With 24 hours to go before Carnival 2024 kicks off, the excitement is gradually building up. As towns and villages across the state prepare to don a festive look, Goa is prepping up to dance to the tunes played on the floats.
While elaborate decorations and meticulous preparations set the stage for the Carnival parade, it’s the electrifying music on the King Momo float that truly ignites the celebratory spirit and gets everyone grooving.
This year, the song has been composed by Collin Dias from Mapusa, who tells Gomantak Times Digital, “The song is based on the Goan Carnival, where everyone wants to celebrate by dancing to some Soca music beats."
"I have added a touch of urban dance beats in the official Carnival song of 2024. It’s called Ole Ole Goa,” he shares.
The song has been composed, produced, arranged and written by Collin in his studio, in Mapusa, where he teaches kids and adults to play the guitar.
Talking about Ole Ole Goa, he says, “I have composed Carnival songs in the past, which were mostly in English."
"This time, I wanted to do something even more vibrant and in two languages – English and Konkani with a few words in Portuguese, which can be heard in the chorus,” he continues.
While Collin started working on the song in September 2023, he was in for some surprises.
Collin says, “The pre-chorus was written by my wife, who surprised both Roque Lazarus and me. The English part of the song is sung by me, while the pre-chorus, in Konkani, was sung by Roque Lazarus to add in the extra finesse in Konkani ... and he did an amazing job!”
The idea is to bring out the Carnival vibe in Goa, with King Momo’s float leading the parade and playing the theme song. Collin believes that the energy of the event must match the song.
“As far as composing a song goes, you need to understand what sort of energy you are looking for in the song, and then find the tune that would fit that energy," he explains.
"Finally, you find words that fit into the theme that you’re trying to bring to the audience’s ears,” he adds.
Collin is excited about the first parade in Porvorim on Friday. He says, “I’m very excited about this song as we have toiled for days and nights, trying to get the perfect sound, and to get the arrangement right, so as to give it an energy that the audience can feel, and get excited about the celebration.”
This year, as Goa gears up for Carnival, King Momo’s music becomes the soundtrack to the soul of Carnival.