Kobo Town

Kobo Town
Background information
Origin	Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Genres	Caribbean music
Years active	2004 (2004)–present
Members	Drew Gonsalves Derek Thorne Cesco Emmanuel Robert Milicevic Linsey Wellman Roger Williams Jan Morgan PK Giunta

Kobo Town is a Canadian Caribbean music group, led by Trinidadian Canadian singer and songwriter Drew Gonsalves. Based in Toronto, Ontario, the band blends calypso music with a diverse mix of Caribbean and other musical influences, including ska, reggae, dub, rapso, zouk and hip hop.

Other band members include percussionist Derek Thorne, guitarist Cesco Emmanuel, drummer Robert Milicevic, saxophone and flute player Linsey Wellman, bassist Roger Williams and trumpeter Jan Morgan.

Background

Gonsalves was born and raised in Diego Martin, Trinidad and Tobago to a Trinidadian father and a Québécois mother. When he was 13, his mother left what had become an abusive marriage, and returned to Canada with her children, settling in Ottawa, Ontario. As a teenager, Gonsalves turned to music and poetry as a way to deal with his sense of dislocation and exile. He later studied history and political science at Carleton University before moving to Toronto with his wife Sophia in the early 2000s and forming the band in 2004.

Music

The band released its debut album Independence in 2007.

The band's second album Jumbie in the Jukebox, released in 2013, was recorded predominantly in Belize. The album was named a longlisted nominee for the 2013 Polaris Music Prize on June 13, 2013.

External links

• Kobo Town