Next month, Trinidad & Tobago goes into full carnival mode and local band Kes are getting us fired up early with their new single ‘Jolene’. The track is also the first cut to be released from an upcoming album slated for release later this year.
The Caribbean four-piece first caught our attention a few years ago with their perfect blend of Caribbean and West African influences, a fusion they’ve dubbed ‘Afro-soca’. It has been their ongoing mission to bridge the gap between West Africa and the Caribbean, a gap which has a long and storied history and has seen them export the sound globally with collaborations with everyone from Major Lazer’s Walshy Fire to John Legend.
In Jolene, however, it’s all Kes and they’re kicking things back in Trinidad & Tobago to celebrate all that the Caribbean country has to offer and the people who call it home. With a blanket of frost currently covering the UK, we can at least pretend we’re somewhere else thanks to the gentle bass licks and soaring vocals of Kes frontman Kees Diefenthaller.
“I wanted to transport you to a place where, even if you’ve never been to the islands before, you’ll feel like you’re there,” Dieffenthaller says. “The Caribbean is a melting pot of cultures and people together in this beautiful country, and this song captures all these vibes.”
If you’re not lucky enough to be celebrating Carnaval in the Caribbean this year, Kes has organized a series of virtual concerts that have been broadcast live on TV throughout the Caribbean and streamed worldwide on YouTube, timed for key dates in Trinidad’s cultural calendar. & Tobago. Keep an eye on the band’s YouTube channel for the next one.
