on stage,” he explained. Falco realised he had a gift to compose since he was at the Sangre Grande Hindu primary school. He composed for his family members as well. “Even those simple lines that made people laugh, worked for the songs that will make the large audiences laugh,” he noted. But Falco is not pleased with disrespect that local composers face. “The artistes really show little respect for the composers. They refuse to acknowledge the people who write their songs and they go about making their millions as if there is no tomorrow. This is why we should have a constitution drawn up so that the composers can have greater benefit from the songs that claim international fame,” he said, adding that writing is a full time job. “A writer spends every waking hour thinking about a topic before putting it on paper. It is really an enormous task to get the right words to put to the melodies for any song. Then the rewriting takes hours,” he said, venting his frustration.

Falco is married to the fashion designer Kamla Maharaj who is responsible for outfitting him for performances. Their children  — Roger, 13, has taken up writing and singing calypsos and chutney songs) and Jonathan, 15, attends the Sangre Grande Business Institute). Falco is enjoying a rewarding Carnival this year as two of his songs,  — Carlene Wells’s “Food For So” and Sarika Mahabir’s “Meh Neigh-bour Man” — are doing well in fetes in south and central. Apart from composing and singing, Falco loves to cook for his family and treasures the times spent with his wife and sons.