KOBO TOWN

Founded by Trinidadian-Canadian songwriter Drew Gonsalves, Kobo Town is named after the historic neighborhood in Port-of-Spain where calypso was born. Kobo Town takes the intricate wordplay of classic Caribbean music and runs it through a 21st Century filter. In the world of Kobo Town calypso, roots reggae, and acoustic instrumentation meet innovative production techniques, social commentary and indie rock attitude.

Kobo Town’s second album Jumbie in the Jukebox will be released in early 2013 by Stonetree and Cumbancha. The new album was produced Ivan Duran, whose masterful work on the now classic Wátina from Andy Palacio & the Garifuna Collective earned a 2007 WOMEX Award and was selected by Amazon.com as “The Greatest World Music Album of All Time.”

The result of the collaboration between Kobo Town and Ivan Duran is a striking recording that reflects their mutual commitment to revive the folkloric music of the West Indies by taking it in new creative directions.

BIOGRAPHICAL AND OTHER NOTES

.. "Merging calypso, roots reggae, acoustic performance, dub studio techniques and Trinidadian/Jamaican cultures, Kobo Town is a unique, stylistic, transnational composite of rhythm, poetry and activist journalism." Brent Hagerman, Exclaim!

"Taking cues from Jamaican mento, reggae, and calypso, Independence is packed with traditional instrumentation and a joyous vibe." Matt Schreiner, Global Rhythm