Trinidad & Tobago soca stars Kes (aka Kes The Band) have shared the video for “Liki Tiki,” their addictive, Caribbean-spanning collaboration with Haitian producer Michaël Brun (Ed Sheeran, J Balvin) and singer JPerry. Watch the clip, which had its TV debut last night on Revolt TV and digital premiere today with Vibe.com, HERE.
Trinidadian filmmaker Maya Cozier (whose credits include the 2021 feature film She Paradise, and Kes’ “Jolene” video) directed the visuals, which are set inside a sweaty and intimate fête bathed in dim red lights and Caribbean flags.
“Liki Tiki,” which was co-produced by Michaël Brun and Dwala, blends the soca rhythms of Trinidad & Tobago with the rootsy feel of Haitian kompa and a touch of dancehall to create a quintessentially Caribbean, island-pop anthem. It’s a sound that’s right on time, with Caribbean carnivals and soca-centric celebrations like Crop Over, Caribana and Notting Hill set to return this summer after two years on ice.
“Liki Tiki is the way I describe our rhythms and feel,” says Kes frontman Kees Dieffenthaller, who is also known individually as Kes. “It’s the driving force behind the swing in our music. It’s smooth, sexy and makes you feel good.”
Since dropping in March, “Liki Tiki” has received massive support from New York’s Hot 97, where it was featured as “Track of the Week” on the iconic hip-hop radio station’s anchor program, Ebro in the Morning. It also spent two weeks as Spotify’s most streamed track in Haiti, one of the DSP’s newest markets.
Both Kes and Michaël Brun have emerged in recent years as leaders in championing Caribbean music globally— Kes with soca and calypso, the homegrown sounds of Trinidad & Tobago, and Michaël Brun as a DJ/producer combining Haitian music genres such as kompa and rara with electronic dance music. Rounding out the trinity on “Liki Tiki” is Port-au-Prince-born, Miami-based JPerry, one of Haiti’s most globally visible homegrown music acts.
“Liki Tiki” represents one of the first times major artists from Trinidad & Tobago and Haiti have connected on the same track. While Kes sings in a seamless mix of English and Trini patois dialect, JPerry’s lyrics alternate between English and Haitian Kreyol. [See lyrics HERE].
“Kes has the same mission as JPerry and myself,” Michaël Brun says. “’Kes is an artist bringing soca to the world and JPerry is bringing Haitian music to the world. The balance feels fresh and rooted.”
“Liki Tiki” is the second single of 2022 from Kes, following “Jolene.” Both tracks will appear on the band’s forthcoming full-length album, coming this Summer on Ineffable Records.
ABOUT KES
One of Trinidad & Tobago’s most popular and celebrated acts, Kes has consistently blazed new trails for soca, the genre created in the 1970s by the late Trinidadian music legend Lord Shorty (aka Ras Shorty I). The band, which along with frontman Kees Dieffenthaller, consists of his brothers Jon (guitar) and Hans (drums) Dieffenthaller, and bassist Riad Boochoon (bass) — has brought soca to stages around the world, while collaborating with the likes of Snoop Dogg, Wizkid and Major Lazer. 2021 saw the group make its U.S.television debut, performing virtually from Trinidad on Late Night with Steven Colbert, and its return to the States for their first tour in over two years.
