Kobo Town

Founded by bandleader Drew Gonsalves, Kobo Town is named after the historic neighborhood in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad, where traditional calypso (kaiso) was born amid the boastful, humourous and militant chants of the roaming stickfighters. Situated near the fishermen's wharf, the area was a site of constant defiance and conflict, a place where sticks and stones, songs and verses clashed with the bayonets and batons of colonial rule. For the members of the eight-piece outfit, the name suggests an origin as well as a destination.

Since Kobo Town's formation in 2004, the group has been in the studio recording its debut album between Toronto and Port-of-Spain with Trinidadian producer Lyndon Livingstone. While in Trinidad, they performed with Orange Sky and appeared on the Gayelle TV network. The band has also performed at Gonzalez y Gonzalez (New York City), the Mod Club (Toronto), The Grad Club (Kingston), Revival (Toronto), Mercury Lounge (Ottawa), and the Lula Lounge (Toronto).

Calypso is an art that developed in dialogue with other musical forms. The members of Kobo Town, who come to calypso from all over the musical map, hope to continue and extend this tradition of rhythmic and melodic cross-pollination. Singer-songwriter Drew Gonsalves, from Diego Martin, Trinidad, owes a heavy debt to the dazzling wordplay and rapid-fire imagery of rapso and dub poetry. Percussionist Derek Thorne, from Maraval, Trinidad, brings the explosive drum rhythms of West Africa to the group, forging a sonic link between calypso and its earliest, deepest roots.

Ravi Jadoonanan, who mastered the dholak at the Hindu temple in his hometown of Chaguanas, Trinidad, adds the driving beats of the Indo-Caribbean, while drummer Stich Wynston, a Toronto native, contributes the dynamic and spontaneous character of freestyle jazz. With Jamaican-born Roger Williams comes the heavy bass grooves of reggae, rock steady and funk.

Although a classically trained guitarist from St. James, Trinidad, Cesco Emmanuel's raw and energetic playing betrays his history as a pioneer of the island's rock underground. And Osvaldo Rodriguez, from Havana, Cuba, brings the syncopated violin melodies of the Cuban charanga, a style of music that experienced its "golden age" at the same time as calypso.

Exploring the rich lyrical tradition and compelling rhythms of calypso's formative years the age of the Roaring Lion, Mighty Spoiler, Lord Invader, King Radio and Attila the Hun Kobo Town strives to demonstrate the contemporary relevance of their art by engaging the pressing concerns of our time. Domestic violence, the US war on Iraq, the paradoxes of globalization, the ongoing state of Caribbean dependency, and the bittersweet experience of immigration are all treated within their wide and varied repertory.

For Kobo Town, Trinidad's musical heritage is a living, growing body of work, with a continuing importance in their lives, the West Indies and the world. While exploring new sounds and arrangements, their songs resonate with the satire, storytelling and social concern that lie at the center of Trinidad's national art.