Island life: From good to great.

A conversation with Zane Rodulfo.

The best thing about being a creative, an artist or simply feeling the need to make / do things is that you’re always finding ways to keep yourself busy. This often looks like: imagination, innovation, and endless hours daydreaming, thinking about how to make another exciting project happen. 

In these pandemic times, when many of us are struggling to keep our sanity since travel is not the best idea (…cabin fever is also very real when you live on an island!), it’s always heartening to meet folks who remind you that “allyuh still have it real good down here”…Looking at the bigger picture, as a cultural practitioner from/based on an island, specifically the Caribbean –  I guess so.  

While visiting Granderson Lab a few weeks ago, one Tuesday afternoon I met up with Zane Rodulfo, a young Trinidadian drummer and composer living and working in Brooklyn, NY.  Among the many things we discussed that day, such as increased collaboration and economies of scale, as these relate to the creative industry, Zane and I had the most interesting conversation about the trap of complacency (big fish, small pond scenario), how to try to avoid it; the necessity of pushing oneself to go beyond one’s comfort zone – in order to achieve excellence and of course, his most recent project Fractals. 

On November 24th, Zane presented Fractals, a live electro-acoustic, multimedia performance by collaboration with visual artist Rodell Warner & audio-visual company North Eleven. Using sensory percussion drum triggers to improvise with electronic sounds, Rodulfo manipulated and triggered Rodell’s video artwork along with archival video footage (a mix of history, socio-political commentary from Trinidad and Tobago), for an hour long performance. The videos were projection-mapped on Granderson Lab’s building exterior by North Eleven (in Belmont, Port of Spain). A public event, the digital installation-musical performance attracted many passers-by,  families living in the Belmont neighbourhood and friends of the creative community, with COVID-19 protocols in full effect.

The performance was made possible through the support of Granderson Lab, a project of Alice Yard, CATAPULT | A Caribbean Arts Grant — a COVID-19 relief programme conceptualised by Kingston Creative (Jamaica), Fresh Milk (Barbados) and was funded by the American Friends of Jamaica | The AFJ (USA).

Due to this year’s travel restrictions, Zane has been practicing a lot, writing for his next album and producing music for a couple artists…Before leaving that day, he reminded me that maybe it’s not too bad to be stranded on an island while waiting for the grey clouds of a pandemic to pass. After all, the weather is warm, inspiration can be found in any “island frame” once you are willing to adjust lens and filter; a dynamic creative community is literally within reach and there’s no shortage of brilliant ideas… 

There is a way to make this challenging time great.

Zane Rodulfo completed graduate study in jazz studies at New York University and holds Bachelor of Music degrees in both jazz performance and ethnomusicology from the Oberlin Conservatory Of Music. He has opened for great musicians such as Stevie Wonder, and has performed at illustrious venues such as Jazz at Lincoln Center and the Blue Note.

Read more about Zane’s work here: www.zanerodulfo.com