| Lord Mouse and the Kalypso Katz | |
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| Background information | |
| Also known as | Lord Mouse |
| Origin | Berlin, Berlin, Germany |
| Genres | Calypso, Mento |
| Years active | 2008–present |
| Labels | Zamzama, Cannery Row, Jump up! |
| Website | Myspace Profile |
| Members | |
| LORD MOUSE: singer and songwriter, THE KALYPSO KATZ: Tom Lee Who: tenor ukelele, song writer General Confusion: piano and songwriter, Mateo Fauvet: mandolin, Spanish guitar, Martin Pech: conga drums, Andreas Ritzi: contrabass, Stephane Doucerain: percussion, Lenjes Robinson: marimba,percussion, Claudio Jolowicz: sax, Witold Niedziejko; sax, Stu; trumpet, Kai Eckhardt: trumpet, Nick Reddel: fiddle, Backing vocals: Jungle Jo, Vanillinda, Die Schicke Ulrike, Tiger Tam, Coca Cosi, Chiquita Anita |
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Lord Mouse and the Kalypso Katz are a calypso band based in Berlin, Germany. Starting as an active band in 2008, their music is produced independently, with help from Cannery Row Records of Berlin, Jump Up! records of Chicago, Illinois, and Zamzama Productions of Paris, France.
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The main goal of the 17 piece collective is to bring the lost genre of calypso back to public awareness, through concerts, workshops, seminars and literature.
The band is the only Calypso band in the city of Berlin, and the only calypso orchestra on the continent of Europe. It was formed when the founding members were exasperated to discover that even prominent music professionals had never heard of the genre. Now on its fourth year, the band has brought public awareness of the style to countries all over Europe. The musical style, originally from the Island of Trinidad, began in earnest in the late 1920s, when it was first recorded, and grew in popularity in the United States in the 1950s through the work of Harry Belafonte. Since then, the genre has been all but forgotten, even in its own birthplace of Trinidad. From the inception of the band four years ago, the genre has become slowly recognized as a legitimate and dance-worthy musical form, spreading from Berlin outwards. Although the band is based in Berlin, the members come from all over the world, including the U.S.A., Russia, Canada, Australia, Brazil, Poland, France, Italy, and of course, Germany.
The orchestra endeavors to keep its music as close to the classic sound of the 1920s and 1930s as possible, while still utilizing modern recording techniques. While much of its work is original, there are also covers, used as a reference point, by such calypso luminaries as Roaring Lion, Young Tiger, and Lord Invader.