 Nikki Edmonds, better known by her Calypsoan name, Alikat, has continued producing music despite the pandemic. She has teamed up with a local music producer, Kelly Indigo, to produce 18 songs that she hopes will inspire and give hope to persons who truly listen to her music. The duo, who goes by the name The Universal Connection, has also received moral and financial support from the St. Lucia Blind Welfare Association, who encourages its members like Nikki to push the envelope and set no limits on themselves and their creativity. Glenn Simon reports. My name is Nikki Allison Edmonds, aka Alikat. Nikki Alikat Edmonds is living proof that COVID can't lock up talents or dreams. Alongside her producer, Kevin Kelly Indigo Monrose, they have since May 17th, 2021, produced and released 12 of the 18 songs which they have been working on. It's been a very interesting and trying, you know, five months, but we have made it through this far and I'm very grateful. I wouldn't have it any other way. Nikki's talents are not only featured in the vocals in the music but also in the musical arrangement as she is a proficient keyboard player, a skill she credits to her early involvement with the St. Lucia Blind Welfare Association, of which she is both a member and client, having been diagnosed with low vision from an early age. With this current project, the Blind Welfare Association did assist in us being able to get a bass guitar added to the regime of instruments. Alikat said persons should stop setting limitations on blind and low vision individuals as this only helps to diminish their self-esteem and impede their personal growth and development. I just want to reiterate to my fellow blind and visually impaired brothers and sisters out there and to the sighted community also that it's all up to you. You know, you have to know what you want and you have to go for it and you'll attract people and circumstances to actually make that happen. Nikki and a producer Kevin Monrose, who goes by the Sorbrike Kelly Indigo, created their melodious music from his home-based studio called Psych Sound Studio. The duo goes by the name The Universal Connection. We have a wonderful working relationship and I love that. We're comfortable with each other. He does not look at my visual impairment as anything but normal. It's just an awesome vibe working with her and I really value it because she's always so, like you just said, always wants to keep going and that's the kind of energy that I want around me, you know, because when that's going on, I as an individual as well can grow and then we can grow together, we can be on the same page. Their music is currently available on YouTube at The Universal Connection and Kelly Indigo. Nikki is hopeful that her music will touch and inspire persons who take time to listen. I want for people to feel joy and happiness when they hear the music because there are so many people who are hopeless, who feel hopeless, who feel depressed, who feel lost because of everything that's going on coupled with their own issues, independent of this COVID virus. I want the music to penetrate people's hearts and to actually just align them with something brilliant. She ended the interview by singing her favourite track on the album entitled Switching Upon Me. Glenn Simon reporting.