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KiT: globalFEST 2014

The Amsterdam quintet KiT twists Afro-Caribbean tradition into an accessible, club-ready style. KiT, or Kuenta i Tambu — "Stories and Drums" — takes music from the Caribbean island of Curaçao, merges it with European dance-floor music and kicks it all into high, sweaty gear.

With frontwoman Diamanta von Lieshdeck rapping taunts in English and the Antillean language called Papiamentu, what KiT does these days is a far cry from its origins as an educational project to teach young Dutch schoolchildren about the culture of Curaçao, a country of about 140,000 which to this day remains part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

But the Afro-Caribbean rhythms and feel of the tambú drum and the dance of the same name — both central to the island's culture — still dart in and out of the four-on-the-floor, soca and hip-hop rhythms, as do specialty instruments like the metal work hoe called a chapi, which has become a favorite percussion instrument on Curaçao.

SET LIST:

  • "Better Than You"
  • "Jackhammer"
  • "Kabaron (Shrimp)"
  • "MIA"
  • "Santa Elektra (Saint Elektra)"
  • "Going Hard"
  • "Wan Polisá"
  • "Light Switch"
  • "Eh Oh — Rain Go Away"
  • "Maria"
  • "Presidentes Del Cullo"
  • "Rhythm Called Tambú"
  • "Triple Fun"
  • "La Señora (The Lady)"
  • "Waya Waya ("Wave Wave")
  • Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

    Anastasia Tsioulcas
    Anastasia Tsioulcas is a reporter on NPR's Arts desk. She is intensely interested in the arts at the intersection of culture, politics, economics and identity, and primarily reports on music. Recently, she has extensively covered gender issues and #MeToo in the music industry, including backstage tumult and alleged secret deals in the wake of sexual misconduct allegations against megastar singer Plácido Domingo; gender inequity issues at the Grammy Awards and the myriad accusations of sexual misconduct against singer R. Kelly.