Mélange Travel & Lifestyle Magazine January 2018 | Page 625

Joel
“Positive”
Murray
Gospel Reggae Singer, Tobago
J
oel was born and raised in the village
of John Dial, on the island of Tobago.
The little village where he grew up is
considered to be Tobago’s country-
side, so most of his favourite pastimes included
ocean swimming, fishing, canoeing, playing
soccer and music. His primary and secondary
education took place in Tobago and later, through
the University of London, he completed a BSc. in
Computing and Information Systems. His love,
however, is music and he embarked on his exciting
musical journey in 2006.
Joel gives the Caribbean and beyond, healthy,
energetic performances of his gospel reggae,
which is well-received by every audience he has so
far entertained. His two role models in this field are
the Jamacian performers Papa San and Lt. Stichie,
both of whom, he said, influenced his decision to
pursue a reggae-gospel style as opposed to the
Caribbean’s traditional style of gospel renditions.
Joel said, “I grew up listening to a lot of foundation
reggae roots music and fell in love with the genre.”
For the past five years, Joel has been performing
with the “The Signature Band”, whose members,
Joshua Caines - Keyboardist; Josh Samaroo
- Guitarist; Joel Thomas - Bassist; Kristian Dick -
Drummer; Oneisha Dardaine - Background Vocalist
and Dernielle Diaz - Background Vocalist have
been bringing the gospel reggae vibes to many
countries including:
London, Manchester and Leeds in the UK, USA,
Costa Rica, Belize, Guyana, Barbados, St. Lucia, St.
Vincent, St. Kitts, Puerto Rico, Jamaica, Cayman
Islands, The Bahamas, Tortola, St. Croix.
One of his favourite songs to perform is “Never
Let Go” . He says it’s special because of the place
it came from. “In 2007 I released this song as an
encouragement to myself, my Mom and family as my
Mom had begun treatment for cancer.” It remains his
favourite today.
His gospel outreach continues. Joel is planning
a new album release and also an album tour. His
vision “... is directed to nations, so our aim is to reach
as many nations as possible with the gospel.” He
believes, “we are all created for a purpose and the
sooner we discover this purpose we can find our true
selves the more impact we will be able to have on this
earth. Stay focused and connected to God who is our
source.”
Joel is a husband and father. Married to Analise,
they are both blessed to be the parents of a
beautiful daughter, Emma-Mychelle.