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| Kobo Town at Balattou Toronto-based roots-calypso act Kobo Town will be performing their inaugural Montreal show at the renowned Club Balattou on Thursday, March 22nd. Club Balattou has been the driving force behind world music in this city for 20 years, laying the groundwork for Festival Nuits d'Afrique, the Montreal International Reggae Festival and the Montreal International Jazz Festival. The Montreal show comes on the heals of their successful Canadian Music Week showcase performance at the Trane Studio in Toronto on March 8th as well as special concert, "Music Is The Weapon", at Ottawa's Barrymore's Music Hall on Saturday March 10th in support of Canadian Friends of Sudan and Burma. Kobo Town produced and self-released their debut album "Independence" in November 2006. Co-produced by Lyndon Livingstone (David Rudder, Andre Tanker, Mighty Scrunter) and Drew Gonsalves, the album was named by Blogcritics as the best International album of 2006. CBC Radio One's "Fresh Air" and "Big City Small World" radio shows also chose the record among their Top 10 lists for 2006. In addition, The Live Music Report had this to say about the record after placing it on their Top 10 list of outstanding 2006 discoveries: "It is daunting to attempt to describe a CD created by a poet with the eloquence of Trinidadian-born Drew Gonsalves. His 'St. James' would fit nicely in an anthology of Caribbean and Caribbean-born poets that would also include the works of Linton Kwesi Johnson. Some heavy material, but there is levity too — and rhythm! Lots of sounds to savour." IndependentsOnly wrote, "Intoxicating calypso rhythms held straight with a reggae backbone is the best way to describe this Toronto based group's sound... 'Independence' shows how music can be the voice of the people and that the message always rises from ashes. One of the most beautifully intelligent releases...ever!" Drawing heavily upon the sounds of traditional calypso, roots reggae and dub poetry, the album is a collection of stories which offer a running commentary on a wide variety of social and political themes including domestic violence, homelessness, globalization, the war on Iraq, and the various frustrations and betrayals of the post-colonial era. Named after the vibrant and turbulent neighborhood in old Port-of-Spain, Trinidad, where calypso was born, the group strives to recover the social conscience, satirical storytelling and strong acoustic/organic rhythms that characterized Trinidadian music in the past. For members of the eight-piece outfit, the name suggests an origin as well as a destination. write your comments about the article :: © 2007 Jazz News :: home page |