Contributed
S (left) and T, the duo of Islandgirlz.

Krista Henry, Staff Reporter

Bringing a little sunshine into the music business, youngsters S and T of the Islandgirlz have a surprisingly mature talent.

When one hears the vibrancy of songs such as Sunshine and Come Follow Me, it's a shock to learn that the harmonies and energy of the Islandgirlz demo CD, titled ST: Part I, come from 13-year-old T and 10-year-old S. What's more surprising is that the duo has only been together for the last year.

Young honey-skinned girls with voices just as sweet, Islandgirlz combines dancehall, reggae and pop to form there own sound. With the younger S as the 'vibes person', singing backup and sometimes lead in songs such as Better Dayz, T is the main singer on the majority of their tracks.

In an interview with The Sunday Gleaner, T said "we actually meet through a mutual friend and we both had a passion for singing, and S's dad picked it up and we started". The two are close like sisters and have a good chemistry between them, with S's dad, Raymond Cole, acting as Islandgirlz's manager as well as moral support system.

Anonymity

Both are attending school, with S living and going to school in Texas. The two prefer to keep some level of anonymity by using the monikers 'T' and 'S', as they prefer to live as regular girls. T explained, "I just like to be secretive about it, 'cause then people would be like, 'your the Islandgirl'. You don't want to push it, but let it grow on its own time."

With no professional training as musicians, the two epitomise the ideal of the true island girl, being carefree and young, with a little added spunk. Yet, despite being involved in music, the two are highly focused on school and more school. Their manager Raymond Cole explained that "the Islandgirlz is a project, they are kids, their focus is on school for nine months out of the year; so for three months, they're here focusing heavily on music. We want to develop Islandgirlz over the years to come".

In summer, 'S' and 'T' will be hitting the studios again and possibly working on a video for their single Sunshine, featuring Don Mafia. The plan is to release the video which will be supported by limited shows and the release of ST: Part II.

So far, the two have made appearances for C&W at the Ewarton Jerk Festival and sang at the Emancipation Park where they got a good response. They have also made appearances on CVM's Sunrise, RJR's Smile Jamaica, and Jenny Jenny's Amazing Kids, among other shows.

Age appropriate

In the meantime, S's and T's parents have been nothing but supportive of the girl duo's musical path, as T said "our parents are really supportive. We just do lyrics our age and songs our age, shows that are appropriate for us".

For Cole, he will do his best to ensure that the girls get the best of both worlds. He told The Sunday Gleaner, "I think the girls recognise it's a five-year project. They don't have to worry about the ugly side of trying to make in the music business; they can do what they focus on, which is to educate themselves, but they can focus on their music as well. They have such talent."

The team

Their talent is slowly being discovered by a number of producers. Currently, the girls are working with Raymond Cole as a producer, Wilton James and Gary Atkinson, who has worked with acts such as Tami Chynn. One person who was impressed with the girls was producer and artiste Don Mafia, who heard the song Sunshine and had to deejay on the track.

Cole said, "Don Mafia called and immediately fell in love with them. He said dem a go bus international. He met the girls and he fell in love with Sunshine and he deejayed over their part. 'Cause in five years they will be superstars."

T remains focused on school, learning the patience that is needed to deal with being a musician, and wants to explore the culinary arts. S is living her dream, as she said "I think being in Islandgirlz is a great experience for me".

"As I get older, my dream is to sing."