VIDEO: KES Releases New Version of Soca Classic “HELLO”

For the second track off their upcoming live album, We Home, out Aug. 28, Trinidad’s KES revisit their modern soca classic “Hello,” breathing new life into their biggest hit to date with a new 2020 version!  

First released late in 2017 for the 2018 Trinidad Carnival season, the original version of “Hello” is one of the most streamed soca songs of all time with over 70 million spins across YouTube, Spotify, Apple Music and Soundcloud.

Kes The Band’s “Hello” Biggest Soca Hit Of The Last Decade!

The 2020 version of “Hello,” out now on all DSPs, was recorded live during the Covid-19 pandemic lockdown in Trinidad & Tobago, mixed by internationally- acclaimed sound engineer, Dexter Simmons (of Michael Jackson and Whitney Houston fame). The new soundscape successfully takes the song out of the soca fetes and Carnival processions where it first became a hit, and translates it into the broader world of melodic pop anthems.

Kes The Band To Release Live 2020 Album – WE HOME

“Hello” was created with the Trinidad Carnival spirit,” KES lead singer Kees Dieffenthaller explains. “But it just took on a life of its own outside of the festival, the region and the Diaspora. It’s been translated in many languages and covered by various singers and musicians around the world in a multitude of styles and genres, and it’s still growing.”

“We hope this new version will again inspire people around the world to take new interest in our sound and the message behind the song,” Kees continues: “Which is quite simply extolling the virtues of the sometimes lost art of communication. In a world filled with innumerable digital platforms, apps and other technological wonders designed to bring people together and keep us connected, ‘Hello’ is still often the simplest and easiest way to start a conversation.”

NEW VIDEO: Kes + Jimmy October feat. Etienne Charles – “Magic”

“Hello” has amassed over 42 million views on YouTube, the most for a soca song released in the last decade. No soca act from Trinidad & Tobago has accumulated as many streams on one song to date.

We Home is KES’ first full-length album in over five years and their first release through Ineffable Records, the new record label from Oakland-based Ineffable Music Group. The album sees the band — vocalist Dieffenthaller and his brothers Jon (guitar) and Hans (drums, along with childhood friend Riad Boochoon (bass) — revisiting its catalog of Carnival hits and island pop jams with fresh renditions showcasing their prowess as a live band par excellence.

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Singles from the project are being shared weekly leading up to the release of We Home on Aug. 28, starting with last week’s drop of “Magic” featuring Jimmy October and Etienne Charles. Each single is enhanced with a colorful and brilliant illustration from Trinidadian creative director Nicholas Huggins, designer of the album’s cover artwork. Videos for each, shot during the band’s recent live session at The North Deck in Trinidad’s lush coastal rainforest, are also being released concurrently.