The Jamaica Tourist Board recently met with one of Jamaica's rising reggae artists Troydon Bent. He was nominated for the Best Unsigned Artist award at this year's British Reggae Industry Awards and the aim of the meeting was to discuss ways of supporting his bid to break into the UK music industry.

Troydon was visiting the UK on a one-week promotional tour, during which he gave interviews at key regional radio stations and headlined at the Marlow Town Regatta and Festival. During the trip, Troydon also visited Wymondham College in Norfolk where the singer-songwriter treated Year 10 Business students to a reggae music workshop before concluding his visit with an interview with Year 12 students for BrickFM and Sound Fusion Radio.

Having come from a family with a strong musical background, Troydon has always had a passion for music and dance. He started his career performing with a dance group called the Portmore Dancers when he was only 13 years old, after which he was introduced to a group called the Children of the Drums where he became lead dancer after only a few months. His career in music officially started in 2009 during his employment as Entertainer at the Hotel RIU in Mammee Bay, St Ann, where Troydon applied the same passion he had for dancing to his musical talents.

During this time, Troydon started to experiment with his own style of music and from his bedroom created a recording label, Gidians Records, through which he recorded four albums including his latest 'Looking From the Inside Out'.

Troydon says, "Dancing and music have always been passions of mine. Both my parents are singers and as a result I started performing from a very young age, as did most of my brothers and sisters. Through working at the hotels, I became well-known in Jamaica as a dancer and I took the same passion and rules that I applied to dance, and inserted this into my music.

"The music industry in Jamaica has changed over the years and it's been difficult to get noticed. I've really had to push myself to get where I am today, and through Gidians Records I want to ensure that other musically-talented people also have similar opportunities that I created for myself."

Elizabeth Fox, Regional Director for the Jamaica Tourist Board in UK and Northern Europe said, "Troydon's experience as an entertainer in the hotel industry and his passion for reggae music, make him an ideal example of how entertainment and tourism are successfully combined. Music is an integral part of Jamaica's industry and Troydon's visit to the UK is an opportunity to highlight Jamaica's musical talent and in turn maximise the exposure of Jamaica's tourism product."

Troydon's new album, Looking From the Inside Out, is available to download from http://gidiansrecords.com. 

 

For more information on Troydon Bent visit http://troydonbent.wordpress.com.  For more information on Jamaica, visit www.VisitJamaica.com. 

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Photo Captions

Image 1 (from left to right): Troydon Bent, Angela Turner (Promoter for Gidians Records) and Torrance Lewis (District Sales Manager for Jamaica Tourist Board) after the meeting at the Jamaica Tourist Board London offices.

Image 2 (from left to right): Year 12 students Lily Evans and Ed Roffe from Wymondham College in Norfolk interview Troydon Bent.

Image 3: Troydon Bent at the Jamaica Tourist Board's London offices.

For more information or photos please contact:
McCluskey International
Sarah Salord / Kathy Rowsome
T: 020 8747 2170
E: jamaica@mccluskey.co.uk

About the Jamaica Tourist Board

The Jamaica Tourist Board (JTB), founded in 1955, is Jamaica's national tourism agency, based in the capital city of Kingston. JTB offices are located in Kingston, Montego Bay, Miami, Toronto and London. Representative offices are located in Düsseldorf, Barcelona, Rome, Amsterdam and Tokyo.

Jamaica was named "Favourite Worldwide Destination" by the readers of British Travel Awards' Check-In magazine at the publication's new Readers' Choice Awards 2012. Jamaica was also voted the 2010 World's Leading Beach Destination (Montego Bay) by the World Travel Awards.

For details on upcoming special events, attractions and accommodation in Jamaica visit the JTB website at www.visitjamaica.com, or call the JTB on 020 7225 9090.