When: 10th February 2012 at 8pm
Where: The Drum, 144 Potters Lane, Aston, Birmingham B6 4UU
£: 8 (6)
What is it?
Kobo Town is an international touring band named after the historic neighbourhood in Port‐of‐Spain where calypso was born from the boastful, humorous chants of roaming stick‐fighters. A site of defiance and conflict, Kobo Town was 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.
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. While rooted in old-time calypso and various West Indian folk musics, their music also draws heavily on dub poetry, roots reggae, zouk, son montuno, funk and jazz.
Kobo Town explore the rich lyrical tradition and compelling rhythms of calypso’s formative years while demonstrating the contemporary relevance of their art by engaging the pressing concerns of our time. Domestic violence, the war on Iraq, the paradoxes of globalisation, the ongoing state of Caribbean dependency, and the bittersweet experience of immigration are all treated within their wide and varied repertory.
More info: www.the-drum.org.uk