KES And Appleton Dust Up Mas Camp

Last Friday's 'Martian Dust Up', the second installment in Bacchanal Jamaica’s Future Shock series saw all revelers out in full company, ready to take the intergalactic ride known as Kes The Band. Courtesy of Appleton Rum Special, Kes the Band took all 'Bacchanalist' and 'Baddists' to another Bacchanal dimension, where the “music sweeter than the rum, and the rum cyan dun!”

The national rum of everything Carnival, Appleton, also ensured that patrons were well fueled for the Out-of-this-World ride with its $1000 Bottomless Appleton Mug Madness and by giving away free drinks and mugs to the first 250 patrons, while another thousand patrons received, rags and light-up ice cubes which glowed all around the Martian surface.

With excitement in the air as thick as Martian dust, the night was off to an excellent start. The cosmic Appleton promo girls “took it down to the ground” on the main stage, getting the crowd pumped; while DJ Smoke of Renaissance kept the revellers in motion, jumping and gyrating with his crazy selection of Soca hits. Also occupying the stage was Dust Ups MC, Fame FM’s Vybes Queen, Lady Rennae, who kept the crowd on high alert, teasing them with promises of Kes until they couldn’t wait any longer. Then finally, at midnight, in a burst of interstellar smoke, the real show began.

Opening up with Precision Whine the Kes dancers launched on to the stage. Whining and gyrating in their bright costumes the trio got the crowd into a frenzy as they awaited Kes’ front man and Soca Commander Kes Dieffenthaller to take the stage. Kes the Band did not disappoint, giving the revellers the ride of their lives with their hits like ‘Where Yuh From’, ‘Stress Away’, ‘Ah Ting’ and “Coming Over”. They also covered crowd favourites 'Bacchanalist' and 'Palance' and had the crowd whining down low, and coming back up slow.

But getting the crowd pumped was not enough for Kes; as true Soca warriors, they had to take it back old school with covers of classic Soca songs like ‘Iwer Butterfly Shadow Wave’, ‘Jump and Wave’ and ‘Tay Lay Lay’. Then they calmed down the crowd with a slowed version of ‘Palance’, just to mix it up with an entire new genre of what they call Island Pop. Soca infused dance music rang through the air, as Kes who had announced that they do music from every genre for everybody, started their covers of club hits like Usher’s ‘Without You’, Pitbull and Neyo’s ‘Tonight’ and LMFAO’s ‘Party Rock’, which took the patrons to a whole new level!

And as no Kes show would be complete without the theatrics the Soca Commander is known for, a shirtless Kes jumped off the stage and ran through the frenzied crowd, commandeering a raised camera platform where he performed ‘Precision Wine’ and ‘Where Yuh From’ to the cheers of his ‘Wotless’ troupes. He then made his way back to the stage where the Band ended the show on a high note, while he waved a Jamaican and Trinidadian flag together.

As the Band began to exit the stage, the Wotless patrons called them back for an encore. Kes the Band strummed up their instruments one last time, as the 'Bacchanalists' sang and danced, Appleton in hand, to their theme song, ‘Wotless’!

“After a high energy Carnival in Trinidad, Jamaica really is a good follow up. The energy is so unique, so fresh, it feels great! I love Jamaica so much. And I thank Appleton for making all a this possible!” said the Band's front man, Kes, shortly after they left the stage.

Kes The Band, who had been drinking nothing but Appleton Rum from the night before at Macau’s Bar, were headed to get their Appleton on again at the after-party at the Fiction lounge. Marketing Manager for Rums at Wray & Nephew, Cecil Smith, expressed that Appleton has had a beautiful partnership with Bacchanal Jamaica, sponsoring them for over 10 years: “Seeing the revellers having a good time, responsibly, while drinking Appleton, is one of the best things about our partnership over the years.” he said.

Ce’cile Reps The Females With 'Cheaters' Revenge‏

Sassy songbird Cecile has never shied away from tackling controversial topics that are considered taboo in the Jamaican society. And her latest foray into the dynamic of sexual power in relationships center’s around the single, 'Cheater's Prayer the Female Refix (Cheater's Revenge)' a counteraction to Chris Martin's worldwide reggae hit of the same name where she declares outright that she is considering cheating on her boyfriend, whom she suspects is having an affair with another girl.

Produced by ZJ Chrome, the single has been in heavy rotation on local FM radio but is also generating considerable buzz in countries such as Bahamas, Belize, St Lucia, Kenya and is often played right after Chris Martin's 'Cheater's Prayer'.

"Chris had asked me to do it initially but I didn't want to do it, and then when I saw the reaction to the song in the clubs, I had to do it," Cecile said in a release.

"Another song on the same riddim, 'If You' is an answer but not a direct answer to Cheater's Prayer because there had to be a female side to this lover's dilemma, and then I ended up doing a dub for Chrome called Cheater's Revenge. And surprise surprise, it is the dubplate which got big and because of the demand, and so we put that out as a song, it is not even recorded properly, but there was such a great demand for it, especially in the Caribbean, with disc jockeys wanting to play it back to back with Chris' song, that it had to go out fast," she said, laughing.

Cecile said that music insiders soon realized that disc jockeys and selectors were actually recording the song off the radio, and dropping it on reggae mixes with the name of the disc jockey embedded in the song. So a decision was made to release the song as a single with Chrome's name edited.

"People were recording it off the radio with Chrome's name in it, it was crazy. In St. Lucia, a lot of females called the disc jocks over there and told them that there was another version, and asked why it wasn't being played. They actually felt slighted that it wasn't being played, and then they got their wish," she said.

Cecile has performed the song several times locally on stage shows, most notably at a PNP end-of-campaigning concert, the day before the national elections.

"The song got a big forward there, both man and woman love it, it is just one of those relationship songs which strikes a chord with people," she said.

The lyrics go:

Wait till him lef the yard/is ah next man ah come in ya/just wait till him lef the yard/a wah da bwoy ya tek mi fa

A good woman dont want want fi cheat

But some ah dem man ya ah over do it

Gal after gal after gal pon the street

We choose to be real but anno like we caan do it

Well, we anno fool, caan tek we fi fool

Disrespect we no tek, we can gi yu bun too

Yu waan play games, yo, yu wicked and rude

But I got a big surprise for you: The song has become a big favorite in local dances because it is an anthem for empowered females. And nobody can represent that particular segment of the population quite like Cecile.

KG Impresses at Kitson Town Gospel Concert‏

It's not easy for a relatively new artiste to stand out at a concert featuring gospel heavyweight such as Minister Carlene Davis, Goddy Goddy and Kingdom Soldiers, but rising gospel singer Kereen 'KG' Gregory did just that at a concert in Kitson Town recently.

The event was entitled Ash Wednesday Praise and proved to be a rousing praise and worship session in the parish of St Catherine. It was KG's very first time in Kitson Town and she kept her promise to make her performance memorable.

From the moment she hit the stage, KG connected with the audience and steadily built up a momentum with smart selections and verbal interactions with the crowd.

Her naturally bubbly personality and her strong love for Christ shone brightly as she ministered in song. KG's 30 minutes seemed all too short and she surely left the crowd wanting more.

Among her selections were Ride Out Your Storm, Highly Favoured and Blessed, God Alone. Lifting Up Praise and Lord Do Mi Again. And the fans showed their appreciation, especially on numbers such as the dancehall gospel flavoured Lord Do Mi Again and Ride Out The Storm.

"I would rate this as one of my best performances ever," a tired but very upbeat KG declared after the show. "I could feel the energy from the crowd and the love was amazing. As to Sister Carlene (Davis), she was just awesome. I would really like to thank the organisers for giving me the opportunity to perform on this event and I look forward to next year's Ash Wednesday Praise," KG said with a big smile.

Then KG was off to sign more autographs and share in hugs from the children who just couldn't seem to get enough of this rising gospel artiste whose stagecraft and musical creativity have definitely improved since she made her official public outing four years ago as a finalist in the JCDC gospel competition.

In between performances, KG, who also sang at the launch of gospel radio station 91.7 FM in Mandeville on February 25, is busy putting the final touches on her soon-to-be-released debut album.

"As we get closer to completing the project, things just get more intense, but we know that God is the driver and all of our work is to give praise and glory to Him. I am working with a great team and I can't wait to share this album with the world," KG declared.

Timmi Burrell Eyes Musical Success‏

Talented reggae singer Clive Burrell aka Timmi Burrell has been toiling very hard to make a name for himself in the music business for some time now and he doesn’t plan to throw in the towel any time soon.

“I have been working very hard to establish myself in the business over a decade now. Progress has been slow in some areas, but as an artist I have learned a lot and I have developed in many important areas of my craft, my vocal and writing skills have improved tremendously. With all of this in mind I am determined now more than ever to make it, so right now I am totally focused on that goal. For me music has no ending, I plan to sing until I die, that’s how much I love music,” said artist.

The Negril based artist said while he must admit the fact that he is not based in Kingston has helped to stifle his progress to an extent, he doesn’t believe it’s impossible to make it big in the music biz while living in Western Jamaica.

“I know not being in Kingston does make it a bit more difficult to get a break, but I don’t think it’s impossible to achieve success outside of Kingston, others have done it before, the main thing is to make good music wherever you are and promote it and that’s what I am doing.”

The artist who originally hails from Spanish Town also stated that he believes that success is just around the corner.

“Over the last few years I have been recording for some very good producers like Computer Paul, Delly Ranx, Ralston Barrett and Born Free from Germany. With these producers I have recorded some very good music. Some of these songs have been released already and people all over the world are connecting my music through various mediums including the internet. With more promotion it will only be a matter of time before I become a major force in the business.”

Timmi Burrell’s latest single titled I’m In Love On which was recorded on Delly Ranx’ new one drop rhythm project called the Turn Pike Rhythm is reportedly enjoying strong rotation in the UK and Europe.

“My latest single called, I’m In Love is doing very well over seas especially in England. It’s a nice lovers rock tune so I am not surprised that it’s getting a lot of attention abroad because I know European and British people love those kind of songs. It’s also getting good airplay locally as well.”

Timmy Burrell is currently in the studios working on a number of projects including his debut album which is slated to be released later this year.