HOTT MAGAZINE
Release Date: Friday April 4, 2003
Article by: Ricky Jordan

“Amid the hurly burly of a music industry that’s now at the crossroads, Indra emerges, offering hope that a local artiste is ready to make her stamp with uniquely Barbadian.

Indra Rudder, who is 27 years old but released her first CD, Ringbang 4 Kids, after having supported every major Caribbean artiste produced by the internationally-renowned EDDY GRANT in the last eight years. Now seeking to make her mark on the regional market first, the popular backing vocalist who is a trained dancer and author has composed most of her album’s 11 songs with the help of Shurland ‘Viking Tundah’ Bowen.

Besides her infectious chants which lend a different spin to Grant’s “Walkin’ on Sunshine,” Indra’s remarkable vocals ride the Ringbang rhythm on “Live The Ringbang Dream.” That particular number, the third on the CD, is catching on especially the younger Bajan population with its repetitions of catch phrases like “follow we” and “oh way oh,” as it encourages youths along an upward path of deep introspection, unity and pride.

“See who we are, where we were, and who we wanna be,” she advises in “Live The Ringbang Dream,” which features two simple but eloquent verses surrounded by lively chants. Lest one believes that this album is totally rooted in the influence of her mentor, father-figure and friend, EDDY GRANT; Indra’s personal stamp is a highlight of the CD.

In fact, her individuality causes the album to cross all boundaries with ageless tracks like “Take Time To Give Love,” the opening cut called “Fiesta Caribe,” and her bold remake of Grant’s “Walkin’ on Sunshine.” Another fascinating aspect of the recording, done at Ice Records’ studio at Bayleys Plantation House in St. Philip, is its lack of monotony.

Indra described the album, which took 3 years of love, patience and hard work, as “child safe.”

“It’s an accurate representation of who I am. At times I may seem idealistic, but with children I can be this way. And if adults identify with the album, it’s just that they have tapped into the child in themselves,” she told HOTT Magazine.

Indra’s talent extends beyond singing, since she also paints in her spare time, plays the guitar, and has already authored her first self-published book entitled “The Human Bean – 15 Lessons in Self-Evaluation & Finding Your Purpose.”

“The book stemmed from a big challenge in my life. I was journaling to myself and shared it with Viking. He said it sounded like a possible book, and if it helped me, then I could use what I’d written to help others. The book naturally evolved,” she explained.
The self-published book is an example of her appreciation of the wealth of talent many in Barbados possess. For while Barbadians tend to wait for outside approval of their own creative people and their products, she has seen the wisdom of cherishing “our own.”

“IF I DIDN’T COME UNDER EDDY’S INFLUENCE, I’D JUST BE ANOTHER ARTISTIC DREAMER WANTING TO BE THE NO.52 WHITNEY HOUSTON, INSTEAD OF THE NO.1 INDRA,” was how she put it.

In Grant’s 20-plus years of producing Caribbean artistes, he admitted recently that it has “not been [his] good fortune to encounter, excluding the great Gabby of course, such a prodigious talent as Indra Rudder.”

Prove it by listening to 'Ringbang 4 Kids.'

The Caribbean presents to you, a gifted spirit…Indra, who now goes SOLO.

Read about Indra's book - Human Bean

Purchase her CD Ringbang for Kids

Music of the Islands