Irish and Chin Solidifies Media Presence with SOUND CHAT RADIO‏

New York, New York -- World-renowned Dancehall promoters Irish and Chin have done it again, this time landing a weekly 6-hour block of airtime on radio, canvassing the Tri-state area of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. Together, with streaming live on their website www.irishandchin.com and other affiliates, Sound Chat Radio reaches thousands of listeners every Monday between 7-10pm EST and Tuesday from 5-8pm EST.

Sound Chat Radio went live in August 2011 and is the initiative of Garfield ‘Chin’ Bourne, one half of the company’s dynamic promotions duo -- the other being Gilbert Murchison. Hosted by ‘Chin’ and co-host Ninja of Mighty Crown, the shows thus far have scored prominent, exclusive guests, including major sound system players, legends and influential figures such as Bass Odyssey, Kilimanjaro, Black Kat, David Rodigan, Geefus, Tony Matterhorn, Downbeat, Fire Links, Black Scorpio, Jazzy T, King Jammy’s among others.

Meanwhile, top music personalities such as Cham, Lady Saw, Tifa, Elephant Man, Romain Virgo, I-Octane, Chris Martin, Lady G, Konshens, among others, have been hosted within the shows’ special interview feature called Chat Release. Other features of the shows include Singles Spotlight and Riddim Review, where newly released Dancehall/Reggae songs and rhythms as well as albums are highlighted, giving an opportunity to established as well as upcoming singers, deejays, producers to share their projects with Sound Chat Radio’s growing global audience.

Critical and controversial discussions are also a main feature of the shows’ objective such as those concerning the present state of the music. The opinions and overall experiences of Reggae/Dancehall’s industry stalwarts Donovan Germaine and Cleveland ‘Clevie’ Browne have been among the guests that continue to ensure that its programming is lively, constructive and valuable.

Sound Chat Radio has already become one of the top Caribbean programs on stations through out the Tri-State area including Energy Radio (energyradio.co), New Jersey's Road Block Radio (roadblockradio.com), Springfield's Jammys Radio (jammysradio.com) and Brooklyn's Red Hot Radio (redhotradio1.net). Since Sound Chat Radio's growth in popularity, not only is it a top show in key areas, there is a huge demand to further air the program on stations within the Caribbean diaspora.

According to 'Chin', “It only made sense for us to further develop our media presence in order to truly capture and capitalize on what was already a huge fan following and still growing demand for the company via our branded events and promotions. So, extending to radio was a no brainer.”

Irishandchin.com has over 70 thousand registered users, earning the promoters an enviable database reach. Adding to this is their other major promotion of bringing top rated Jamaican plays to the Tri-State’s Jamaican Diaspora. Their next venture is “The Politician”, starring ‘Delcita’, ‘Shebada’, Michael ‘Stringbean’ Nicholson and Christopher ‘Johnny’ Daley, written by Paul O. Beale, which is set for May 26th and 27th in Hartford, Connecticut and Queens, New York respectively.

The Irish and Chin brand is this year celebrating 15 years, during most of which they garnered respect for their heavily branded World Clash global sound system competition, as well as management of the Japanese sound system Mighty Crown who to date stands as the only sound system to have had major corporate contracts with multi-million dollar brands such as 5 sold out Nike shoe endorsements, 1 limited edition signature sneaker deal with Clae, a high end luxury footwear line based in California, and their latest being a partnership with the hugely popular Clarks.

Crystal Powell wins Mission Catwalk Avant Garde Challenge‏

Jamaican Crystal Powell wowed judges on Mission Catwalk episode eight with an avant garde, couture garment made from alternative material- old newspapers and materials from a hardware store. This is the second win for the 25 year-old who previously won the Flapper challenge on episode three.

For Crystal, the win was a confidence booster: “I got a chance to show the judges that I can be dramatic and over the top and very intense, moods I usually reserve for my poetry and drawings. Avant guarde is highly regarded in fashion, so for me it was a validation of my design acumen.”

Inspired by the Crusades, Crystal wanted her design to be pretty but unsettling to reflect “how something which purportedly started out with good intentions could have such devastating and ugly results. “

The garment’s top was made from newspaper with a unique amour-like stencil made by applying black spray paint over a polyflex sink protection mat. The collar and belt of the dress (made from folded newspapers spray painted in red) formed both a sword and cross.

The skirt was made of cut newspaper folded into flower-like shapes, still using the same stencil pattern but this time sprayed in red. The bold and dark effect was accentuated by black flowers, lipstick and gloves. The purple feather earring and cobalt (blue) tights were used to incorporate the traditional colours of priesthood- purple, red and blue and continue the theme of the Crusades. Copper and steel wires added for further dramatic effect.

Crystal’s effort won her a feature in OCEAN Style Magazine. Guest judge and editor of OCEAN Style, Douglas Gordon thought her work was “creative, interesting, well-constructed and editorial-ready.” Equally impressed were the regular judging panel: Keneea Linton-George, host and executive producer of Mission Catwalk, Novia McDonald-Whyte Jamaica Observer Lifestyle editor and Carlton Brown, celebrated menswear designer.

Though Ryan Berkeley of Guyana did meet the challenge requirement, the episode five runner-up received the lowest score and was sent home. Of the remaining seven designers, three are Jamaican (Crystal Powell, Janel Jolly and Gregory Williams), two are from Barbados (Kesia Estwick and Kerin Scott) while Trinidad and Belize have one representative each in Ryan Chan and Rebecca Stirm. Mission Catwalk originally started with an all Jamaican cast, with season two seeing participants from five countries from around the region.

The series will climax with a grand showdown at Caribbean Fashion Week with the top three designers in June. To find out ‘Who will rule the catwalk?’, keep watching the show which airs Tuesdays at 8:30 PM on TVJ and is simultaneously streamed online at http://www.televisionjamaica.com/livetv.aspx. Episodes also repeat Thursdays at 5:30 PM. Presented by NCB, Supreme Ventures and Digicel, Mission Catwalk is now shown in six regional countries: Jamaica, Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago, Grenada, Guyana and Belize.

KG's Latest Video Shot In Guyana

The video for gospel singer KG's latest single, Ride Out The Storm was shot during a recent trip to Guyana. And although some may question her patriotism, KG quickly dismisses any suggestion that she is anything but totally Jamaican.

"Actually, it was Guyana who chose me and, naturally I jumped at the opportunity," she explained. "Furthermore," KG added, "as an artiste, I am developing my fan base and with the love that I was shown by the Guyanese people on my recent trip there, I feel honoured to have shot a video there."

According to KG, it was during a conversation with some newfound friends in Guyana that the subject pf her video for the single came up and an offer was made for her to do the video shoot there and then. In no time, she and the video director, Colin S.Edghill Telford, linked uo with his team to put together the storyboard and from there everything just flowed.

"I could feel God's hand guiding this project. They chose the location, Promenade Gardens, a beautiful place that was perfect for the message of the song. It felt as if I had worked with this team before, despite the fact that we hardly knew each other," KG stated.

The storyboard for Ride Out The Storm relates the experiences of a couple facing difficult times in their relationship and the way in which God turns around things for them through their storms. The video is in the last stages of editing and is due to have its premiere by the end of May.

KG's singles Ride Out The Storm, Highly Favoured and Blessed, God Alone. Lifting Up Praise, Lord Do Mi Again and the controversial Who Me, You Mad, have been generating much feedback from both the gospel and secular arenas. Her debut album is almost completed and is due in stores by mid-year.