Toronto-based, roots-calypso act Kobo Town is capping a pivotal year
with their debut album 'Independence' being selected in Exclaim!
Magazine "Year in Review 2007." Picked as a Top 10 "Groove" Album of
2007, following Amy Winehouse and M.I.A., Independence was the only
album by an unsigned act in the category. The band was also recognized
by the 2007 Toronto Exclusive Magazine Awards with a Best World Song
Award for "Corbeaux Following."
"Lyrically and musically Kobo Town is a trans-national triangle that
connects Toronto, Jamaica and ****t-of-Spain, the sort of thing that
could only happen now, here. Reaching back past soca's hollow
mainstream din, Kobo Town resurrects, reinvigorates and redefines
calypso for the new millennium. Independence is an im****tant album not
only because of the editorial observations on post-colonial life and
trans-border cultural connections but because it offers an almost
forgotten music new life by coyly injecting it with a therapeutic
blend of reggae, dancehall and dub. As such Independence comes with a
promise: it's well on its way to facilitating a belated introduction
between Canada and the art of the calypsonian." Brent Hagerman,
Exclaim! Magazine
Since the November release of their much-acclaimed debut album
Independence, Kobo Town has been performing major festivals across
Canada, from the Montreal Jazz Festival to British Columbia's Salmon
Arm Roots and Blues Festival. The band has also been a regular of the
Canadian Broadcast Cor****ation (CBC), including Canada Live, FUSE,
Bandwidth and Big City Small World. Kobo Town is working on a follow
up album for the Spring of 2008 and preparing for a U.S. tour. Named
after the vibrant and turbulent neighborhood in old ****t-of-Spain
where Calypso was born, Kobo Town strives to recover the social
conscience, satirical storytelling and strong acoustic/organic rhythms
that characterized Trinidadian music in the past.
http://www.kobotown.com
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