More to KES than soca
TRINIDAD and Tobago soca outfit KES the Band had patrons in a musical trance with an high-energy set at Mas Camp, Stadium North, on Saturday.
The capacity-filled venue was a sea of flag-waving ‘socaphiles’ who danced to and sang every word from the group’s dreadlocked lead singer Kees Dieffenthaller, during the band’s 90-minute jaunt.
“It doesn’t matter where you’re from. The internet has made the world a smaller place,” said the 32 year-old Kees, who has performed several times in Jamaica.
“There is also a lot of cross pollination with music. So with every performance, the fans become more intensive.”
The Trinidadian — who started the band in 2005 with his brothers Hans and Jon and friend Riad Boochoon — said he has been working closely with Jamaican producers.
Last year, the band released two dancehall-inspired tracks Tuesday on The Rocks (on the Gal Season ‘riddim’) produced by DJ Bambino and My Love (on the Summer Wave riddim) produced by TJ Records, which also produced Popcaan’s Party Shot.
“I’ve also been doing some work with Shaggy on the Calabash Riddim as well as Major Lazer,” said Kees, who collaborated with rap legend Snoop Dogg on a remix of the soca song Stress Away.
Soca has not had an international breakout hit song since Arrow’s Feeling Hot Hot Hot (1998) and the Baha Men’s Who Let the Dogs Out (2000).
Kees, however, feels it is only a matter of time before one of his tracks reaches that level.
“Wotless (done with soca star Kerwin Dubois) was nominated for a BET Soul Train Award in 2011 while Tuesday on The Rocks was recently aired on BBC 1 Extra by David Rodigan. So, we’re getting there,” he said.
“The industry needs to work with each other more,” Kees added.
The band’s entry to the Mas Camp stage was greeted with a burst of coloured confetti and loud screams from the adoring audience.
The group, with its choregraphed dancers, went straight into its repertoire of hit songs including Ah Ting, Thief A Wine and When The Sun Goes Down.
DJ Bambino joined the group’s performance and urged Kees to display his deejaying skills. The singer did a few lines of Beenie Man’s Romey; Beenie Man and Fambo’s Rum and Red Bull; Buju Banton’s Driver, Murder She Wrote by Chaka Demus and Pliers and Popcaan’s Party Shot, much to the audience’s delight.
The evening also saw DJ Bambino creating a party vibe on the ‘wheels of steels’. There were also performances from L’Acadco dance troupe and opera singer Anna Strachan.
The evening’s title sponsor was telecoms provider Digicel.