Get to know a bit more about the artists! This page contains music videos, interviews, studio and live footage, plus some surprises.
Dive in to the history of Stonetree, you never know what you might discover!
For those unfamiliar with Brukdown, Weh Mi Lova Deh is the ideal introduction to this genuine Belizean style. Born in the logging camps of 17th century British Honduras, Brukdown is still fueling parties today.
Darandi is a collection of Aurelio’s favourite songs from his career recorded to capture the sound of his incendiary live performances. Accompanied by some of the Garifuna world’s brightest musical talents, pairing upbeat, dynamic rhythms with melancholy, heartfelt melodies, this music is both deep and danceable.
Umalali: The Garifuna Women's Project is a moving exploration of the female voices of the Garifuna communities of Belize, Guatemala and Honduras. On this clip, which is a sample of the enhanced elements available on the full CD, singer Desere Diego talks about her life as a singer in traditional Garifuna rituals. Shot on location in Dangriga, Belize.
A tour of Stonetree Records in Benque Viejo with Ivan Duran and Andy Palacio. Andy also speaks about what drives him create music, winning the Womex Award, and more.
In this episode, host Mike Mann and his team explore Garifuna culture and how its people came to the Belize region. Unexpected weather pushes the team indoors where they meet famed musician, Aurelio Martinez, who joins the team on their road trip down the Hummingbird Highway.
Umalali: The Garifuna Women's Project is a moving exploration of the female voices of the Garifuna communities of Belize, Guatemala and Honduras. On this clip, which is a sample of the enhanced elements available on the full CD, the late Marcela Lewis discusses the struggle to maintain Garifuna language and music. Shot on location in Hopkins, Belize.
Manu says: In our last soulful meeting ! ALWAYS MAGIK TO BE CLOSE TO YOU ROSE !!!!!! BIG SMILE !!!!
Paris, May 2017
http://KEXP.ORG presents Kobo Town performing live in the KEXP studio. Recorded July 8, 2014.
Songs:
Mr. Monday
Karachi Burning
Money Is King
Tick Tock Goes The Clock
A tapestry of cultures and influences can be heard in the guitar work of Aurelio Martinez in this Tiny Desk Concert. Accompanied by traditional Garifuna musicians and an electric guitar, Aurelio, as he is known, weaves together intricate layers of acoustic guitar to capture the polyrhythms of West African and the Caribbean. His words reflect the longing and pride for the Garifuna culture from his home along the Pacific coast of Honduras.
This video speaks about the calypsonian migrants who struggle in a new environement to feed their families. The kitsch of the video contrasts with the lyrical gravity, always with a sense of humor.
“ One morning, amid the swirling snows of a blizzard in Scarborough (Ontario, Canada, not Tobago), I saw two young Caribbean women at a bus stop dancing and singing with their iPods in hand. They were dressed in nursing scrubs and I thought of my own mother and mothers like her who worked night after night – and sometimes night after day – to provide for the children who they were struggling to raise alone in a new land.
Calypso Rose also identified herself to these nurses when she decided to sing the chorus with me.”
From Trinidad via Toronto, Kobo Town takes the intricate wordplay of classic Caribbean music and runs it through a 21st Century filter. In the world of Kobo Town calypso, roots reggae, and acoustic instrumentation meet innovative production techniques, social commentary and indie rock attitude.
"Kobo Town brings Neil Young's angst and Jerry Dammers's instincts to traditional calypso themes. A pithy combination of social commentary, dubwise soca, and calypsonian wit." -- The Village Voice