From the beginning, the songwriting ability of Dave Martins would set Tradewinds apart from the many of the talented groups in the Caribbean. A naturally gifted writer, able to achieve the difficult task of writing in many forms (calypso, ballad, folk, pop), Dave Martins has caught the flavour of life in the Southern Caribbean in a unique way. "I've always been interested in the background story -- how something works, why a society behaves in a certain way -- and that state of mind is there in many of my songs," says Dave. "Also, despite our problems, we are fantastic people in the Caribbean, and I'm always looking to reflect that. I think that is one of the less obvious but main reasons for the effect of our songs on Caribbean people--the love and the admiration may not be spelled out, but it's there; they can sense it".