[PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad] – Trinidad & Tobago soca stars KES welcome listeners to Carnival season in the Caribbean with the release of their first 2022 single, “Jolene,” today. The track, which premiered with Complex UK, is out now on all DSPs via California-based Ineffable Records.
The first taste of an upcoming album planned for this Summer, “Jolene” is a buoyant celebration of good vibes and rolling waistlines, blending the infectious rhythm of soca with afrobeats and other influences for an instantly-classic, island-pop jam.
The Inspiration
The track, produced by Trinidad’s Dwala, arrives at a time of year when soca acts typically flood the market with new music to set the vibe for Trinidad & Tobago Carnival in February. With Carnival celebrations on pause for a second year, KES, also known as KES THE BAND, reached outside the box to create a record that would pull listeners deep into the Caribbean, no matter where they find themselves in the world.
“I wanted to transport you to a place where, even if you’ve never been to the islands before, you would feel like you are there,” says KES frontman Kees Dieffenthaller, also known as KES. “The Caribbean is a melting pot of cultures and people together in this beautiful place, and this song captures all of these vibes.”
In spite of the pandemic, the last two years have brought a string of highlights for KES. 2021 saw their U.S. TV debut on Late Night with Steven Colbert, performing alongside Jon Batiste on Zoom in a virtual celebration of Carnival culture, and a return to the States for their first tour dates in over two years. In August 2020, they released the live album We Home (Ineffable Records), a project which earned them plaudits in outlets ranging from Essence to The FADER.
The band has also organized a run of virtual concerts that have aired live on TV across the Caribbean and streamed worldwide on their YouTube channel, timed to key dates on Trinidad & Tobago’s cultural calendar.
KES
Of the many musical acts which call Trinidad & Tobago home, perhaps none embody its polyglot culture more than KES, the eclectic soca outfit behind some of modern Caribbean music’s most indelible anthems. Celebrated for Carnival hits (“Wotless,” “Savannah Grass”) and island pop jams like “Tuesday on the Rocks” and “Hello” — one of the most streamed soca songs of all time — the group, also known as KES THE BAND, has brought Trinidad & Tobago to the world, sharing stages with the likes of Will Smith, Major Lazer and John Legend. For the group — charismatic singer Kees Dieffenthaller (aka KES) and his brothers Jon (guitar) and Hans (drums), along with childhood friend, Riad Boochoon (bass) — blending soca, pop, rock, reggae, calypso, dancehall and afrobeats together is one part of their greater calling: To spread good vibes.
