In a virtual press conference held last month, Kes The Band revealed the details surrounding the band’s annual concert event, ‘IzWe’, scheduled this year for Tuesday 14 February, at the Brian Lara Stadium in San Fernando. Kes’ lead vocalist Kees Dieffenthaller confirmed speculation that Shaggy the Boombastic singer will be their special international guest act at IzWe 2023, also part of the press conference was Shaggy himself.
When pressed about the timing of this collaboration, Shaggy revealed that he has a full soca hybrid EP in the works, and that his just-released song Mood, with Kes, is the first of many. The artist said, “I think there’s a good feeling for soca out there right now. From my experience in making music and taking music to a global audience: the hybrid is where it is! There’s no music in its natural form that will break barriers on its own unless you fuse it with something else…
“To me, having a track that is soca infused with a hybrid sound is definitely the recipe you need to break barriers and crossover – and we’re seeing more of that happening now within the soca genre, where the music is moving toward the hybrid – so I definitely think it has a strong chance right now.”
Shaggy affirmed that he is looking forward to attending and participating in Trinidad Carnival 2023, saying, “I have not been there for Carnival since long before the pandemic, so I’m definitely looking forward to this one and I’ve heard so much about it from my Trini friends and my soca friends over the past few months especially leading up to it, so I think it will be epic and I’m looking forward to being a part of history, so to speak.”
Shaggy also revealed that his Soca EP will feature collaborations with Vincentian Skinny Fabulous, as well as Trinidadians Patrice Roberts and Bunji Garlin, amongst others. Although Mood has already been released, further scenes for the accompanying music video will be shot during Trinidad Carnival celebrations.
Dieffenthaller described the IzWe concept as designed around a festival aesthetic, with a view to creating a village-like atmosphere. There will be a second stage showcasing younger acts, and a cultural village complete with local products, art, merchandise and other memorabilia for sale.
“Aside from Shaggy,” said Dieffenthaller, “we will have people like Jimmy October, our friends from Haiti, Michael Brun and JPerry as well as ‘all our friends’, so those who are familiar with our collaborations can think back and figure out who we’ve worked with before and expect to see them represented in the village in one way or another.”
For more information about IzWe 2023, visit kestheband.com.
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