Features
Newsday Reporter
Entrepreneur, producer and cultural innovator Kamella Carmino has created and coined a new genre – Sōk-D’M (pronounced Soak Dem), a high-energy fusion of soca and EDM that bridges Caribbean culture and global festival sound.
A media release said, while DJs across Europe and beyond have long experimented with layering techno or EDM elements into soca sets, Carmino is clear about the distinction, she said, “This is not a remix. This is not a DJ blend. Sōk-D’M is an original genre, composed intentionally from the ground up.”
The idea was sparked during a conversation with ABM of Platinum Trini Hot 97FM Internet Radio station, based in Los Angeles. ABM, who holds a promoter’s licence for Las Vegas, shared a sobering reality: while EDM thrives in that market, there is virtually no space for soca.
Carmino said her response was instant, “So why don’t we fuse soca and EDM,” she asked, “and call it Sōk-D’M?”
By that very evening, inspiration had turned into action. Carmino teamed up with her son, Jesus Carmino-Garraway and together they began crafting what would become her first Sōk-D’M track, Cross De Stage, published by JuJu Multimedia. The song marked the birth of a genre – one rooted in Caribbean rhythm yet engineered for global dance floors, the release said.
Carmino, who writes all of her music, has since released two additional Sōk-D’M tracks: High on Love and Jump Up on Down, further defining the sound and its emotional reach.
At its core, Sōk-D’M blends the drums, chants, call-and-response energy and steelpan roots of soca with the synths, basslines, builds and drops of EDM. Sitting comfortably between 125-132 BPM, the genre occupies a thrilling middle ground – where the heat of J’Ouvert meets the lights of Tomorrowland, the release added.
“To Soak Dem,” Carmino explains, “is to be drenched in rhythm, culture and spirit.”
Beyond the sound, Sōk-D’M represents a new global Caribbean wave: Carnival without borders, EDM with soul. It invites producers, DJs, dancers and listeners from all backgrounds to connect through rhythm, movement and joy.
“Sōk-D’M is about being soaked in the moment – in joy, in music, in freedom,” said Carmino.
From the streets of Port of Spain to international festival stages, the movement calls on the world to “feel it, live it, soak in it.”
