Soca Superstar Kes Breaks Down Five Favorite Tracks From First Album in 10 Years: ‘It’s Time to Position Ourselves in a Global Way’
Last year, the world celebrated the 50th anniversary of hip-hop with months of star-studded concerts, awards show tributes, museum exhibitions and more – but that wasn’t the only genre commemorating its golden anniversary in 2023. Soca – which Road March-winning Kes frontman Kees Dieffenthaller describes as “happy music, a young version of calypso… a mixture of Afro, Indian and ‘world’ beats in one place” — also celebrated its half-century milestone.
To kick off the next 50 years of soca’s evolution, Kes has returned with its first studio album in ten years, Man With No Door. Inspired by a man who litter lived in a house with no door – whom Kes met while wandering around Trinidad and rediscovering his favorites places on the island – the new LP is a manifestation of that man’s energy. “He just lives free,” he says. “I felt like that creatively at the time. I am the man with no door. I want to create this world based on that experience.”
The new album marks something of a renaissance for Kes. The band officially formed in 2005, and have for nearly two decades provided some of the most dominant Carnival anthems of the young century. From instant soca classics like “Wotless” (2011) to breezier tunes like “Hello” (2017), Kes’ singular sound and vibrant live show has lifted the band to international stages such as Essence Festival and The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, and collaborations with this likes of Wizkid and Snoop Dogg.
Soca, of course, is infused with live instrumentation at its core. Although the genre has recently began to shift towards a producer-first bent, Kes remains steadfast in its commitment to upholding the legacy of live playing, especially in their studio recordings. “It goes back to the tradition of it all,” he muses. “In a band, you get to understand how different people play the same instruments differently. There is something very powerful about actually witnessing what that is, rather than [getting it] off a computer. Live instrumentation also give a unique blend and mix. You can’t play the same thing twice, it’s a fingerprint unique to that time and air. We can from that live world and that’s a big part of our entire act. I feel like there is a hidden language that is translated to people through live music.”
Although Man With No Door marks Kes’ first studio LP in a decade, they did release We Home – a joyous live album that reimagines the band’s catalog – during the pandemic (Aug. 28, 2020). During the same period, the band was also working on several singles that would eventually become part of Man With No Door. “Doing We Home was therapy,” Kes reveals. “I felt like I was closing a chapter in my creative life where I pay homage to the last decade of music that I did. [Doing] We Home while creating new music felt like death and a beginning at the same time. And both are glorious in their own way.”
The new LP recruits a flashy list of guest stars to execute Kes’ “application” of soca across different styles and sonic traditions, including Shaggy, Queen Omega, Busy Signal, Dwala, Tano, J Perry and Michaël Brun. While Kes is most excited about “Rise Up,” a collaboration with fellow Trinbagonian Queen Omega, whose music he calls “powerful,” he also highlights his work with J. Perry and Michael Brun, noting, “We experienced freedom because of [Haiti]. I just really wanted them a part of the Caribbean of my experience musically. The language barrier and history have kept a lot of us apart, it was important for them to be on this record.”
For Kes, Man With No Door is part of a concerted effort to usher in the next era of soca. Despite the genre’s storied history, its global crossover appeal has been somewhat limited, due to its allegiance to single releases timed to the Carnival season calendar. “We as a genre need to diversify all dimensions,” proclaims Kes. “Get some more energy outside of just the Carnival calendar situation, and step into Billboard and step into different venue spaces and create collabs that bridge gaps. It’s time for us to really position ourselves in a global way, and I think creating bodies of work is very important [for that].”
“Everybody listens to soca. There’s that one soca song that caught someone’s ear that influenced the next studio session. We all know that,” Kes says. “[Soca] has provided the world with a particular energy that only it can provide. And there’s still so much of the word that is yet to discover it.”
Keep reading to find out the stories behind Kes’ five favorite tracks on the band’s brand new Man With No Door album, told in his own words.
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“Jolene” (with Dwala)
“Jolene” was the first track. It came about when we were locked down and I was just happy to be on the island. At least, I have some beach and home-cooked food, you know? [Laughs.] I was swinging my hammer, listening to a piece of music and it came to me. The sound of “Jolene” touches a lot of different genres – Afrobeat, a bit of traditional calypso, some R&B, you know? I felt that this was a cool sound that we’ve stumbled upon, how about doing the entire project based on free painting? Hence the name, Man With No Door – a creatively free space. So “Jolene” really kicked it off – and it’s more of a traditional calypso/tongue-in-cheek vibe. Double entendre vibe.
We wanted to have a visual that captured that as well, so as much as I love making new music, I love doing visuals as well to paint the picture. So, we did it in our fishing village and [it’s] very rustic, a common island life that’s shared by all islands across the world. It was a fun project and I’m really happy was the first [song] to kick off everything.
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“Tack Back” (with Tano)
“Tack Back,” for the American audience, means “spin the block.” [Laughs.] Which happens in Carnival, which happens on the island, which happens in life! It’s really a song geared towards the carnival atmosphere, which is all of it that comes with partying and that world.
We had a lot of fun with not just the sound — I think this song touches a semi-Afrobeat vibe — but the take on the vocals is a little different as well. The baseline is a heavy ‘90s soca feel, there’s a lot of cool elements about it that I love. When we were writing the track, we wanted to capture the sweet soca of the ‘90s, with Crossfire and all these bands that were creating a sound of soca I thought was very important. We wanted to capture that sound back in this music with a little extra stuff in it. The writing session was a really good time. We were having fun and I felt as if that vibe came onto the track too. Even the old-school brass lines, that’s all that classic soca feel that we wanted to capture now. I think it’s still fresh and it gives you a feeling when you hear those instruments.
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“Banga”
“Banga” was actually out of a writing camp. Every so often, I’ll settle in a place and bring food and bring vibes and bring people, and we write. We had Jamaica’s Carnival and I stayed on for a few extra [days[ to do this writing camp in JA. JA is just such a beautiful island and it’s away from home, so there’s a sense of urgency to get something done. Again, it was out of fun. “Banga” is not a real world, we just made it up where you could put any meaning towards what it is. It sings how it feels. For us, it was just that blend. It sounds like it could swing in an Afrobeats way; it sounds like it could swing in a reggaetón way. With “Banga,” a lot of other genres are plugged into the sound of it, yet it was still us as Trinbagonians. You have to interpret it the way that you would like to interpret it. It’s not set in stone what it is. I love that creation.
And the visual again was fun to do! The visual was me trying to be in different looks and different scenes. The song feels like a crush from long ago, from when you were a kid. All the awkwardness that came with, you know? So we [decided to] have something based in Trinidad in the ‘80s — like how we used to have house parties, and what we used to wear and how we thought we were looking so good. We probably prepared for the entire month to have this one party! We really wanted to capture what that was, so both processes were a great time. It’s a playful one, and that’s a part of who I am.
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“Miracle” (with Tano)
“Miracle” was an experiment gone right! There are two vibes of soca: there’s a groovy side and there’s power soca. I appreciate power soca, but it’s a lot harder for me to write and create in that in that circle. Once in a while, I find a project or two that makes that makes sense or suits my vibe. I felt that “Miracle” was such a miracle — no pun intended – it really got my R&B side, my intimate side, but in a song that can be enjoyed in the streets of Carnival.
It was a love song between two people, but also love song for the festival itself. The way that we come together every year, it’s a miracle the way that we meet each other and do this thing. It does something different. I always say, when three or more are gathered, something changes. I feel like that happens every Carnival, when you’re around that one person who really lights your light. I felt like “Miracle” was very intimate, but yet “stadium,” so it deserved to be on this album.
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“Rise Up” (with Queen Omega)
We had this piece of music for a while and it always struck a chord with me. I really wanted to write a song that speaks to my militant side. There’s a certain type of reggae I grew up to, we’re talking about Sizzla, we’re talking Capleton, “Gideon Boot!” These artists were fighting the good fight, and fighting for humanity. I felt like the sound of the music made me activate that part of myself.
I have deep love for humanity and sometimes deep concern too of where things are going. I really wanted to write a song to capture that part of me. It’s something from humanity where we make the changes as a people rather than waiting on a few to decide for all of us. We have to come together and make the changes that we that we want to see happen in the world. The song is really a call to that.
I wanted a proper collab with this track because I felt the music was so amazing [that] it couldn’t just be me. [Laughs.] I needed to hear somebody else on it. I was following this reggae artist out of Trinidad called Queen Omega, and I think she just one of the greatest — her talent, her live talent, her recordings, everything. She was doing a dubplate for Lion Sound and it was just impeccable. I felt it. She grew up where I grew up, she’s right there! She fits.
One day, I just pulled up. We talked on Instagram, and I pulled up by her house and played the track for her, and she was like “I love it.” And then she did it. This track to me is history. It’s one of those tracks most people would say is “left field,” but I like it because it’s a different one. I’m really happy about it and I’m really looking forward to people actually taking it in.
