After 13 years in the entertainment business, Prestege has recorded ?Bermuda Twist?, the band?s first album.

The duo comprises of Preston Swan, one of the founding members, and Hamilton town crier Ed Christopher.

The album that will take you from jumping and waving into a slow dance are a mixture of songs that span several musical genres.

It covers artists like Tracy Chapman to Bermuda?s own, the late Hubert Smith, Sr.

?The CD is a combination of two of our own tunes,? said Mr. Swan, ?And the others are cover tunes that we have added a Bermuda touch, too.

?It has a mix of up-tempos and a couple of the ballads are classics like ?Bermuda is Another World?. It is a pretty unique sound and pretty energetic. Our trademark is to be lively, to be interactive and have a flavour of mixed music that will reach everyone.

??Bermuda is Another World? is pleasant and some call it the unofficial Bermuda national anthem, it?s a song that people love every time we perform it,? said Mr. Swan. ?It is one song that when you finish people clap. That one really came out well. All credit goes to this song, it was written in 1969 and it is still a great song.

?It has such a good feel and tourists and locals alike connect that with Bermuda. It is relaxing. It is really an island song.

??Bubbling Hot? and ?Oh, What a Night? are traditional songs and then we go to soca with ?Jouvert Morning?. In ?Can?t Get Enough of Your Love? Ed goes real deep and this is one of the best ones.

??Shaggy?s Angel? gives a reggae feel and it makes you feel like freeing up and dancing.

?Bob Marley?s song was very powerful when it was written and some of the human rights issues still exist. The song is a reflection of things that still need to change and it gives hope. It is one of those songs that people really connect with.

?Tracy Chapman?s ?Sorry? is with a reggae beat and we put our own flavour to it.

?We enjoyed it. And then ?Soca Medley? is the song that takes you home. You want to raise your hands and blow your whistles. It keeps people wanting more.?

The idea of recording a CD has been a long process, said Mr. Swan.

?It has been almost three years since we first went into the studio to actually having it produced,? he said.

?But we are pleased with it and are looking forward to doing another one. We have learned a lot in terms of what?s actually involved in the recording process.

?It was recorded here at Just Platinum Studios with Steve Easton. He did the engineering and put in the background vocals.?

The calypso tune ?Bermuda Twist? was written by Mr. Swan several years ago.

?Preston wrote ?Bermuda Twist? even before I joined,? said Mr. Christopher, ?But the other one was a poem that I wrote, which was about dancing and the way I am on stage and it?s called ?Feel the Rhythm?.?

Mr. Swan added: ?We changed the words slightly, but kept the feel. It?s not a song that you would normally hear us performing live.

?But if you hear the song, you will say, ?yeah, that is Prestege?. It is the kind of song that makes you want to dance.

?We performed these songs years ago and if we did the CD today, it would probably have a different flavour.?

Over the years the two have grown and their reputation is there for all to see.

?Ed came on board six years ago and we have seen a steady progression,? said Mr. Swan.

?It is exciting because we are constantly challenging ourselves by thinking, ?what else can we do?? Bermuda is a small market and you have to keep fresh, otherwise you will lose your edge.

?Our motto is to be the best that we can be and to continue being Bermuda?s number one duo.

?We take it serious and wherever we play it is promising. We work with the owners and the audience. We ask what can we do as a team and the audience is our number one priority.?

Bermuda Regiment buddies Steve Harvey and Mr. Swan started Prestege 13 years ago.

?He played the keyboard and I always sang,? said Mr. Swan. ?We got together and started performing and played together for a few years. When he left it was a solo act.

?Then another gentleman came on board and left and I was going to put an ad in the paper asking for a backing singer or for part of the duo.

?But I have to say it must have been fate, because I can?t explain how it happened. It was then that Ed came on.

On joining the band, Mr. Christopher said he had been doing the Pirate?s Party on Hawkins Island.

?As a reprieve during my wind-down time I would go to Flanagan?s,? he said.

?Then every now and then either the person Preston was singing with or he would call me up to sing with them. We did that every evening for a while.

?Then Preston had a throat scope so he couldn?t sing for a couple of weeks and at the same time his partner also went AWOL. So, he asked if I could help me as much as I could. So I said, ?I would sing what I can and go from there?.

?We first met when we did Oz together, but I never thought of singing until Prestege. I was the one-man show over at Hawkins Island and that was theatrical and every now and then I would sing something but it was just for fun.

?You go in one foot at a time, but I go in one toe at a time.

?I will try this song and then that song. You realise that with every year it gets better and as you get more comfortable you surprise yourself sometimes.

That all happened towards the end of 1999, said Mr. Swan.

?It was in October and I said ?we can do this all season ? are you interested???

To work out the finer details the duo took a trip to see if they could spend time together.

?We talked about it and spent some time together to see if we could get along,? said Mr. Christopher, ?Because the partnership was going to be one-on-one and one of us was going to be the wife and the other the husband. It just went from there.?

Mr. Swan added: ?In a band, there is a difficulty with trying to get everyone together for rehearsals and everyone being on the same wave length.

?Sometimes you can get it, but it is difficult to get it consistently. Ed?s work ethic is very high and very similar to mine.?

Their passion is in the music as well as in the entertainment, they said.

?We also don?t take breaks in our repertoire and sometimes people want to know what we mean by that, but basically it means that if we start at 9 p.m. and we are supposed to finish at 12 a.m. then that?s it. We don?t stop at 10 p.m. to take a break, we play all the way through.

?You have to have a passion for it and before you know it, it is 12 o?clock. Mainly, we have fun. People often comment and say, ?you guys look like you are just having fun? and ?you are so energetic?.

?The whole thing about music is that it is not just about the music, I would never profess to be one of the greatest musicians, but if you get the right music, sing it well, and you get a feel and look like you are really enjoying it then that is the key to really being successful.?

Mr. Christopher added: ?We create an atmosphere that people want to be a part of and we invite them in by asking them to dance.

?Also what happens is that we go to a club and we think these guys are good, especially on the hotel circuit, but when they take a break, we leave.

?And it is everywhere, and the thought is to stay until they take a break and then leave, but this kills the vibe so we play on.

?The whole idea is once you invite them in, you don?t let them go and 95 percent of the time when it is time for us to finish the audience wants more because they can?t believe that it?s over.

?So if you are playing for three hours and we finish people are shocked when they look at their watches and see that it is 12 a.m. or 1 a.m. It is a continued energy build-up throughout the night and our repertoire comprises the 1960s to 2005.?

The duo perform a wide selection of songs. On Tuesday nights they play at Snorkel Park in Dockyard and on Friday and Sunday nights they have a regular spot at The Cellar at the Fairmont Southampton Hotel. They also play at weddings, social events and conventions. ?We have a lot of variety in our music and one of our appeals is that we don?t stick to just what we want to do, we do what relates to the audience,? Mr. Swan said.

?We try to keep up to date with what is happening and bring those songs on, but good songs are good songs and the really good songs last and just make you want to dance.

?We have over 250 that we can perform and I think we have picked the right ones that will ?capture the audience?s attention?.

?We can play reggae for an hour and a half if we wanted to, but it?s the island feel of calypso and reggae.

?But when you are doing the hotel circuit there are so many people, the R&B people, Motown and those type of styles, Frank Sinatra, because folks like to start off with that, so, we try to get everyone involved by playing something for everyone.?

Prestege have often been referred to as high energy, but they insist that they play for a more laid back audience as well.

?We opened for Lou Rawls when he came here,? said Mr. Swan.

?We played dinner music which was all mellow so that is the type of versatility that we have.

?We also opened for Pebo Bryson, The Manhattans and Byron Lee. We basically cater to whatever is necessary.?

The pair wanted to dispel the myth that all Bermudian musicians/entertainers were out of work. Besides playing locally they have performed in Ireland, Europe and the United States.

?There are some people who are not working, but I think people need to know that it is not everyone that is in that situation,? said Mr. Swan.

?I have never had to look for work. We are good and we are adaptable and there are some success stories out there.

?We have a really good relationship with the managers at the places where we work. We always ask, ?Is there anything that we can do better?.?

They received a lot of help on the production side. ?David and Lucy DeSilva of Mall Studios did a yeoman?s job,? said Mr. Christopher. ?So, we want to thank them as well.

?They went overboard with the amount of pictures they took.?

Musical ability runs in the family, said Mr. Swan. ?I give my parents a lot of credit and I come from a line of keyboard players.

?My grandmother was the organist at church and my mother and brother also play the piano at church. I have always been singing and I began singing solos in church.

?When I went to school in Eastbourne, South of England, I was in a rock band. It was very, very interesting and it gave me the versatility that is required.

?I was back here for about a year and I hadn?t done anything musically and then I got right back into it.?

Mr. Swan is a nurse by profession, but he works at the Bermuda Hospitals Board as a programme manager for substance abusers.

?I?ve worked there for 17 years and it goes back again to the passion,? he said. ?I enjoy my job, but it changed gears and it is a hectic schedule.

?For the music although I don?t perceive it as work and the passion is there as well. It keeps it exciting.?

The pair are always trying to keep their standards high and Mr. Christopher said: ?It is great because what happens is you don?t want to get complacent, even though it might be good.

?So, the more you challenge yourself it makes it even more exciting to perform. You are always looking for the next occasion to do it better.

?I am a five-year man. All my jobs have been five years and I get tired of it and move on, but this has been six and it is excitement for me and I have to be excited in what I do.?

Mr. Christopher is also the Hamilton Town Crier. ?I am the Bermuda chameleon,? he said with a laugh. I work in many facets and companies call and say they want this and I can give it to them.?

The Bermuda Twist CD is on sale in all music establishments and at the venues where they perform. The CD costs $20.