‘I feel like I lived in JA in a past life’ says Kes
Artiste speaks of the culture’s impact on his growth
Published:Sunday | April 16, 2023 | 12:39 AMStephanie Lyew - Sunday Gleaner Writer
Carnival in Jamaica is not the only thing that keeps Kees (or Kes) Dieffenthaller of Kes The Band crossing the Caribbean Sea each year – sometimes more than three times – for more than 20 years. The Trinidadian singer-songwriter, musician and producer told The Sunday Gleaner that the island of reggae and dancehall has become a second home.
“Jamaica has had a major impression on me. I feel like I lived here in a past life,” Kes shared, adding that, “every aspect of Jamaican life, the people, the places, the culture, the food, has had such a major impression of me as a man. It grew me up in a way in terms of the many experiences that became lessons for me. I also have friends who live here, family here. So it’s home ... it’s familiar.”
With the ageless memories scribbled in Kes’ mental diary, he has enough to write a book and, while he takes more than a minute to identify one memory that he can retell with great precision, the Close To Me artiste was nearly floored by laughter when he finally did.
“There are so many memories created, travelling to and from Jamaica since 2001. The actual dates are not clear but I remember having gone to an event we know as Wet Fete on a Wednesday and then leaving that to go to the popular street dance Passa Passa,” he said. “That staging of Passa Passa would have changed my life forever, just because I gained a greater understanding of the culture of dancehall and street dances and, in general, party life here. Sure soca is the mission when we go anywhere in the world but we believe in forming a connection with all the genres.”
Kes, along with his brothers Hans and Jon Dieffenthaller, were raised in South Trinidad and, as children, their parents encouraged them to explore and develop their musical talents. The exploration would first give birth to the R&B group he named KLAS, which performed material composed by Kes. While attending Presentation College in San Fernando, the brothers connected with Riad Boochoon, a classically trained pianist, and that connection transformed into the award-winning collective known as Kes The Band. For most of the year, the artiste and the musicians participate in tours across the world, until the carnival season begins in the twin islands and calls them home.
He said, “We experimented with many genres, and we still do now. And what we do with soca and calypso is blend it in the different worlds and it garnered new frontiers for us as we travelled from carnival to carnival and city to city, and even just within the Caribbean region. It’s the same for Jamaica’s reggae and dancehall.”
Kes and, in a broader way, Kes The Band, have collaborated with several Jamaican acts, including Grammy Award-winning acts like reggae singer Shaggy and the proclaimed King of Dancehall, Beenie Man. He also has hits with the Season 5 winner of NBC’s The Voice Tessanne Chin, Gyptian, Shenseea and Busy Signal. He is a firm believer in the power of unity and is delighted to know that Jamaicans locally and within the diaspora have embraced Trinidadian culture.
“Jamaica is a very powerful force in the world and, with carnival and soca being celebrated in Jamaica, it is a great thing for the genre. I think our audience is different and will have a different connection to the world, [so] by combining the forces gives the music of the Caribbean greater potential to have a wide-reaching impact,” Kes said.
“For way too long, the Spanish, French and English within the Caribbean have been separated and I feel like we need, all those islands need, to band together, whether we are on the same rhythm, same events, same tours, in order to grow and own our right and reach the diaspora. That’s what the connection to Jamaica, among other countries in the region, has done in my life,” he continued.
His recent collaboration with Shaggy, titled Mood, did well on Trinidadian soil and he anticipates it will also get persons moving on the road today for Carnival in Jamaica.
“I can’t wait. I’ve been around the bands but I just want to marinate in the moments carnival gives. I will go where the wind blows me and the music takes me. After this, Kes The Band heads out to Turks and Caicos and the Cayman Islands and continues touring the world for the rest of the year until it’s time again,” Kes shared.