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Maffie and Crew are a
new wave of Caribbean musicians who call Vancouver, BC, home.
Their presentations represent the beats of the Caribbean
including dancehall, reggae and soca. As Mr. Nigel Headley, a
Trinidadian musician noted, “Their stage performance is
incomparable to any other artist throughout the Lower Mainland”,
Vancouver, Canada. “Each performance is filled with high energy
and precision and contains a magnificent display of dance flavor
originality, versatility and creative musical interpretations”.
Maffie and Crew have released 7 original independent CDs and
strive to excel each time.
Similarly to fellow
St. Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) international recording
artist, Kevin Little, muli-talented Ulan “Maffie” Atwell was
born in Georgetown, SVG. His first original album, “Juk Juk
Passy” in 2000 marked Maffie’s entry into the Vancouver music
scene as a lead vocalist. He also produced music for several
Caribbean African and Canadian musicians in Vancouver including
Sam Hope and Family, Phrase III Steel band, Fire Band and Out of
Many, Zukie Joseph, Dan Shallow, Silas Sajjadi, Sarah Karkouck
and Zeyn Anthony Ali . In 2005 he completed his fifth CD
“Represent” in collaboration with Ugandan hip-hop artist, Silas
Sajjabi. In addition to playing at various venues and festivals
in the Lower Mainland and on Vancouver Island, Maffie and Crew
performed with SVG international recording artist Altson Becket
Cyrus (2002) and Winston Soso (2003).
Maffie and Crew are
from diverse musical backgrounds brought together by a shared
passion for the music of the Caribbean. Ulan Atwell (SVG) is
the arranger and lead vocalist; Ivan Elva (St. Lucia) is a
vocalist and drummer; Fando Bynoe (SVG) is on bass and vocals
and Renita Drakes (Barbados) is a rapper, vocalist and
saxophonist.
Currently
headquartered in Vancouver, BC, Maffie and Crew infuse their
live performances with energy and power as they fly their
Caribbean flags in unison and with pride. When they hit the
stage you are in for another high energy performance. Samples
of some of their pulsating rhythms are available on their
website
www.maffie.com. As independent
producers, Maffie and Crew completed working on their most
recent Album “Grass Roots Reload Part 1” in the summer of 2007.
This spring of 2008 they will launch their eight albums “Balance
Reload Part 2”. This 2008 album promises to be unique by
including a mixture of African and Caribbean music such as
Soukous, Reggae and Soca.
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