A Constant Battle: Kobo Town and "The War Between Is and Ought"

Kobo Town plays our random tune for today, called The War Between Is and Ought. Founded by Trinidadian/Canadian Drew Gonsalves in 2004, Kobo Town refers to the neighborhood in Port Au Spain, Trinidad & Tobago, where calypso was conceived and first performed. Kobo Town blends calypso music with other Caribbean music, as well as genres such as ska, reggae, dub, rapso, zouk and hip hop. Gonsalves moved to Canada from Diego Martin, Trinidad & Tobago with his mother when he was thirteen. She was a Canadian citizen who was escaping her abusive marriage. He turned to music and poetry to deal with his situation and feelings of exile. He studied history and political science at Carleton University before taking up music as a career. The War Between Is and Ought can be found on Kobo Town's 2013 album Jumbie in the Jukebox. The song uses a traditional santimanitay rhythm to tell the story of two feuding kings.

Listen to songs like this and more on the KUNM Global Music Show every Monday night from 10 pm - 1 am Mountain Standard Time. Live streaming, program information and the two-week digital archive can be found at http://www.kunm.org.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kobo_Town; http://www.cumbancha.com/files/artist_pdfs_general/KoboTown_JumbieInTheJukebox_DigitalBooklet.pdf

Loves Labour Lost: Kobo Town and "Road to Fyzabad"

Today's random song is by Kobo Town. Founded by Trinidadian/Canadian Drew Gonsalves in 2004, Kobo Town refers to the neighborhood in Port Au Spain, Trinidad & Tobago, where calypso was conceived and first performed. Kobo Town blends calypso music with other Caribbean music, as well as genres such as ska, reggae, dub, rapso, zouk and hip hop. Gonsalves moved to Canada from Diego Martin, Trinidad & Tobago with his mother when he was thirteen. She was a Canadian citizen who was escaping her abusive marriage. He turned to music and poetry to deal with his situation and feelings of exile. He studied history and political science at Carleton University before taking up music as a career. This song, Road to Fyzabad, can be found on Kobo Town's 2013 album Jumbie in the Jukebox. The song remembers a failed labor uprising centered around the town of Fyzabad in Trinidad and which spread throughout the West Indies.

Listen to songs like this and more on the KUNM Global Music Show every Monday night from 10 pm - 1 am Mountain Standard Time. Live streaming, program information and the two-week digital archive can be found at http://www.kunm.org.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kobo_Town; http://www.cumbancha.com/files/artist_pdfs_general/KoboTown_JumbieInTheJukebox_DigitalBooklet.pdf

I Heard the Calypso Today, Oh Boy: Kobo Town and "Kaiso Newscast"

Our random song is brought to us by Kobo Town. Founded by Trinidadian/Canadian Drew Gonsalves in 2004, Kobo Town refers to the neighborhood in Port Au Spain, Trinidad & Tobago, where calypso was conceived and first performed. Kobo Town blends calypso music with other Caribbean music, as well as genres such as ska, reggae, dub, rapso, zouk and hip hop. Gonsalves moved to Canada from Diego Martin, Trinidad & Tobago with his mother when he was thirteen. She was a Canadian citizen who was escaping her abusive marriage. He turned to music and poetry to deal with his situation and feelings of exile. He studied history and political science at Carleton University before taking up music as a career. This song, Kaiso Newscast, can be found on Kobo Town's 2013 album Jumbie in the Jukebox. The song opines how simpler the world would be if news was brought to us in calypso, rather than through outlets such as Fox and CNN.  After a short interview with Gonsalves, the song starts at the 2:00 mark.

Listen to songs like this and more on the KUNM Global Music Show every Monday night from 10 pm - 1 am Mountain Standard Time. Live streaming, program information and the two-week digital archive can be found at http://www.kunm.org.

Chicken Little: Kobo Town and "Joe the Paranoiac"

Kobo Town brings us the random song for today, called Joe the Paranoiac. Founded by Trinidadian/Canadian Drew Gonsalves in 2004, Kobo Town refers to the neighborhood in Port Au Spain, Trinidad & Tobago, where calypso was conceived and first performed. Kobo Town blends calypso music with other Caribbean music, as well as genres such as ska, reggae, dub, rapso, zouk and hip hop. Gonsalves moved to Canada from Diego Martin, Trinidad & Tobago with his mother when he was thirteen. She was a Canadian citizen who was escaping her abusive marriage. He turned to music and poetry to deal with his situation and feelings of exile. He studied history and political science at Carleton University before taking up music as a career. Joe the Paranoiac can be found on Kobo Town's 2013 album Jumbie in the Jukebox.

All Rise: Kobo Town and "The Trial of Henry Marshall"

The Trial of Henry Marshall, our random tune for the day, is by the group Kobo Town. Founded by Trinidadian/Canadian Drew Gonsalves in 2004, the band's name refers to the neighborhood in Port Au Spain, Trinidad & Tobago, where calypso was conceived and first performed. Kobo Town blends calypso music with other Caribbean music, as well as genres such as ska, reggae, dub, rapso, zouk and hip hop. Gonsalves moved to Canada from Diego Martin, Trinidad & Tobago with his mother when he was thirteen. She was a Canadian citizen who was escaping her abusive marriage. He turned to music and poetry to deal with his situation and feelings of exile. He studied history and political science at Carleton University before taking up music as a career. The Trial of Henry Marshall can be found on Kobo Town's 2013 album Jumbie in the Jukebox.

Dreaming of Home: Kobo Town and "Diego Martin"

An homage to a hometown is our random tune today. Diego Martin is the hometown of Toronto-based musician Drew Gonsalves, who formed the Caribbean group Kobo Town in 2004. The band's name refers to the neighborhood in Port Au Spain, Trinidad & Tobago, where calypso was conceived and first performed. Kobo Town blends calypso music with other Caribbean music, as well as genres such as ska, reggae, dub, rapso, zouk and hip hop. Gonsalves moved to Canada from Diego Martin, Trinidad & Tobago with his mother when he was thirteen. She was a Canadian citizen who was escaping her abusive marriage. He turned to music and poetry to deal with his situation and feelings of exile. He studied history and political science at Carleton University before taking up music as a career. Diego Martin can be found on Kobo Town's 2013 album Jumbie in the Jukebox.

Hometown Blues: Kobo Town and "Diego Martin"

My hometown is always within me, and I can't escape it even if I wanted to. My hometown is the beacon that pulls me back to my beginnings, and my dark place where many of my life's difficulties and tragedies were first conceived and realized. My hometown is the quiet place where I find beauty and joy. My hometown is where I still hear the sounds of my childhood - the endless roar of the ocean, the low moaning of buoys, the wind whipping through the cypress trees. My hometown is where rain, sun and fog combine to create a kaleidoscope of rainbow colors in sunlight sparkling through dew on a blade of grass, and in an instant wash everything out in hues of gray as the mist settles in. My hometown is where my family lives, and where all our shared histories come together and part ways. My hometown is where I came of age. My hometown is where I achieved some of my greatest early achievements, and made some of my greatest early mistakes. My hometown is a part of me, and I will always have it with me.

An homage to a hometown is our random tune today. Diego Martin is the hometown of Toronto-based musician Drew Gonsalves, who formed the Caribbean group Kobo Town in 2004. The band's name refers to the neighborhood in Port Au Spain, Trinidad & Tobago, where calypso was conceived and first performed. Kobo Town blends calypso music with other Caribbean music, as well as genres such as ska, reggae, dub, rapso, zouk and hip hop. Gonsalves moved to Canada from Diego Martin, Trinidad & Tobago with his mother when he was thirteen. She was a Canadian citizen who was escaping her abusive marriage. He turned to music and poetry to deal with his situation and feelings of exile. He studied history and political science at Carleton University before taking up music as a career. Diego Martin can be found on Kobo Town's 2013 album Jumbie in the Jukebox.

Globalquerque Video 3: Calypso Rose and Kobo Town (Trinidad & Tobago)

This video is of calypso legend Calypso Rose appearing with Kobo Town on the Roy E. Disney Stage at the National Hispanic Cultural Center in Albuquerque, New Mexico for Globalquerque 2014. Born McArtha Linda Sandy-Lewis, Calypso Rose has written over 800 songs and has recorded 20 albums. She dominated the Calypso Queen title for 5 years running (1972-1976) as well as garnering other awards and honors. Despite having health problems due to cancer in the 1990s, she still tears it up at 74 and, in the song after this one that I recorded, she actually twerked a little on stage. Kobo Town is led by Canadian-Trinidadian Drew Gonsalves, and the band blends calypso with ska, reggae, dub, rapso, zouk and hip hop, among other genres. Formed in 2004, the band has released two albums. The latest, Jumbie in the Jukebox, was released in 2013.

I recorded this video with my Samsung Galaxy on September 29th, 2014. I was sitting in the balcony to the left, so was able to get a wide shot. However, Calypso Rose kept moving out of the shot and one thing I've learned about shooting video is that it's best not to pan back and forth. The sound is okay, given that I was above the speakers. I hope you enjoy it.