Love in the Air Riddim Anchored by a gentle calypso sway and delicate embellishments of guitar and ukulele, the Love in the Air riddim showcases soca at its grooviest. The project is spearheaded by New York City-based DJ, producer, multi-instrumentalist, and educator Ted Ganung, who spends extensive time in Trinidad alongside his Trinidadian-born wife and children. There, Ganung draws deep inspiration from the island’s indigenous musical traditions and the vibrant rituals associated with its world-renowned pre-Lenten Carnival.The Love in the Air concept took shape earlier this year after Ganung attended his sister-in-law’s wedding on the island. “Surrounded by friends and family, I wanted to capture the overarching theme of what Carnival represents,” Ganung reflects. “Soca was playing, a steel band was performing, and moko jumbies (traditional carnival characters that perform on stilts, a custom originating in West Africa) filled the space. It felt like a true celebration of their culture, and that’s what I wanted to convey while capturing the spirit of Caribbean folk songs.”Recorded at Songhai Studio in Woodbrook—a creative hub in Trinidad’s capital, Port of Spain—Ganung played nearly every instrument on the Love in the Air riddim himself. Beginning with the ukulele (an instrument he picked up while living in Hawaii), he built the arrangement with acoustic guitar riffs, electric bass, and a programmed drum track. Celebrated Trinidadian percussionist Modupe Folasade Onilu added the final rhythmic flourishes. “My intention was to do something stripped down and acoustic, that showed the influences of calypso and groovy soca,” Ganung notes. While power soca thrives on high-BPM energy, groovy soca slows the tempo to emphasize soul, melody and a mellower groove.Created as a classic one-riddim release—with multiple vocalists recording individual songs over a single backing track—the project incorporates a tradition originating in Jamaica that crossed into soca production during the mid-1990s. Today, the one-riddim approach is widely utilized in soca as artists record new music for each carnival season.Love in the Air marks the fourth standalone riddim project from Deeper Vision Recordings, the label co-founded by Ganung and Anthony Granata and distributed via UK-based LabelWorx. While originally focused on drum and bass, Deeper Vision has expanded its catalog to highlight a broad spectrum of music, especially reggae and soca. A diverse roster of vocalists has already voiced on the riddim, with each artist exploring a distinct facet of love, humanity’s most complex emotion.The rollout begins October 23 with Blackout JA’s “Love Is All We Need,” a testimony to affection as the ultimate healing agent. Based in the UK, the Jamaican chanter is renowned for his raspy delivery and deep roots in British bass culture. On October 30, M1 aka Menace—a prominent Trinidadian artist from Sangre Grande and former lead vocalist of 3Suns—explores deception and transactional devotion on “You Don’t Love Me”. Veteran British-Jamaican reggae artist and activist Macka B follows on November 6 with “Are You Going My Way,” envisioning “a place of peace where you love your sister and brother… a place in everyone’s heart where people help each each other.” On November 13, Azzizi Romeo—son of the late, legendary Jamaican singer Max Romeo—delivers a message of spiritual strength on “Obstacles”.The Love in the Air EP arrives on November 20. More features are anticipated in the lead-up to the 2027 Trinidad Carnival season. “There are several artists who are already interested, so they may be inspired to record on it soon,” Ganung says. “I’m taking it step-by-step to see how it unfolds before planning a follow-up.”– Patricia Meschino