Singing out of the box

As musically-inclined teenagers growing up in Trinidad and Tobago in the 1990s, the Dieffenthaller brothers Kees, Hans and Jon played around with a variety of musical genres like hip hop, soul, reggae, dancehall and their native sounds of soca, calypso and chutney.

In 2005, the Dieffanthaller brothers along with long-time friend Riad Boochoon, formed Kes the Band and soon became very popular throughout the Caribbean diaspora for their energetic performances of calypso and soca during the Trinidad Carnival season and at Caribbean carnivals all over the world.

Kes the Band has always thought out of the box about their music and have created their own sound that is a blend of soulful vocals and calypso-inspired melodies, over a fusion of rock riffs and island beats.

"We've always been influenced by rock, R&B and other Caribbean influences and we've always found a way to find a comfortable middle ground," said Kees, the band's charismatic lead singer.

"People have called our music Caribbean pop because of the strong melody lines and melody hooks, but then it's so distinctly Caribbean but still accessible to the world."

This 'accessibility' has long been cited as one of the key reasons why Trinidad and Tobago's soca music has had limited international success. Most of the songs are about partying in the Carnival context and the references tend to be very culturally specific.

By addressing the universal themes of love and life, Kes the Band is reaching out to a global market.

"Our aim is to sell the Caribbean, show that the Caribbean people think deeper than a Carnival level and show that we have a message for the world and we could make a difference."

Songs like Let Me Know, Stalker (More of Me) and Loving You (with Jamaican reggae fusion singer Tessanne Chin) have won recognition from the industry and they have been cited in Billboard magazine as a hot tip for the future.

The band appeared in London courtesy Poison UK for the annual Notting Hill Carnival events.