If music is indeed the soul of life then a country without a sound can be said to be shallow and lost. Though overlooked and underdeveloped in Belize, music has been a significant part of our heritage, and today, as a result of galvanized efforts, it represents a meaningful part of our identity. But the value of our Belizean music is in its nascent stage and with the bombardment of US music, local support has been hard to come by as the made in Belize label has been associated with the stigma of being substandard. Debunking that perception has been the driving force behind artists and the work they are producing. One production studio that is a part of that effort is Ludwig Production. Manager Antonio Robateau has been a part of that growth and says that the industry, though young, is wasting no time in meeting international standards.
Indira Craig reporting
Antonio Robateau
It was common opinion if you were to ask anybody, even if you were to ask me, I would say that Belizean music and Belizean products, when it comes to the entertainment industry, have always been inferior. But now it's reached a level where it's very hard to tell the difference in quality. I am not talking about the arrangement of the music but in the production of that idea. It's getting to the level now where it can compete.What Belizeans are doing is that they are bridging the gap now between their unique culture and the world culture and so what I've seen a lot of people do here at Ludwig is that they're working on blending local and international styles together.
Indira Craig
But as local artists bridge the gap by sampling from what the world has to offer, many are also sampling new home technologies and computer programs to cut corners while still trying to make a profit. So, while the quality of the home studio work might be a downgrade in talent and sound and unfit for international standards, it's still a good thing as it plays a key role in the industry's development as well as being healthy competition.
Antonio Robateau
Competition is not something bad, competition is something good. All the home studios and all the people who are now getting into the studio business - that's a very good thing. Let me tell you why, because for these studios to flourish artists have to be creating, artists have to be producing and when artists start producing and the studios start creating and generating products then that creates a demand for what comes after the studio, the distributors and the marketers and then the more live performance because the reason why Ludwig exists where it is now is because we are not just working towards the studio but we are working towards the development of the entire industry. Our productions range from albums to jingles to even now Internet media which is what we are working on right now, CD ram multi-media presentations and it's getting so technically advanced. Belize is beginning to expand more into the Internet world that albums aren't all we do anymore.
Indira Craig
What Ludwig is hoping to do now as they work towards the bigger cause of industry development is to expand as a post production studio, a distribution agent and as an artist agency scouting for new talent. A good eye for new talent, says Robateau, is one of the main components that is missing in an industry that has already taken form.
Antonio Robateau
For the last four years it's been in a state where no one even knew what the industry was, what the key players would be to make it all function smoothly, and now we are at a point where not only do we almost have all the elements but in just a few years we may just have a fully functioning entertainment industry.The industry already has the artist, the customers- those are the two extremes, the finances - people who are interested in spending and investing, the studios, not just Ludwig productions but many studios, the duplicators, the graphic artist, the distributors, and the retail vendors. The only thing that is missing is the monitoring to make sure that it's being done legally and that peoples investments are being returned, and people who can spot the next best thing that is coming out. In a few years I believe, between 7 to 10 years the world will begin looking at Belize not only as a tourist destination but a music hot spot, right, so am, it's already begun in Europe, a lot of Punta Rock artist are big in Europe,and, am, that's just one example. Right now Indian music is making the international scene all of a sudden, they haven't done anything different, it's just that one thing has reached it's peak and is coming down and now they are looking at another.
Indira Craig
So for the stake holders at Ludwig their hope is that with hard work and high standards applied to the development of our musical uniqueness, Belizean music might one day be the next best thing the music scene is searching for.
It is of interest to note that when Ludwig first started their operation when it was from atop the Albert Cattouse building in the same spot that the now defunct BCB once housed their recording studio. They have since moved to a new location to accommodate their expansion.
Producer:Jules Vasquez
Internet Version: P.J. Banner