Year-long party for krosfyah

FANS of krosfyah can look forward to a whole year of musical celebration as the band will devote 2005 to commemorate their 15th anniversary. From January 1 to December 31, 2005, krosfyah will tour the Caribbean and Europe. The band will kick off the celebrations in Trinidad. Their first performance outside of Barbados as a group was in 1994 and this is one of their most cherished memories. Edwin Yearwood, the band’s lead singer and reigning Barbados’ Soca Monarch Champion, admitted that, “In the music industry, especially in the Caribbean, celebrating 15 years is a very big deal.”

Edwin won his fifth Party Soca Monarch title this year at Crop Over. Memorable songs such as “Pump Me Up”, “Oil Pumping”, “No Behaviour”, “On the Road Again”, “Sak Passe” and now the winning “Sugar Cane” will get top billing during their tour. Also on tour with krosfyah is the upcoming artist Nigel “Statement” Barnett who won the 2004 People’s Monarch title of Barbados with his song “If I can’t be with you”, while Edwin took second place with “Sugar Cane.” This success for “Statement” has been overwhelming since he only started singing soca two years ago and began his musical career in 1995 singing reggae. “Statement” openly thanks krosfyah for helping him develop his love for soca. Now, he performs with the band everywhere. All of krosfyah’s original members are still with the band and are extremely proud to be together after all the years. When asked about the reasons for this Edwin answered, “Our goal is to show Barbados and by extension, the Caribbean, that music is a real career. When we started our band in the late 80s, there was a negative perspective towards musicians. People thought it was not a steady enough job (a job was considered ‘9 to 5’), on which to raise a family or save money. Musicians at the time were not even granted loans from banks back then.”

krosfyah’s aim was to then change that negative attitude that dominated the general local mindset. krosfyah was founded on this dream, strong working ethics and a “no tolerance” policy for drugs and alcohol. Not letting fame or success get to their heads. Edwin says: “One has to learn to become ego-less. We have a conscious mission. If members are seen drunk or are caught doing drugs, they are let go. We want to encourage serious artists and prove that we are different.” The members consider themselves not lucky but blessed to have been surrounded by good people who supported, encouraged and directed them in the right way. They boast that even their messages are different, they sing about life, positiveness, beautification of women and relationships. krosfyah has indeed fulfilled this mission as it has become a popular band, embraced by the entire Caribbean region and Europe. The band is loved in places such as Holland and Germany.
 
“They are very open to our Caribbean music. They love the energy we bring to the stage...it just catches them off guard.” Believe it or not, Edwin started singing in a tamarind tree close to his primary school. He would, after school from about 3.30 pm hide and sing until 7 pm or sometimes 9 pm, way past his bedtime and curfew. He admitted he was an introvert as a young boy and would play his recorder and sing up in this tree hidden from passers-by. Until one day a man heard him singing and asked “Who is that up there?” Edwin did not answer. Not being able to see or hear a peep from the boy in the tree, the man went on his way. This went on for some time, until one day the man did not let up. He insisted on seeing whose voice was attracting and enchanting him so. Eventually Edwin came down and was eagerly encouraged to take singing seriously.

When Edwin completed school, he began writing his own music and started krosfyah. They started off playing at hotel lobbies and other small gigs but this was not enough for them, they wanted to take their music to a higher and more professional level. In effect, they wanted to prove to Barbados that music was not just a hobby but that one could support a family and have a solid and secure future as a musician. The members are always encouraged to “invest outside of the entertainment business so they will always have something to fall back on to plan for their future.” Their manager made sure that they had a plan to achieve a certain status within a period of years. In their first year they were to become popular in Barbados, in their second year they planned to become well known in the Caribbean and in their third year they were acclaimed in Europe.

“Sleepless nights, and long travelling periods were and are still part of it, but travelling is a great experience. There is no better learning experience than travel.” Edwin humbly added, “Celebrating 15 years as a close knit band is a serious accomplishment and we are enjoying it. We have been blessed with great and talented people in the group.” Trinidad can look forward to celebrating with krosfyah as the accomplished band will be performing at major Carnival fetes, they will then move on to other Caribbean islands such as Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao and will then perform in parts of Europe in the final leg of their tour.