Crisp linen suits and sharp witted lyrics meet junk percussion and double entendre. Calypso! The music of the caribbean island of Trinidad has been adopted by Mighty Duke & The Lords. Timeless tales of jaded lovers, boiled parrots, supernatural pub crawls and a mistaken hermaphrodite wedding.
The story goes that the french plantation owners, who settled in Trinidad for the small price of eternal allegiance to the spanish crown, brought with them the west african slaves that began the calypso tradition. Other people say it was invented by Harry Belafonte.
Whichever way you look at it the music of the tiny island of Trinidad is still alive and kicking with Mighty Duke & The Lords. Inspired by the greats of calypso, such as Lord Invader, The Mighty Terror and the undisputed king of calypsonians Lord Kitchener, MD&TL bring some local flare to an all too often overlooked music.
From their base of operations, Bamboo HQ, The Lords have been busily piecing together tunes out of the driftwood of old 45s and 78’s that have managed to make it over the ocean to our shores, transforming them into tales fanciful and factual. West african rhythms dance around playful melodies and cheeky lyrics while saxophones and trombones slip and slide around the steady pace of the guitar and the double bass.
Listen back to Blue Juice with Mohair Slim for a live set from Mighty Duke & the Lords.
